Michael Zhang
1/28/17
Period 5 Lewis
English 1 Honors
Lord of the Flies essay
William Golding, Author of the novel Lord of the Flies states,“What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.” The novel is placed in a futuristic environment simultaneous to a massive world war. Golding, through his book and quote, is trying to convey a pessimistic principle of human nature. By using the conch, the beast and fire as symbols, he is describing the inner darkness and savagery of human nature. By showing the reader the inner savagery of a human, he drives the readers to reflect on modern day situations and human morals.
Throughout the course of the novel, Golding uses the conch as an all-powerful symbol of civilization and order. Ralph and Piggy discover the conch shell early on while on the beach. They used …show more content…
As Jack states "'The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make? Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see we ought to-- ought to die before we let the fire out?'" He is determined that a signal fire is a way to get out of this island, and he was right. They made a great fire, but moments later the fire became uncontrollable and left boys missing. Piggy tells Jack, "You got your small fire all right" (210).” The fire ultimately becomes a symbol of destruction and rescue. This is extremely ironic due to Jack lighting the forest on fire to catch Ralph, the boys got rescued by a naval cruiser and safely leaves the island. Because of lighting a massive fire Jack literally saves the boys’ lives whilst trying to kill one of their own. The island is just a microcosm of the real world. The fire is the destruction of war while Jack and Ralph represent the two
1/28/17
Period 5 Lewis
English 1 Honors
Lord of the Flies essay
William Golding, Author of the novel Lord of the Flies states,“What a man does defiles him, not what is done by others.” The novel is placed in a futuristic environment simultaneous to a massive world war. Golding, through his book and quote, is trying to convey a pessimistic principle of human nature. By using the conch, the beast and fire as symbols, he is describing the inner darkness and savagery of human nature. By showing the reader the inner savagery of a human, he drives the readers to reflect on modern day situations and human morals.
Throughout the course of the novel, Golding uses the conch as an all-powerful symbol of civilization and order. Ralph and Piggy discover the conch shell early on while on the beach. They used …show more content…
As Jack states "'The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don't keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make? Look at us! How many are we? And yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke. Don't you understand? Can't you see we ought to-- ought to die before we let the fire out?'" He is determined that a signal fire is a way to get out of this island, and he was right. They made a great fire, but moments later the fire became uncontrollable and left boys missing. Piggy tells Jack, "You got your small fire all right" (210).” The fire ultimately becomes a symbol of destruction and rescue. This is extremely ironic due to Jack lighting the forest on fire to catch Ralph, the boys got rescued by a naval cruiser and safely leaves the island. Because of lighting a massive fire Jack literally saves the boys’ lives whilst trying to kill one of their own. The island is just a microcosm of the real world. The fire is the destruction of war while Jack and Ralph represent the two