LORD OF THE FLIES QUOTES - SYMBOLS

SYMBOLS QUOTES

(The Conch, The Fire, The Beast, Piggy's Glasses)

"a kind of affectionate reverence" - Ralph feelings

"we don't need the conch anymore" - descent into savagery

"the conch forgotten" - breakdown of civilisation and society

"cradling the conch" - [Ralph] cradling civilisation, [Jack] wants authority and power

"fragile, white conch" - fragile civilisation, purity they once had (fragile innocence)

"white, magic shell"

"the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist" - the end of civilisation

RESCUE AND HOPE

"splendid, awful sight"

"the heart of the flame leapt nimbly"

"the fire growled", "the flames ...crept as a Jaguar creeps" - wildlife, fire is uncontrollable

signal fire," we must keep the fire burning"

"hearth", "comfort" - Piggy and Ralph use the fire for a signal, the thought of rescue is a comfort 

DESTRUCTION AND THREAT 

smoke out Ralph from the jungle - "couldn't a fire outrun a galloping horse?"

"dead fire" - hope is dead 

"smoke lay between the island and the sun"

"from his left hand, dangled Piggy's broken glasses"  - cannot make a signal fire, no rescue, another link to civilisation is broken

"[Piggy] cleaned his glasses"  - used as a comfort, a link to home and civilisation

"what intelligence had been shown was traceable to Piggy" - glasses = knowledge

"there was no Piggy to talk sense" - without the glasses, there is no sense or rational thinking

"a snake thing" - Satan in the Garden of Eden, evil within mankind

something for the boy's to fear instead of the unknown

"swaying in the fierce light" [dead parachutist] - the beast is in the outside world too, destruction - war

"the beast was harmless and horrble" - Simon realises the beast is within the boys

"squats by the fire as if it didn't want us to be rescued" 

beast = savagery, no rescue = savagery, beast = no rescue - the boys should stay on the island and let their primal instincts take over