In William Golding's allegory, Lord of the
Flies, Ralph and Piggy represent civilized man with the conch as symbol that
calls the boys to meetings held with parliamentary proceedings while Piggy's glasses are
symbolic of his high rationality. On the other hand, the leader of the boys' choir that
originally have worn black robes and hats has descended to wearing painted masks and
carrying spears. The spear of Jack represents his savage nature that advocates beatings
for the boys who do not comply with orders. In addition, the spear symbolizes the evil
that man does when the controls of civilization are released. In Chapter Nine, for
instance, when Simon crawls out of the forest, the hunters chant "Kill the
beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" and they circle around him as "the
sticks fell and the mouth of the new circle crunched and
screamed."
When the hunters do kill a pig, they cut its
head and impale it on a stick, leaving it, as pagans might do, as an offering to the
"beast." It is this impaled pig's head that transforms into the "lord of the flies"
that has spoken to Simon. Later, when the hunters search for Ralph, they poke their
spears through the bushes, hoping to stick Ralph. Finally, the spear represents also
Jack's fixation with hunting, a fixation that leads not only to his neglecting the
rescue fire, but also to the bestial anarchy and destruction of the beautiful
island.
No comments:
Post a Comment