Blog #8 Symbols Analysis

Symbols in Lord of the Flies
Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts. You know you are dealing with a symbol in literature when an object or character is repeatedly referred to. You can also identify symbols by the language used to describe an object or character. If a description of an animal sounds awfully like the description of an emotion or mood, then look more closely at the language to see if there could be some intentional connections being made by the author.
The Task:
1. Choose a symbol
2. Find as many quotes in the book as you can about that symbol (annotate and or paraphrase)
3. Look back over the quotes carefully and analyze the language
4. Write a paragraph explaining what that symbol represents

Example:
The Butterflies
When Ralph, Jack and Simon went on their first hike up the mountain to confirm that they were on an island, they came Castle Rock and off to the side, this scene, “They were on the lip of a circular hollow in the side of the mountain. This was filled blue flowers (…) and it spilled lavishly among the canopy of the forest. The air was thick with butterflies, lifting, fluttering and settling”(28).

“The sow collapsed under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her. The butterflies still danced, preoccupied in the center of the clearing” (135).

A description of the moment Simon discovers the body that everyone called the beast. “Even the butterflies deserted the open space where the obscene thing grinned and dripped” (138).

Analysis:
The butterflies are ever present, during times when the boys recognize the beauty of the island and even when the boys are in the middle of cruel and savage moments. They are attractive, but can do little to help the boys, or anything, on the island. It seems they represent the unfeeling, uncaring part if the adult world that looks the other way when witnessing savagery. They could even represent the way many people under German rule observed the horrific events that led to the Holocaust without so much as lifting a finger to help. But, as soon as the scene gets too savage, the butterflies disappear. Similarly, when things get too ugly under Nazi rule, the people who once supported him disappear. Although they are ineffectual, and do little to help, they can no longer stand by and bear witness to the evil savageness of the dictator.