The Characters and Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

Abstract

The Second World conflict had just ended when William Golding wrote Lord of the Flies, which exposed the brutality and evil of both human nature and conflict. Golding employs a lot of symbolism to convey his viewpoint and examination of human nature in this book, whether it is through the creation of the characters, the structuring of the plot, or the choice of language. The symbolism of the characters in Lord of the Flies will be the main topic of this study. This study explores the author's background at the time of writing, the symbolism that employed, and the significance of a number of the book's central characters, such as Ralph, who stands for democracy and civilization, Piggy, who stands for intelligence and reason, Jack, who stands for savagery and desire, and Simon, who stands for human kindness. Furthermore, the study also skims over the absence of a female gender viewpoint in Lord of the Flies.