Friday, October 2, 2015

In Lord of the Flies, what do the assembly and killing symbolize? Thanks.

Lord of the Flies is a symbolic
novel, so you're right to assume there is symbolic meaning to the people and events of
the story. By assembly, I assume you mean the initial meeting on the beach the morning
after the boys have landed on the island.  This is a time of relative innocence, when
the boys were still interested, at least a little, in being civilized and following some
basic rules of civilization.  They gather, they listen, they vote, and they decide. 
This meeting is not particularly formal or structured, but it is civilized.  In contrast
is the episode in which Simon is killed.  Here most of the boys have abandoned all
semblance of civilization.  They have become hunters and savages, and they have
certainly given themselves over to their baser (darker, more sinful) natures by this
point in the novel.  It's a picture of how far they've come in their depravity.  The
boys are so consumed with hunting and killing on this stormy night that when Simon--one
of them--enters the circle all they see is prey.  This foreshadows
even worse hunting to come, of course. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comment on the setting and character of "The Fall of the House of Usher."How does setting act as a character?

Excellent observation, as it identifies how the settings of Poe's stories reflect the characters of their protagonists. Whet...