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Post by 2bterrechua29 on Apr 30, 2008 0:02:52 GMT -5
Hi all,
I will be touching on the themes of the story.
Power
There are different types of power, with their uses and abuses, which are showed in the novel.
Each kind of power is used by one of the characters.
Democratic power is shown when choices and decisions are shared among many.
Authoritarian power allows one person to rule by threatening and terrifying others.
Spiritual power recognizes internal and external realities and attempts to integrate them.
Brute force, the most primitive use of power, is random(not sure if this is a good word to use).
Cheers, Terre Chua 2B29
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Post by 2adanieltan08 on Apr 30, 2008 2:36:15 GMT -5
C00l can spam loads of definitions (*grins*)
Ralph - leader , but lacking courage and the power to impose decisions and control the mob - righteous leadership - No offence, but for a clearer view , imagine Lee Hsien Loong ( NO OFFENCE! PLS! )
Piggy - Common sense - unknown / unappreciated smart guy - Link to civilisation - Different / special from others
Simon - justice - curiosity - oblivious (to bad influences) - observant - innocent , pure - strong will (Simon is the only one able to resist his "dark side" , the Lord Of The Flies , and has such will that he decides to spread the message of the Beast being just evil in their hearts before he got speared.)
Roger - Blind Follower - Malicious - Ruthless (Dropped the stone on Piggy)
Jack - Dictatorship - Tyranny - Change (Savagery) - Supported leader
Conch - democracy - equal footing of power - respect
Lord Of The Flies - devilish - darkness - mankind's evil
The Beast - fear - horror
Island - Ironic to modern civilisation - Human adpatation - Savage times of the past
Lol, not very clear points but if you read the book , you will roughly understand what i mean ..... at least thats what i think.
-)B@CK~ST@B(- f33l th3 p@1n . t@st3 th3 1njust1c3. Wr1th3 1n @g0ny.
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Post by 2b23kevin on Apr 30, 2008 3:12:33 GMT -5
Jack: Jack was probably a representation of the many evil dictators in the course of human history. He ruled with fear and tyranny and had a group of "fanatics" which obeyed his every order, the hunters. Even if anybody wanted to oppose Jack, they were probably intimidated by his mask which made him seem more intimidating than he actually was. Just like evil dictators, the often promise good things to the population. In Jack's case, he promised meat and more importantly, protection from the beast but as evil dictators go, his tribe lives under the fear of experiencing his wrath.
The Island: The island was boat shaped and looked like it was moving backwards. This was probably symbolic of the way the children degrade from civilised school boys into savages.
The scar and plane crash: The island was "perfect" before the plane crash, but after the plane crash, it became imperfect, as if symbolising that the plane crash brought something bad to the island. This probably reflects how the arrival of the boys on the island corrupted their mentality.
Conch: This probably represents power and authority. As time passes on the island, the conch slowly but surely loses its power and authority along with the civilised parts of the boys.
Clothes and their removal: The clothes represent how civilised the boys are. When the boys first take off their clothes to escape the heat once they reach the island, this symbolises the start of the loss of civilisation in the boys' lives.
Piggy: Represents alot of the good things in the world and shows taht however good a guy is, he is bound to be imperfect. Piggy was wisest of all the boys, was the most civilised at the end of the story and the ideals of a great leader. However good he was, he was fat and lacked charisma. He also lacked a strong character. I feel that if Piggy had what he lacked, he would have been the leader and would have led the tribe much better than Ralph. When he is killed, it represents how good has been defeated on the island.
The boys' reactions to Piggy probably represents how society on a whole tends to judge a book by its cover. Although Piggy was wise and haf the most intelligent, the boys still picked Ralph as their leader as they thought Piggy was fat and not good looking.
The Beast: Represents man's wild imagination. There was no beast on the island, but the boys, after thinking they saw and heard something strange, created this beast in their minds.
Signal Fire: Hope on the island. The boys wanted needed the fire to be saved.
The Naval Officer: The saviour of the boys and the return of order in the boy's lives. Ralph was being hunted when he arrived and when the hunters saw him, they immediately stopped showing how strong and immediate his presence was on the boys.
Piggy's Spectacles: This is probably a symbol of power. Whoever possesses the spectacles can make fire which is used as a signal and cooking. The various fights over Piggy's spectacles represent a power struggle.
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Post by 2b19qiyun on May 1, 2008 3:12:16 GMT -5
Symbolism
Ralph Law, order, organized society and moral integrity.
Piggy Knowledge and morality.
Conch Authority.
Beast The evil that resides within man.
Signal Fire Hope of being rescued.
Thx, RQY
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Post by 2a03benjamintoh on May 3, 2008 8:35:10 GMT -5
Symbolism
Mask- red symbolises Jack's increasing bloodlust, the "danger" he poses to his enemies while the "black slash of charcoal" divides his facial features such that he would no longer look human. So Mask is symbolic of the boys becoming more like a savage.
the conch, on the other hand, is symbolic of authority and order. For example, only the one holding the conch is allowed to speak and when Ralph, who owns the conch, blows the conch for a meeting, all the boys have to stop what they are doing. Order in this sense is that only the one with the conch is allowed to speak and others have to listen to him
Hostility between Jack's gang and Ralph's group is perhaps a representation of the hostility between the good and evil
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Post by 2aedmondchen04 on May 4, 2008 0:07:40 GMT -5
Here are my views on symbolism in Lord of the Flies.
Piggy: Represents wisdom and civilisation
Glasses: The degree of savagery in the boys(mainly Jack, Roger and the hunters to be precise)
Roger: The extreme side of evil(more severe than anyone else on the island, including Jack). Cruelty
Simon: The extreme side of good. Purity.
Ralph: Authority and order.
Jack: Savagery and desire for power
Littleluns: Masses/Citizens.(since Golding wanted to mirror Lord of the Flies to the situation during the war)
Older Boys: Leaders/Government who would lead the littleluns to do whatever they want. (just like how the leaders of each country tries to persuade their citizens to join the army and then to fight for the country)
Open to constructive comments. Thanks, Edmond
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Post by 2akennethleong14 on May 5, 2008 2:53:50 GMT -5
Beast: The beast, the Lord of the Flies, is seen as a real object on the island which frightens the boys. Actually the beast is something internal; the Lord of the Flies is in soul and mind of the boys, leading them to the natural chaos of a society with no reasoning adults. Only Simon understands what the real beast is, but is killed when he tries to tell the boys about the Lord of the Flies.
Conch: The conch shell symbolizes the law and order of the old adult world which Piggy tries so desperately to protect. The conch represents all the authority which the boys are so used to obeying. When Roger destroys the conch, anarchy quickly ensues because any hope of strong, central leadership has been abandoned. The island society collapses into chaos.
Facepaint: This is the excuse many of the boys use for living as hunting savages, instead of civilized English citizens. The paint symbolizes the smoke-screen the beast uses to infiltrate the boys’ souls.
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Post by 2akennethleong14 on May 5, 2008 2:54:08 GMT -5
Fire/Smoke: The smoke of the signal fire symbolizes the last best hope of the boys being rescued. To Piggy and Ralph, the fire represents the moral influence of their old life in England. When the fire goes out, Ralph loses his bearings, unsure of his next move. The fire is diatonically opposed to hunting, the activity of anarchy on the island. Island: Golding purposefully picked an island to be the landing place of the crashed plane because an island is isolated from the rest of society. The boys have no contact with the outside world and must look to themselves to solve the problems of their own micro-society. In this way, the island, which symbolizes isolation, serves as a perfect backdrop for the frailties of human nature which eventually surface.
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Post by MikeT on Jun 5, 2011 17:01:19 GMT -5
Fire is used in several ways in Lord of the Flies. From the very beginning of the novel, Ralph is determined to keep a signal fire going, in case a ship passes near to the island. That’s fine until the first signal fire the boys light begins burning out of control, and at least one boy is missing . The fire thus becomes a symbol of both hope of rescue and of destruction. Ironically, it is because of a fire that Jack lights at the end of the novel – in his attempt to hunt and kill Ralph – that the boys are rescued.
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