Symbolism the True Meaning

Symbolism- The True Meaning
Lord of the Flies is a complex novel which can be seen as an allegory: a piece of writing
in which the apparent meaning of the characters and events is used to symbolize a deeper
meaning- moral, spiritual, political or social. Golding uses symbolism throughout his novel to
emphasize the fact that mankind possesses two different personalities, one civilized and the other
savage. Golding uses these objects and characters to form the theme of his novel and to convey
different aspects of society to his readers.
In the beginning of the novel, the conch shell found by Ralph and Piggy represented order,
civilization, and free speech. Piggy instructed Ralph to blow the conch shell “We can use this to
call the others” (Golding 16). After calling the others, they all meet and decide to vote for a
chief. “Let’s have a vote” (22). It is here that the conch symbolizes order and democracy. The
boys saw Ralph as a figure of auth...