Introduction
The Sow’s head impaled by Jack as an offering to the beast is an implicated symbol of animosity amongst the boys as to Simeon who confronts Jack of the animosity in human being hearts hence the evil in this case the power over the other less powerless creatures, while to Jack it is a sign of superiority hence high power. This differential in thinking put Simeon in trouble and hence his death.
Contrary to Sow’s head there was a conch shell at the beach, which helped in summoning the boys together. The shell showed how people were orderly and civilized in the Island. While in the meetings, the boy with the shell had the right to speak while the others sat and listen to him. The shell was later crushed signifying demise of the civilized characters among the boys.
The general novel The Lords of Flies is about power as violence and wars runs through the whole novel, friends turning to enemies and war replacing peace in the struggle for power. In war and hence violence there exists the undermined inferior of less power and superior the more powerful. As from the title of the novel, which in Arabic purports the existence of the devil by identification the lords of flies and from every person, ideology a devil is powerful in any way. Jack in assistance of his hunters kills the pig which the make an offering to the beast meaning that the beast is powerful than the boys as the give him pig head offerings. However, Simeon understands that the beast is the devil, in this case the power inside the boys. This steers the break up and power. Manifested in the killing of the pig meaning that Jack and his hunters have power than the pig, which is a symbol of the less powerful. There is power in numbers; Simeon who sees no sense of killing the pig thus differs with Jack referring him ape-like is send to death by tearing by teeth and claws, as he is powerless. At the root of violence in search of power Ralph and Jack who were friends at the beginning became two islands after Jack failed to rise to power in an election to be the chief. Little games amongst the boys involved power as it evoked violence amongst the players, as no one was ready to accept defeat, which to their definition symbolized less power and inferiority, “Percival went into tears after losing in a game between him and Johnny who after winning is left with the castles”.
“The Conch Shell” that was discovered y Ralph and Piggy in the beach symbolizes civilization and order. The shell in a broader understanding is used as a vessel for political legitimacy as well as political supremacy. In addition, the crushing of the shell by Rogers symbolized demise of the instinct characters from among the boys. “Piggy glasses”, Piggy was the brightest of all the boys and so when he wore the glasses he symbolizes the power of science and intellectual ability in the society. The savages used this power to make the fire. “The signal” fire signifies the connection to civilization. The fire was used to guide the boys. Additionally, the fire is used as a measurement of the power of the civilized individuals in the Island. “The beast” is a symbol of slavery that is within all humans. All the boys were frightened by the beast at the beginning but as they continue to interact, their belief in the beast grew stronger. The boys believed in the beast to an extent that they could worship it. “The lord of flies” was a symbol of evil and satanic manifestation of the in the Island. The word lord is used to show the kind of respect that people accorded to the beast. Finally, the names of the main characters in the novel for instance, “Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and Roger “ symbolized civilization, order as well as leadership that existed in the highland that was used to show respect to authority.
Ralph and piggy used the lagoon they had discovered to group all the survivors in the island and establishes a government that entitled Ralph as a suitable candidate for the leadership position. This action was reckoned by piggy giving substantial reasons and argument as to why Ralph taking the position would empower the group since it facilitate them to be holding meeting on regular occasion thus acting as symbol of political legitimacy and best position to excising their democratic power . The conch shell was a key factor for civilization preventing the group from perishing on the island. The piggy’s glass was another importance symbol used to bring the group together by starting the fire. It is evident that the glasses united the group by gathering and after the incident when jack stole the glass, the group started to fall apart.” The fire signal” on the mountain served as a connection to civilization for the whole group and motivated them to hold on as a group. The symbol determined and played a role of being a mechanism for evaluating the strength of the remaining civilized distinct within the island. “The imaginary beast” existed within each member in a group thus empowering them to remain stick together in fear of being attack in cases of being separated. This signal facilitated the control of the group since they were within reach. “The lord of the files” symbolized the existence of a supreme god that acted as their source of power. It then gave their leader a good base to bring them together a group since they share in the common belief in the offering of sacrifices. Ralph was a symbolic of order and good governance to the entire group setting.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. Lord of the Flies. Philadelphia, Pa: Chelsea House Publishers, 2008. Print.
Brook, Peter, Lewis M. Allen, Tom Hollyman, Raymond Leppard, James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin, Tom Gaman, and William Golding. Lord of the Flies. Irvington, NY N.p.,2012 Print.
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Coward-McCann, 2002. Print.
