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In society human beings have developed morals and ways of life that set them apart from savage creatures. William Golding's story Lord of the Flies, deals with young men shedding their morality to maintain a society that is capable of surviving. In this tale of human survival Golding selects symbols on an island to represent themes. Of the many symbols he uses, the stripping of the cloths, a conch shell, and war paint are the three most effective. Each of these three symbols represent how humans try to survive as well as adapt to their surroundings.
When the boys first meet after freeing themselves from the wreckage of the plane, they all begin to remove their clothes in order to adjust to the heat of their surroundings. This represents the initial breakdown of civilization, and how the boys are trying to maintain comfort in such a precarious position. It is clearly eminent that at this point in the story Golding is comparing this group of boys to a pack of animals trying to adjust and live. With each piece of clothing removed it is as if they are pealing away the morals and ethics of life taught to them as early as when they were born. These boys were no longer apart of civilization; they were now members of their own society that demanded to stay alive.
They were now accustomed to their skin as their clothing, not the restriction of an uncomfortable school uniform. He became conscious of the weight of cloths, kicked his shoes off fiercely and ripped off each stocking with its elastic garter in a single movement (10). It was at that single moment each boy had the opportunity to make any decision they wanted to. Each chose to remove their clothing and abandon the society they were once apart of. Golding uses this as symbolism to represent how the boys will try and survive on their own. As boys began to adjust themselves to the island, they saw it fit to elect a leader.
It was Ralph who at first controlled the power on the island, but most importantly he owned the conch shell. The conch represented their own society and the laws they adopted between themselves. He laid the conch against his lips, took a deep breath and blew once more (17). The conch was responsible for calling all of the boys to meetings. Whoever held the conch at these meetings was allowed to speak, if you didnt then you could not speak. As time went on the conch began to deteriorate and turn white, it was falling apart.
Golding used this as symbolism to show how the boys and their new society were falling apart. Many were no longer respecting the conch and the rights reserved the its holder. What the boys worked hard to develop was crumbling just like the shell they had all followed. The boys could no longer follow a society; they were becoming to accustomed to life as savages on the island.
The conch represented rules but most importantly teamwork. It stood for their rescue off the island, and it was their ticket back into civilization. It was the only thing they had that they respected and that kept them civilized on the island. It was now crumbling before their eyes and it made them turn against it, as well as each other.
The large group of boys began to polarize and have different ideals on the island. Many turned to savages and were only concerned with killing animals and feasting. It was the smaller group that still favored the conch and tried to get themselves off the island. Golding's ideas of society and moral beliefs of humanity surviving were pessimistic. He doubted the reality that mankind would be able to survive and flourish away from society. Golding used the conch as a way of telling the reader that the boys actions and rules were useless in the long run.
When most of the boys turned from the conch and relied on hunting to keep them alive, they began to wear paint all over their bodies. It was to how Golding displayed to the reader that the boys were some type of a savage tribe hunting for the kill and as well as the meat. He rubbed the charcoal stick between the patches of red and white on his face (63). It was at this point that the boys began to change themselves by putting the paint on their faces. The paint mimicked the idea that they were wearing masks and they did not feel like themselves anymore. They had discarded the society they grew up with when they crashed on the island.
They were hunters and no longer respected the conch. They then were a tribe of killers that respected spears instead of a shell. These boys were no longer human beings; they were warriors with feelings of torture and pain that they wanted to inflect on anyone at any time. They had become more aware of survival and flesh of another animal that it blinded their senses and they lost any rational thinking. They were now animals on the island that had everything they needed to survive, except a form of society. They were now on their own and could not develop nor did they want to develop a way of living.
They had at that point completed the cycle of changing to the area around them. Golding demonstrates that man shares a mentality that of an animal. It is survival that is the main key to living and how one can not be concerned with morality. It is up to each individual to survive in any position given to them. Golding sought to make the reader understand for a group of humans to survive together and remain civilized would be utterly impossible. All three of these symbols show how mans struggle for survival is hard and puzzling.
The symbols also confirm how hard it is for man to maintain rules and morals when stranded away from the society they have been use to their whole lives. Lord of the Flies was a story that enables the reader to understand the difficulty of human struggle. Its purpose was to show how we are all animals that rely on harsh means in order to survive. The only reason humans are predominately civilized is because we have evolved to conform to a society with rules and a refined way acting.
We are able to rely on so many people around us if we are in trouble. If we were to loose communication with those people today, it would be us that would soon be wearing war paint. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee Books, 1954.
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