Discussion of Symbolism

First, it must be understood that the boys’ lives on the island represent a world-wide society. Although one cannot be sure of Golding’s motives for choosing the island setting, it was probably because it works best to have the characters isolated, where the laws of their governments cannot reach them. Also, why did Golding choose children instead of adolescents, or even adults? Most likely because children have not yet been fully conditioned by society to understand right from wrong, and thus in this ignorance, most of them are guided by their instinct and what is inherent within them. If older, more knowledgeable characters were chosen, the events of the novel may not occur as they do.

With that being said, here is a list of the symbols used in the novel and their significance to the theme, and each other:

The Beast
Ralph
Jack
Piggy
The Conch
The Signal Fire
Piggy's Specs
The Lord of the Flies