Lord Of The Flies By William Golding - 1442 Words

Inherently Evil: Symbolism in the Lord of the Flies â€Å"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.†- The Tempest, by William Shakespeare. This quote certainly seems to fit the symbolism used by William Golding in his popular – yet controversial – novel, Lord of the Flies. The book is about a group of five to thirteen year old boys who get stranded on an island with no adults, no designated authority, and no rules; as the story continues, we observe the decline of the boys’ ‘society’ from a group of civilized children having fun to savages killing each other for sport, and eventually all these events culminate in their rescue. Golding uses symbolism in this novel to communicate two main ideas: That humans are born flawed and that no†¦show more content†¦Furthermore, Ralph does not possess sadistic tendencies or the love of seeing and doing harm. [He tries to stop Piggy from attempting to retrieve his glasses because â€Å"†You’ll get hurt!†Ã¢â‚¬  and decides to go with him so he can try and help â€Å"†All right. I mean, you can try if you like. We’ll go with you.†Ã¢â‚¬  (147)] Every event in the story changes Ralph, showing how society affects the common person. We also see this happening because in the beginning of the story, Ralph is hopeful of rescue, as his father is a Commander in the Royal Navy and â€Å"â€Å"When he gets leave, he’ll come and rescue us.†Ã¢â‚¬  (13), and he appreciates the simple beauty of the pure island, showing how happy and hopeful a common person is before society’s corruption can ruin them. He changes from this simple, happy boy to a hardened, war-torn soul, who finally breaks into tears after everything has happened. [â€Å"He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his entire body.† (202)] How Ralph reacts to his continuous persecution and tribulation shows the horrible, depressin g effects that a corrupted society has on such innocent, common people. Along with Ralph comes the secondary main character, Piggy. He is the right-hand man and eventual best friend of