{"id":3070000,"date":"2024-12-07T13:28:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-07T13:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essayshark.com\/blog\/?p=3070000"},"modified":"2024-12-07T13:33:33","modified_gmt":"2024-12-07T13:33:33","slug":"descriptive-essay-sample-the-lord-of-the-flies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essayshark.com\/examples\/descriptive-essay-sample-the-lord-of-the-flies\/","title":{"rendered":"Descriptive Essay Sample: The Lord of the Flies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On September 18, 1954, Faber & Faber published the debut novel by 43-year-old schoolteacher William Golding, Lord of the Flies<\/em>. The book is about a group of boys who, as a result of a plane crash, ended up on a desert island and create a hypertrophied society of cruelty there, becoming a cult classic.If you need to write a 1000 word essay<\/a> about Lord of the Flies<\/em>, the sample we\u2019ve presented here will be extremely helpful. Also, we are going to share tips on how to write an essay<\/a> about the book that will be worthy of a high grade.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Describe the Symbols Used in The Lord of the Flies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lord of the Flies<\/em> is the debut allegoric novel written by William Golding, which has not become too popular after it was published. But after a while, it became a bestseller and was called one of the most significant novels written in the English language, due to the problems it highlights, and a strong moral. Charles Brian Cox said, \u201cits exceptional strength stems from the fact that Golding believes: every detail of human life has a religious significance\u201d(William Golding: Some Critical Considerations).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

While writing the story the author wanted to show that evil is something external to human nature and looked for the extent to which the human soul is free from evil. Author\u2019s thoughts about the prevailing of evil in humanity and the fragility of modern civilization have found their reflection in a story about a group of boys stranded on a desert island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Firstly, boys try to organize their lives wisely, in accordance with the rules of civilized existence, making efforts to create a semblance of democracy. But it does not last for long: the struggle for power erupts, and panic breaks out, children feel the presence of the dreaded beast \u2013 the embodiment of their unconscious fears. And then, the order disrupts under the influence of dark instincts. Animal instincts which are asleep in human minds win, and fear and the instinct of self-preservation become destructive, lead to meanness and murder. Consequently, Golding claims that the biggest problem of society is the evil concealed in the human soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The writer gives specific significance to simple items and phenomena. For example, a conch found by Ralph and Piggy acquires the meaning of symbol while becoming a horn which unites and summons children \u2013 it embodies the principles of civilization, law, and equality. Boys associate the conch with a right to give a talk. But as the number of conflicts and contradictions increased, among them the conch loses its essence \u2013 its destruction means the eliminating of civilization all children believed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The true meaning of the symbols is not always revealed even by the end of the story. For example, a fire at the beginning of the novel is associated with salvation, it is a signal fire, but it quickly falls out of control and destroys one of the boys. Fire fades when Jack kills his first pig and becomes a terribly destructive force during hunting to catch Ralph, although thanks to the fire boys were found and saved. The meaning of symbols changes as the story progresses, but also depends on the fact that main characters subjectively invest in these symbols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Golding\u2019s heroes are not just specific boys with child logic and behavior, but also certain social and philosophical types of personality. Each character represents his own specific position (side of the human soul) in the struggle between two worlds \u2013 the world of savagery and the common-sense world. But the main conflict of the novel occurs between Ralph and Jack, who are shown as two different characters, two opposite personality types. Jack embodies willingness, cruelty, and selfishness; Ralph is soft and inclined to search for the truth. But simultaneously they both represent two inner beginnings, the two worlds of feelings and ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image of the symbol Lord of the Flies originally emerged unspeakably \u2013 it finds manifestation in boys\u2019 fear and their feeling of some \u201cbeast.\u201d Imaginary \u201cbeast\u201d is generated by fear, which by its nature has two sides: state of fear and act of self-preservation. In both manifestations, fear gives a push to cruelty, violence, and blood. If rationalist Piggy does not see the gist of events, then Simon reaches this understanding by insight. Only he knows that the \u201cbeast\u201d is hidden in their souls \u2013 it is a secret fear, cruelty and a willingness to kill. So, \u201cbeast\u201d awakens in Jack, Roger, Maurice and becomes the essence, which then symbolically embodies in The Lord of the Flies<\/em>. This image opens in an external action (pig\u2019s head impaled on a stick and plastered with flies) and inner (fear in the minds of the children). At the level of meaning it is the instinct of \u201cbeast,\u201d awakened in children, and on the artistic level, it is a symbolic and fantastic form of The Lord of the Flies.<\/em> That is why there are artistic ambiguity and ambivalence of this image. While planting a pig\u2019s head on a stake, Jack announces: \u201cThe head is for the beast. It\u2019s a gift\u201d (Lorcher<\/span>). This symbol reflects the pervasive evil that seizes man. \u201cLooking at the novel in the context of biblical parallels, The Lord of the Flies<\/em> recalls the devil, just as Simon recalls Jesus. In fact, the name Lord of the Flies is a literal translation of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself\u201d (SparkNotes Editors)<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, the author with the help of describing such symbols as signal fire, the conch, \u201cbeast\u201d and The Lord of the Files endows inanimate objects with human significance and meaning of life. Also, he points out the fact that animal instincts are likely to prevail in the environment of fear and hopelessness. According to D. Anderson, \u201cthe story investigates the origins of the moral degradation of humanity\u201d (William Golding: Some Critical Considerations).<\/span> Jack in the first chapter of the book blamed himself for not having the courage to cut the pig. Later he overcame himself at the expense of his soul\u2019s principles but changed drastically. And in nowadays society people often forget about honesty, justice, the value of life and order. That is why it is natural that this narrative story has great popularity \u2013 someone, having read it, would recognize himself in one of the characters\u2019 behavior. The moral of The Lord of the Flies<\/em> is to make right choices in our life and do not forget that if we succumb to the dark side of our soul, we will have the \u201cbeast\u201d inside us. On the whole, adult problems described here make us think about the fate of humanity, civilization ways, and the relationship between personality and society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biles, Jack I., and Robert O. Evans, editors. William Golding: Some Critical Considerations<\/em>. University Press of Kentucky, 1978. JSTOR, www.jstor.org\/stable\/j.ctt130j3cq.
\nLorcher, Trent. \u201cAn Analysis of Important Quotes From the Novel Lord of the Flies.\u201d Bright Hub Education<\/em>, 5 May 2009, www.brighthubeducation.com\/homework-help-literature\/34385-lord-of-the-flies-quotes.
\nSparkNotes Editors. \u201cLord of the Flies: Symbols.\u201d SparkNotes.com<\/em>, SparkNotes LLC, 2007, www.sparknotes.com\/lit\/flies\/symbols.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Structure of an Essay on Lord of the Flies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An essay should consist of three parts: the introduction, main body, and conclusion. If you want to start writing successfully, it is important to learn how to structure an essay<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n