Lord of The Flies Essay

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Zhanna Cadwalader
Dr. Davis
English 2, Period 6b
18 October 2012
Accepting Peace
According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.” What Ralph Waldo is trying to say is that building a civilization cannot be reached through violence but can only be accomplished through accepting each other. In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding civilization is important because the boys have to create a community by working together and not by employing violence towards each other. In the story, Lord of the Flies, Golding utilize symbolism by demonstrating the importance of civilization through elements, such as the conch, Piggy’s specs, and the signal fire.
The conch is used as a tool of power contributing to Ralph’s leadership role and the formation of democracy on the island. Ralph states, “‘We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us”’ (16). This symbolizes Ralph’s leadership. The conch brings all of the boys together and makes Ralph the manager of the boys because he is elected for blowing and bringing them together as a community. Another example of the conch’s power is to stress democracy. Ralph states to the boys, “‘That’s what this shell’s called. I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking”’ (33). The conch is used when Ralph sets the rules for the island, and it symbolizes democracy because Ralph uses it to make sure that all the boys will be treated equally and fairly. He wants everyone to have a chance to be heard. Ralph’s leadership role and democracy on the island are two big elements that create a civilization on the island by using the conch.
Next is the symbol of knowledge and attachment to the community, Piggy’s specs. Golding, describing Piggy, writes, “He came forward, searching out safe lodgments for his feet, and then looked up through thick spectacles” (7). Intelligence is within Piggy and he always seems to know all the great ideas although he is not given credit for them. He brings the boys together telling Ralph to blow into the conch. Another example is when the boys use Piggy’s specs to light the fire. Jack pointing towards Piggy says, “‘His specs-use them as burning glasses!”’ (40). The boys are unable to start the fire using sticks or stones, but they simply light it when they use Piggy’s glasses to direct the sunlight onto the pile of wood. Piggy’s specs symbolize his attachment to the community because he makes a contribution to the group. He normally cannot help in ways that involve physical activity because of his weight and asthma; so allowing the boys to use his glasses shows that he can still help them in their attempts to be rescued. Knowledge and Piggy’s attachment to the community are other elements that create a civilization on the island.
Using Piggy’s specs a fire arose giving the boys hope of being
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