Book Review of Lord of the Flies

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Symbols

In the book, symbolism is a typical writing device used by William Golding. First of all, the conch shell is an all-important discovery that Piggy and Ralph find. They use it to gather other boys. When there is a meeting, only the person who holds the conch can speak. Hence, the conch is the symbol of justice and order. The central symbol the lord of the flies, which stands for devil. Children are terrified of the so-called beast, but the real beast is the potential animality in their heart. Piggy is a sensible and intelligent boy and his specs are key to kindle fire. Hence, Piggy and his specs represent knowledge and the power of science.

Themes

In Lord of the Flies,William Golding tells us two themes.

The first theme is that the devil of humanity and the loss of innocence. In Lord of the Flies, nearly all the characters lose their innocence,including Ralph and Piggy, for all of them participate in killing Simon. Those hunters who are not willing to be civilized or ordered are obsessed with killing pigs. Meanwhile,other littluns are succumbed in savagery. For instance, Percival Wemys Madison always remembers his name, family address, and phone number. But in the end,”Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away”, which shows that he has become a total barbarian.

Another theme is the reflection of war. On the island, they are too young to understand what beasts are in human nature. They release their evil and animality from their heart randomly, so their civilized society breaks down. The war between them goes to an end when adults appear. In adult society, the fight between civilization and savagery continues in a more cruel way——nuclear war, which will lead to more disasters and more casualties. Golding wants to make people’s reflection of war through the story.

Conclusion

One of Chinese ideologist Xunzi once said that people were born in evil, and I can’t agree more. People cannot deny that the real beast is in their own heart.Whether hunt ,despotism or revolt, is an expression of individual interest and lust. As long as they don’t treat evil as human nature , people will make mistakes again and again.

In real world, adults launch wars and fight for existence .So do children. But in such an island, it is impossible to build a democratic society under low productivity, which decides the way children live in. Therefore, it is inevitable that the civilization would get smashed. Ultimately the war between civilization and savagery goes to an end when adults appear. However, the real wars between nations and countries have intensified in adult society. People use chemical weapons and even nuclear weapons. Who can solve the conflicts? How can we end such cruel wars? This is a question that we should answer for.