Lord of the Flies

A detailed Summary of Lord of the Flies

Often times, authors use characters in their novels and stories as symbols. The characters may be symbolic of the tangible as well as the non-tangible. In addition, characters can often be looked at with a psychological approach to literature in order to better determine or understand their symbolic significance. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, special symbolic significance may be found in the characters, Piggy, Ralph, and Jack.

Piggy, the heavy, asthmatic, nearsighted boy, was often teased and ridiculed, however Golding made it obvious to the reader that Piggy was indeed the super ego. Piggy symbolizes all the hate and discrimination in the world. If it was not for Piggy's bizarre appearance, he may have been made ruler of the island, and he certainly was the most suited for the job. He also symbolizes intelligence. He was analogous to sanity and reason. "Piggy's role as a man's reasoning faculties him as a father" (Rosenfield 264). Piggy always used ideal judgment and was the island's only adult-like figure. He demonstrated this at a tribal meeting after the boys nearly burned down the island:

"I got the conch! Just you listen! The first thing we ought to have made was shelters down there by the beach. I

Not only does this show how Ralph wanted everything orderly; it further determines him as a symbol of civilization. Ralph rejected the hunting, which may seem to some as barbaric. He instead insisted on shelter and being rescued which would bring him and the rest of the boys back to a civilized society. Rosenfield said, "Ralph is every man or every child" (Rosenfield 263). Civilization is man's higher instinct. If basic survival instincts are taken away, one can perceive that civilization is somewhat instinctive. Every man or every child instinctively wants to form a society, whether consciously, or not. Therefore, Rosenfield's metaphor further depicts Ralph as a symbol for civilization. These aspects should make to it clear that Ralph symbolized civilization in Lord of the Flies.

Here, struck down by the heat, the sow fell and the hunters hurled themselves at her. This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic; she squealed and bucked and the air was full of sweat and noise and blood and terror. Roger ran round the heat, prodding with his spear whenever pigflesh appeared. Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife. Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight. The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her. The butterflies still danced, preoccupied in the center of the clearing (Golding 135).

"The job was too much. We needed everyone."

Rosenfield. "Men of a Smaller Growth."

"--and them little 'uns was wandering about down there where the fire is. How d'you know they aren't still there?"

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Approximate Word count = 1494
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English