Major Symbols
The Conch Shell:
Ralph
and Piggy discover the conch shell on the beach at the start of the novel and
use it to summon the boys together after the crash separates them. Used in this
capacity, the conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order
in the novel. The shell effectively governs the boys’ meetings, for the boy who
holds the shell holds the right to speak. In this regard, the shell is more
than a symbol - it is an actual vessel of political legitimacy and democratic
power. As the island civilization erodes and the boys descend into savagery,
the conch shell loses its power and influence among them. Ralph clutches the
shell desperately when he talks about his role in murdering Simon. Later, the
other boys ignore Ralph and throw stones at him when he attempts to blow the
conch in Jack’s camp. The boulder that Roger rolls onto Piggy also crushes the
conch shell, signifying the demise of the civilized instinct among almost all
the boys on the island.
Piggy’s Glasses:
Piggy is the most intelligent, rational boy in the group,
and his glasses represent the power of science and intellectual endeavor in
society. This symbolic significance is clear from the start of the novel, when
the boys use the lenses from Piggy’s glasses to focus the sunlight and start a
fire. When Jack’s hunters raid Ralph’s camp and steal the glasses, the savages
effectively take the power to make fire, leaving Ralph’s group helpless.
The Signal Fire:
The signal fire burns on the mountain, and later on the
beach, to attract the notice of passing ships that might be able to rescue the
boys. As a result, the signal fire becomes a barometer of the boys’ connection
to civilization. In the early parts of the novel, the fact that the boys
maintain the fire is a sign that they want to be rescued and return to society.
When the fire burns low or goes out, we realize that the boys have lost sight
of their desire to be rescued and have accepted their savage lives on the
island. The signal fire thus functions as a kind of measurement of the strength
of the civilized instinct remaining on the island. Ironically, at the end of
the novel, a fire finally summons a ship to the island, but not the signal
fire. Instead, it is the fire of savagery - the forest fire Jack’s gang starts
as part of his quest to hunt and kill Ralph.
The Beast:
The imaginary beast that frightens all the boys stands for
the primal instinct of savagery that exists within all human beings. The boys
are afraid of the beast, but only Simon reaches the realization that they fear
the beast because it exists within each of them. As the boys grow more savage,
their belief in the beast grows stronger. By the end of the novel, the boys are
leaving it sacrifices and treating it as a totemic god. The boys’ behavior is
what brings the beast into existence, so the more savagely the boys act, the
more real the beast seems to become.
The Lord of the Flies:
The Lord of the Flies is the bloody, severed sow’s head that
Jack impales on a stake in the forest glade as an offering to the beast. This
complicated symbol becomes the most important image in the novel when Simon
confronts the sow’s head in the glade and it seems to speak to him, telling him
that evil lies within every human heart and promising to have some “fun” with
him. (This “fun” foreshadows Simon’s death in the following chapter.) In this
way, the Lord of the Flies becomes both a physical manifestation of the beast,
a symbol of the power of evil, and a kind of Satan figure who evokes the beast
within each human being. Looking at the novel in the context of biblical
parallels, the Lord of the Flies recalls the devil, just as Simon recalls
Jesus. In fact, the name “Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the
name of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought
to be the devil himself.
Ralph, Piggy, Jack, Simon, Roger:
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, and many of its
characters signify important ideas or themes. Ralph represents order,
leadership, and civilization. Piggy represents the scientific and intellectual
aspects of civilization. Jack represents unbridled savagery and the desire for
power. Simon represents natural human goodness. Roger represents brutality and
bloodlust at their most extreme. To the extent that the boys’ society resembles
a political state, the littluns might be seen as the
common people, while the older boys represent the ruling classes and political
leaders. The relationships that develop between the older boys and the younger
ones emphasize the older boys’ connection to either the civilized or the savage
instinct: civilized boys like Ralph and Simon use their power to protect the
younger boys and advance the good of the group; savage boys like Jack and Roger
use their power to gratify their own desires, treating the littler boys as
objects for their own amusement.