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Symbolism is the “frequent use of words, places, characters or objects that means something beyond what they are on a literal level” (Wheeler). William Golding uses a huge amount of symbolism to reflect the society of the outer world with the island. Through the use of symbols such as the title, the conch shell, the signal fire, the island, the parachutist, the beast, Piggy’s specs and the main characters in the novel, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society’s rules and taboos, allow their capacity for evil to dominate their existence. In this novel, the conch shell is one of the most important symbols. The conch shell is a symbol of authority, democracy and civilized behaviour . C.B.Cox points out that the conch shell is more than “just a symbol of order”(170) . The destruction of the conch shell means the end of all civilized behaviour and discipline. As the island civilization erodes and the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its powe...

‘Lord of the Flies’ is a parable showing the harmful effect of the removal of civilized restraints , which results in a complete regression to a brutal and savage state. As G olding himself has admitted, this novel owes its origin to his experiences of brutalities that he had d ur ing the W orld W ar ׀׀ , and those he gained as a teacher of small boys for about 13 years. Through his symbolic presentation, Golding establishes their activities on the deserted island as a clash between two different conceptions of per-civilized humanity. The young school boys are thrown into a literal state of nature. Golding establishes immediately the contract between the savage and the civilized that exists in this new environment for the boys. Far from grown up society and adult authority , Ralph plays in the beach naked, a practice that associate s him to the state of nature, later on leading to the ‘uncivilized’ cultures. Ralph does not make the children afraid of their abando...