Two Most Important Symbols That Can Be Used In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Lord of the flies is an allegorical story written by a Nobel Prize winning writer William Golding. Lord of the flies book discusses how culture came into existence by man’s fail, by giving an example of British students who were lost on the deserted island. These boys tried to govern themselves resulting in disastrous results. It focuses on the controversial human nature. Lord of the flies got the 68th position on the American Library Association list of the 100 most influential books of 90’s.

As it is an allegorical story, there are many symbols used in the story in order to support the main theme but for some students, selecting the right symbols to be incorporated in the Lord of the flies essays becomes bit difficult. Therefore, we are providing you with the Lord of the flies symbols and their meanings that can be used in the Lord of the flies allegory essay.

The Conch Shell:

The two main characters in the play, Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell on the beach in the start of the novel and used it to call the boys together after the plane crash which separated them. In this way, conch shell became a very important symbol in the novel. The shell was used very effectively to govern the boys together as the boy who holds the shell had the power to speak. Due to this, shell became an actual vessel for political legitimacy and power. As the island erodes and the boys went into savagery, the conch shell eventually loses its authority among the boys. Ralph clasps the shell when he talked about his intentions of murdering Simon. Later on, the rest of the boys started throwing stones at him whenever he tried to blow the conch’s shell at the Jack’s camp. The stones that Roger threw on Piggy also crushed the shell which is clearly identifying the demise of the civilized instincts in all the boys on the island.

Piggy’s Glasses:

Piggy is the most intelligent boy out of all the boys on the island and his glasses identify intellectualism and the power of science in the novel. The symbolic significance of the piggy’s glasses became prominent at the start of the novel when the boys used piggy’s glasses to start the fire and to see the sunlight. Jack’s hunter when raid the camp and stole the Piggy’s glasses, the savages used it to lit the fire leaving Ralph’s group incapacitated.

Thereby, the two most powerful symbols used in the Lord of the flies novel will help you a lot in writing your Lord of the flies essay effectively.