I have an essay about Lord of the Flies due on friday and need so help editing it because I'm awful at editing things. Part 1. LORD OF THE FLIES REVIEW
Lord of The Flies is a classic novel written by the late William Golding. Lord of the Flies targets the influence of society on humans and how it the right
situations humans will go into survival mode just to survive. Taking place in the mid 1900s Lord of the Flies targets the two very strong themes; loss of
innocence and good verses evil. These themes become present as the book progresses. The loss of innocence is first mentioned in chapter one when jack hesitated
to kill the pig, " I was choosing a place," said Jack. "I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him." (pg 31) This quote is
important because Jack doesn't want to kill, he still has his innocence. Jack eventually loose his innocence as the book progresses, as do many of the
other characters. Another great example of loss of innocence is in chapter nine, when Simon is murdered. The boys have such a strong thirst to kill that they
didn't even realize it was Simon until he floated away in the ocean. "Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a sliver
shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea." (pg 154) The boys lose all reason, and loose their
innocence when they are lowered to killing not for necessity, but just for the kill. Another of the main themes is good verses evils. This theme is first
displayed in chapter two when the boys try to flush out the pigs by setting the island on fire, but instead of accomplishing this, they kill the littlun with
the birthmark. "That littlun that had a mark on his face - where is - he now? I tell you I don't see him" (p. 46). The littlun is dead and
everyone acts like he was never there except for Piggy. In chapter five Simon talks about the beast and said, "What I mean is . . . Maybe it's only us
. . ." (p. 89). He said this after the littlun thought that there was a beast on the island. This quote is important because it shows that the boys want
to believe that there is a beast and there is darkness on the island, but really the darkness is them. The conch is a very strong part of the book because it
is a form of their government, and if the boys disobey it then they would get a punishment. The conch also symbolizes loss of innocence in way because the only
innocence left on the island towards the end of the book is Piggy's. Piggy in a way is the protecter of the conch, he is the only one that believes in it
when he dies, therefore also being a protector of the innocence, which also dies along with him. When Roger pushed the rock he was aiming to kill Piggy and
when he did kill Piggy he also smashed the conch and destroyed all order on the island. The fire was a symbol of safety, it was used to attract passing ships
that may be able to rescue them. The fire was also the boys connection to civilization, when the fire burns low or goes out the boys have lost the desire to be
rescued and have accepted their lives as savages on the island. The irony of the fire is that Jack's tribe was trying to kill Ralph and instead of killing
him the fire attracts a ship to rescue the boys. "We saw your smoke. What have you been doing? Having a war or something?" (pg 201) this quote is
important because the officer thinks that the boys were playing a big game, he didn't think that there was a war between Jack's tribe and Ralph. The
Glasses were a symbol of intelligence and power because Piggy was the smartest and most rational boy in the group. He thought before he acted and didn't
just think for himself and he thought for the whole group even the littluns. The symbol of the glasses is clear from the beginning of the book when Jack used
his glasses to start the fire. " his specs- use them as burning glasses!"(pg 40) The glasses are important because if the boys didn't have the
glasses then they wouldn't have had fire and they wouldn't have been able to get off the island. The Darkness is a symbol of evilness and fear inside
every boy, the fear of killing, and the fear of the beast. The darkness is also a symbol of savagery inside of every boy. This is shown on page 198 "The
savage stopped fifteen yards away and uttered his cry. This is important because it shows that the boys are trying to commit the ultimate evil-killing another
human being. The Lord of the Flies is a symbol of Satan, it told Simon that evil lies within every human. The Lord of the Flies "talked" to Simon and
told him "I'm warning you. I'm going to get angry. D' you see? You are not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on the island? So
don't try it on, my poor misguided boy, or else-"( pg 144) This quote is important because the Lord of the Flies is telling him that he's going to
get killed or something bad is going to happen to him. The Island is a symbol of destroying civilization because the boys have lost all meaning of
civilization. It's also a symbol of a new beginning or ending for some people like Simon and Piggy who both lose their lives while on the island. Jack got
to find another part of himself, a more savage and wild self. Ralph didn't change as much as Jack he had the same morals throughout the novel, while Jacks
morals changed from not wanting to kill to killing whatever walked past him. He believed in that everyone was to serve him. The island in a way is the
beginning of the end. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering sobs of grief the seemed to wrench his whole
body." (pg 202) This quote is important because Ralph has just realized that he's getting off the island and that the nightmare is all over, he can
now forget his past.
