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Use of Symbolism in The Lord Of The Flies
at times it was even ignored completely by Jack and some of the others. After the tribes’ seporated, Jack held a feast and made it clear that the conch did not count on his side of the island, symbolizing that he did not want rules or regulations. Ultimately, the conch was killed along with Piggy, this symbolized the beginning of the end of Ralph, had the navy not saved him. It was also the destruction of the conch that represented the full transition to savagery of the boys. Therefore the conch was an important symbolic entity of the savagery on the island.
Lastly, the victims of the hunters themselves represent the savagery and destruction of the boys morals on the island. In the beginning Jack had attempted to kill a pig, however he could not pull himself to do it, he was too afraid of the blood that would spill from the animal At this time the boys were happy on the island and had few, if any conflicts. This however was a short lived utopia. When Jack and his hunters were supposed to be watching the fire, they instead went off to hunt. They did successfully kill a pig, however this sparked conflict between Jack and Ralph, as there was a ship and Jack may have delayed their rescue by many weeks. This kill not only symbolized the beginning of the end, but it also caused the first conflict. The next hunt that ended victoriously was not just the kill of a pig, but a mother pig. This is much worst, as when you kill the mother pig you also kill her litter, as those little pigs have no one to rely on. This is also short sighted, as killing a lot of pigs for a small feast will shortly cause the destruction of food on the island. The killing of this mother pig also represented the increase of savagery and a debauched paradigm. Unfortunately the savagery did not stop there, although it could be argued that it was an accident, Simon was put to death by the chant of the hunters. The real symbolism of savagery in this situation is the complete lack of remorse felt by Jack and the hunters. Ralph and Piggy were deeply troubled by the murder of Simon, which symbolized the humanity left in them. After this unfortunate incident, Piggy was killed while trying to get his glasses back from Jack and the hunters. This represented the almost complete transition to complete savagery, as this murder was semi-intentional, and they again held no remorse for the victim. Jack also used this as a threat to Ralph, stating this is what happens when people challenge him. Finally, the attempted murder of Ralph indicated the final transition to absolute evil. Had they killed him, they would have felt no remorse, no regret, at least not at first. This is the final representation and most dedicated symbol of the transition from a moral society, [next page]