What Does The Pig Head Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

1274 Words6 Pages
Some people believe that mankind is inherently good until they are exposed to evil things. Other people believe that mankind is born evil. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, suggest that the latter is true. In Lord of the Flies, written in 1954, a plane was shot down over war territory. This resulted in children from ages six to twelve to be stranded on an island with no adults. The children begin to loose their civilized way, soon children are murdering other children and any glimpse of civilization is gone. However, the symbol of war influence is not the only symbol in the novel. Tony Adler, an assistant director and producer, believes that the war symbols in Lord of the Flies could represent World War II. “William Golding's novel about…show more content…
However, the main three of the dead parachutist, the conch shell, and the pig head explain the depth of the novel written by William Golding. The parachutist could have been something good for the boys, but instead it caused them fear. Jack used this fear to control to other children on the island. The conch shell shows how they went from being members of society to savages. When the shell was finally broken, so were Ralph’s hope of being able to have order. The pig head is perhaps the most interesting scene in the novel. He shows that people are inherently evil; people just do not know it until they are in the right situations. He explained that the only thing to fear was the evil rooted deep inside of each of the children. Dean Chen the Assistant Professor of Political Science at Salameno School of Humanities and Global Studies. Lord of the Flies is a political book, and because of that Dean Chen says, “The Lord of the Flies simulates how mankind would be without the guidance and order of society. This book is for people who love stories that contain a powerful theme, hidden by symbolism, and concluding with the bigger picture, the ultimate path of mankind” (Chen). Cleary, this book uses its allegorical techniques to represent the ideas of William Golding. The symbolism explains the world in the 20the

More about What Does The Pig Head Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

Open Document