Symbolism Of Fire In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

Lord of the Flies is a gruesome, dark and intense novel written as a political allegory by the author William Golding. In this novel Lord of the Flies, there are various significant symbols the most being Piggy’s glasses because of how it allows a logical smart boy to see and perform tasks, it becomes a tool of innovation being able to start fires, and how it leads to the destruction of an island.

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, Piggy’s glasses represent both weakness and power. The symbolism for the glasses progresses throughout the novel.

Fire in the novel Lord of the Flies takes on a new form each time it is presented to us. Sometimes, it takes the form of a violent, evil flame, bent on causing havoc and anarchy wherever it may be. Sometimes, it may take the form of a calm, controlled, civilized flame. Other times, it may be flame that drives a man to feats that he would have never thought he could do. Fire, in William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies, is a complex symbol, representing anarchy and the darkness inside of us, civilization and the light in all of us, and hope, the constant motivator for our

In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned

Piggy’s glasses symbolize reason and innovation throughout the novel; Golding most commonly associates them with the old camp on the beach. Piggy uses his glasses to help the other boys “see”, both physically and intellectually, the best and most reasonable way forward. However, any time they are removed from the beach, chaos is sure to ensue. The first time, when the boys go to the mountain to light the signal fire, Jack and the other boys pry the glasses off Piggy’s face so they can use them as burning glasses. While this does help to start the signal fire so they can be seen by a ship, it traumatizes Piggy since even at this point in the book, Jack scares him. Despite the good intentions for the fire, it soon goes wild and even results in the death of a littlun.

When stranded on an island, objects around may be helpful to survive or get rescued or some may lead to destruction. Well at least that is what happened on an island that teenagers were stranded on. The teenager boys from Lord of the flies, get stranded on an island because their plane crashed. While they are there, one of the boys named Piggy finds a conch. The same boy has glasses, which helps start the fire. The fire is what the boys use to help get rescued. All these objects like the conch, glasses, and fire are very symbolic in the novel. In lord of the Flies, by William Golding, the symbols at the beginning of the novel, like the conch representing civilization, Piggy’s glasses representing intelligence and the fire representing hope,

Jack, their newly found “chief in truth,” is not able to start a fire without the help of a remaining piece of their civilization, Piggy’s glasses (105). In ultimate savagery, the group ambushes Piggy. Jack—“the chief” — “lead[s] them, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement,” with “Piggy's broken glasses,”(105). “Dangling” and “broken”, they tragically misuse the glasses (105). They are no longer a symbol of reason and smarts; but instead they have morphed into a symbol of the extent of how far from civilization the boys wander. With Piggy’s value on the island stripped away, he becomes virtually useless. In the same manner, the loss of Piggy and the conch unfolds, shortly after the glasses. The conch “explode[s] into a thousand white fragments” as the water “boil[s] white and pink,” taking Piggy with the roaring waves (113). This represents the final withdrawal of reasoning, leaving Ralph utterly

The first time the symbolism of the glasses was revealed was in the second chapter. The boys pointed at piggy and exclaimed, “His specs – use them

Piggy’s spectacles represented the power by man to alter and recreate their environment, if needed, to best suit their likings. Piggy’s glasses were used to start the fire. The cracking of Piggy’s first lens symbolized the boys losing focus of what was necessary for their survival. The fire was used as a representation of technology and the boys’ only vital connection to human civilization.

In the book “Lord of the flies” by William Golding, examines the problems brought up of civilization and savagery through the use of frequent and many symbols. Such as in the book the signal fire can be used to show the civilization the boys were trying to get back too, and savagery brought on by the island throughout the book in many different view of it in all. One of the first time this can be seen in the book when the boys were setting the fire and there was still hope to return back, “On one side the air was cool, but on the other the fire thrusts out a savage arm of heat that crinkled hair on the instant. Boys who felt the evening wind on their damp faces paused to enjoy the freshness of it and then found they were exhausted. They flung themselves down in the shadows that lay among the shattered rocks.

Lord of the Flies has symbols throughout the story, each character brings a different point of view. Piggy, Ralph, and Jack take a leading role with all the boys, although they vote Ralph in charge both of the other boys take a leadership position. Goulding uses the boys to show the faults of mankind and the roots of all evil. Four symbols Goulding used in the novel were: Piggy’s glasses, the Conch Shell, The Beast, and Simon’s hiding place. Therefore, the symbols show the true character of the boys who are stranded on an island.

Fire can be seen literally as power because it gives warmth and protection; however, it can also be seen figuratively. Fire is often seen as malignant or evil because of its powers to burn materials. In Lord of the Flies the fire also represents the balance between good and evil. Because the glasses can control the fire they have the true power, Jack pointed suddenly, “His specs-use them as burning glasses” (40). Jack explains that the glasses can be used to create fire in order to help the boys survive. Once the fire is made, Jack becomes upset that he has to give the glasses back to Piggy. Savagery is first shown when Jack’s character starts to crave for the power that is found in the glasses, which will be shown more vividly throughout the book. The glasses with their ability to create fire, creates feeling in Jack to where he craves the power, leading to the destruction of

The boys rely on the fire for not only a source of light or a way to cook the little food they have but as a source of hope. Piggy explains to the boys that “Your only hope is keeping a signal fire going as long as there’s light to see. Then maybe a ship’ll

Lord of the flies is a book written by William Golding. The book is an allegory an allegory is a story with two meanings. The allegory in that when stranded civilization turns to savagery. In the story there are three symbols that show the allegory the most the fire represents order and the chance to get home, painted faces represents savagery and how the kids change, and the conch explains civilization and how they need to not turn to savagery.

Imagine being trapped on an island with no adults around, only children. You must work together to survive, but between the fighting and the fears, nobody is willing to do that. For a group of boys stuck on an island, this is their new reality. They struggle to work together to get anything done, and the power struggle between the two oldest boys does not help matters. All of this happens in William Golding’s book, Lord of the Flies. A plane crash leaves many young schoolchildren stranded on an island all alone, with no civilization in sight. Not only do they want to survive, but they also want to be rescued. However, their squabbles and fights over who should lead them ends up preventing them from getting anything done, and their stay on the island ends up going very wrong. In the book Lord of the Flies, the condition of the glasses belonging to the character Piggy is symbolic of the state of the boys on the island. This is exemplified at the beginning when the glasses are used to make fire, in the middle when Piggy’s glasses break for the first time, and at the end when Piggy’s glasses are destroyed by the other boys.