A brief look at the symbolic web in William Golding

A Brief Look at the Symbolic Web in William Golding’s Novel Lord of the Flies.
By (Sony) Ling-Uei Sung-Chu

The intangible complexities of human nature are the daring focus of William Golding’s 1954 novel Lord of the Flies. Symbolically throughout the course of his story, Golding delves into the intricate structures of human behavior within a social order by taking us back to our age of innocence. The novel relates the events set in the midst of a world torn by the horrors of World War II, as a group of kids find themselves stranded after their airplane crashes on a desolate island miles away from civilization. Without the guidance of adulthood, the children are forced to survive by creating a rudimentary society based on their primal necessity for survival and pleasure.

Several themes are comprised within Golding’s study of man’s behavior patterns. Amongst these fear, the battle between good and evil, human’s lust for power, and the never withering dream ...