2.2 Object symbolism
Symbolism in this novel is not the traditional symbol used only as rhetoric. Instead, it is a modern civilization feature that reflects the characteristics of modern literature. Except the character symbolism, one more symbolism in interpretation of human darkness is object symbolism. Actually, every object in Lord of Flies has its symbolic meaning.
2.2.1 Conch in the interpretation of human darkness
Conch first was found by Piggy and Ralph. It represents civilization and democracy. Ralph first blows the conch to call all the other boys on the island together to form a civilization. All the boys then vote him as the leader because he called them together and they all see Jack as an unattractive threat. The boys then use the conch as a right to speak. “Ralph smiled and held up the conch for silence.” [5] Throughout the novel, Piggy holds on to the conch and encourages Ralph and others to use it at times when Piggy feels that civilization is being lost. Ralph, Piggy and Sam ’n Eric arrive at Castle Rock to claim Piggy’s glasses. Ralph again tries the conch one more time to bring the “savages” back to form a civilization. However this fails, and instead Ralph argues with Jack. Piggy tries one more time to use the conch as a right to speak. Finally, at the height of this argument, Roger levers a boulder off the rock which kills Piggy and smashes the conch. The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Therefore, all hope of civilization is lost. Ralph and Piggy discover the conch shell on the beach at the start of the novel and use it to summon the boys together after the crash separates them. Used in this capacity, the conch shell becomes a powerful symbol of civilization and order in the novel. The shell effectively governs the boys’ meetings, for the boy who holds the shell holds the right to speak. In this regard, the shell is more than a symbol—it is an actual vessel of political legitimacy and democratic power. As the island civilization erodes and the boys descend into savagery, the conch shell loses its power and influence among them, which is mirrored by its physical condition. As the story progresses the conch begins to lose its color as its influence begins to wane, all the way until it becomes colorless before it is finally destroyed. Ralph clutches the shell desperately when he talks about his role in murdering Simon. Later, the other boys ignore Ralph and throw stones at him when he attempts to blow the conch in Jack’s camp. The boulder that Roger rolls onto Piggy also crushes the conch shell, signifying the demise of the civilized instinct among almost all the boys on the island.
2.2.2 Pig's head in the interpretation of human darkness
One of the most important and most obvious symbols in Lord of the Flies is the object that gives the novel its name, the pig's head. Golding’s description of the slaughtered animal’s head on a spear is very graphic and even frightening. The pig’s head is depicted as “dim-eyed, grinning faintly, blood blackening between the teeth,” and the “obscene thing” is covered with a “black blob of flies” that “tickled under his nostrils.” [5] As a result of this detailed, striking image, the reader becomes aware of the great evil and darkness represented by the Lord of the Flies, and when Simon begins to converse with the seemingly inanimate, devil-like object, the source of that wickedness is revealed. Even though the conversation may be entirely a hallucination, Simon learns that the beast, which has long since frightened the other boys on the island, is not an external force. In fact, the head of the slain pig tells him, “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I'm part of you?”[5] That is to say, the evil, epitomized by the pig’s head, that is causing the boys’ island society to decline is that which is inherently present within man. At the end of this scene, the immense evil represented by this powerful symbol can once again be seen as Simon faints after looking into the wide mouth of the pig and seeing “blackness within, a blackness that spread.”[5]
2.2.3 Marks in the interpretation of human darkness
The degeneration of the boys’ way of life is also very evident through the symbolic masks. When concealed by masks of clay paint, the hunters, especially Ralph, seem to have new personalities as they forget the taboos of society that once restrained them from giving in to their natural urges. For example, when Jack first paints his face to his satisfaction, he suddenly becomes a new, savage person. Certainly, Jack would not have acted in such a way if he had been in his home society, but behind the mask of paint, Jack feels free to act like a savage. It is also noteworthy, that the first mask that Jack creates is red, white, and black. These colors archetypically symbolize violence, terror, and evil, respectively, and in this novel, Golding uses these colors to illustrate those characteristics that are inherently evil present in humans. The feeling of liberation that results from wearing the masks allows many of the boys to participate in the barbaric, inhumane pig hunts. Those hunts can be interpreted as symbolizing the boys' primal urges or even anarchy. In fact, many of the boys become so engulfed in their quest for the blood of a pig that they seem to forget about their hopes of returning to civilization and neglect to keep the signal fire burning. When Ralph tries to explain how important the signal fire is, Jack and the other hunters are still occupied with thoughts of the successful, gruesome hunt in which they just participated. Also during a later celebration over another successful hunt, the boys become carried away while reenacting the slaughter. However, the boys have become so much like savages that they are unable to control themselves, and for a moment, they mistake Simon for the beast. As a result of their uncontrolled urges, the boys soon kill one of their own.
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