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Post by Maddie Park on Apr 15, 2020 21:27:32 GMT
Piggy's glasses represent the power of knowledge that Piggy has that he was trying to share with the other boys. At the beginning of the novel, the boys use the glasses to make a fire which was a big help and an innovation that would help the survival of the boys. Towards the ending of the book, Jack steals them leading Ralph to go after them. This starts more conflict. It becomes the opposite of what it was in the beginning, hope, and light (literally) to destruction and violence. Not only does Jack have the power to make fire, but it also leaves Ralph's group helpless. "The chief led them trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses."(Golding 155) He being Jack has the ultimate power because he broke the hope of other boys (the glasses) and rules everything.
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Post by Jake Haas on Apr 16, 2020 0:11:26 GMT
In the Lord of The Flies the fire represents hope and determination. The fire represents hope because all the boys want to go home and think the fire could signal a search party to their location. It also shows determination to survive because without the fire the boys would not be able to cook food or stay warm. When the other boys broke off from Ralph's group their was a power struggle and the fire was now a powerful tool on the island. It is needed to survive and the boys will do anything for fire. I think that because the fire shows hope it also shows chaos and many of the problems the boys have on the island are due to the fire.
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Post by Kierra Brown on Apr 16, 2020 0:16:44 GMT
In the novel Lord of the Flies the conch represents order and power on the island because it’s helping create organization but the only one that can basically use the conch are the leaders. At the beginning of the novel Golding describes the conch as an valuable and important object. Golding writes "The shell was interesting and pretty and a worthy plaything... a conch; ever so expensive. I bet if you wanted to buy one, you’d have to pay pounds and pounds and pounds," (16). This shows that since it’s extremely valuable it is going to be very important to the boys and it will be critical to them functioning on the island. Since their so young the boys need some type of authority in order to function good on the island.
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Post by Sienna Johnson on Apr 16, 2020 7:07:25 GMT
The island in the novel is very symbolic, representing almost a Utopia. The island was gorgeous and free of flaws (coincidentally free of humanity as well). Golding implies that it was untouched, ¨...The beach between the palm terrace and the water was a think stick, endless apparently, for to Ralph´s left the perspective of palm and beach and water drew to a point of infinity...¨ (Golding 5). As the story progresses, Golding portrays the island´s deterioration caused by the boys. When they originally crashed, they left a scar disrupting the peaceful state of the island, and beginning its ongoing destruction. Then, they went after the wildlife on the island, leaving a dent in the natural food chain. They proceeded to cause a fire, destroying it even further. This displays that humans are destructive beings and their nature is unforgivable. Before the boys arrived at the island it was pure, innocent. Additionally, it shows that a Utopia or extreme state of perfection is unrealistic and will forever be demolished, if not inflicted by the existence of humans, by simply another being.
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Post by Kylie Fish on Apr 16, 2020 16:44:08 GMT
At the beginning of the book LOTF, the conch represents order, leadership, and law. The conch is described as a beautiful shell with an egg white color. All of the boys admire the shell, and throughout the novel, the boys use it to call meetings/assemblies and talk with each other in an orderly fashion. As the book progresses, the conch slowly starts to lose its value and power, and the same conch that once yielded so much power is destroyed. Along with the destruction of the shell came the loss of what little order/law was left on the island.
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Post by Ella Todd on Apr 16, 2020 16:50:29 GMT
One of the dominant symbols in this book is that of the conch shell. This shell is used to symbolize a structure of government and society for the boys to apply to their lives. At the beginning of the book, the shell is this powerful icon that the boys use to call the others and structure their meetings. They use this shell to decide who is talking and make sure everyone has representation in the decisions while still having an organized group. The boys seem to worship this conch as its purpose is to provide order and a government similar to the one they had back home. ¨And another thing. We can’t have everybody talking at once. We’ll have to have ‘Hands up’ like at school.” “Then I’ll give him the conch. ...I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.”(Golding,33)This not only keeps them from going savage, but it allows them to bring in familiar aspects from their old life to the island to ensure it functions to the best of their ability. Yet, as the leadership is questioned, and the role begins to shift, the importance of the conch dies. Throughout the book, the boys turn more savage, and one of the tipping points is when Ralph acknowledges the uselessness of the shell. ¨Piggy nodded to the conch. ´You could-’´Call an assembly?´Ralph laughed sharply and Piggy frowned. ´You're still chief´ Ralph laughed again¨(Golding,156). Ralph was one of the characters that supported their form of government and pushed for it, even when it wasn't working, so him giving up seems like the final straw. This disregard to the structure they established through their attitude towards the conch shows how the boys are turning violent and controlling. They are almost evil in the sense that they broke down their government which is the structure for society.
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Post by Quinn Wilson on Apr 16, 2020 20:40:31 GMT
In the book the Lord of the Flies the fire represents the boys hope to get off of the island. In the beginning of the book the boys decide to build the fire in hope that a passing boat would see the smoke and come to rescue them. "So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire (Golding, 38)." It was Ralph's idea to build the fire and keep it going to produce smoke. All the other boys agreed and helped Ralph build the fire and keep it going. Though as the boys were trapped on the island longer, the fire seamed to get smaller and smaller until it burned out. Ralph continued to tell the boys to keep the fire going but they had lost interest in the fire. "Look at us? How many are we? And yet we can't keep a fire going to make smoke... we ought to die before we let the fire out (Golding, 88)." The signal fire represented the strength the boys had though out the book. At the beginning of the book the boys were really eager to get off the island and be rescued, thus the fire was always burning and doing well. Though as their time on the island increased the boys lost hope in being rescued and the fire got smaller and died. At the end the fire didn't really mean anything to the boys and most of them forgot about it.
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Post by Cora Meenan on Apr 17, 2020 0:25:36 GMT
In Lord of the Flies, the conch shell found toward the beginning represents order and civility. At first, the shell is described as something beautiful and pristine, “In color, the shell was deep cream, touched here and there with fading pink. Between the point, worn away into a little hole, and the pink lips of the mouth, lay eighteen inches of shell with a slight spiral twist and covered with a delicate, embossed pattern.”(Golding 19). Its call is what ultimately brings the boys together and authority and order are derived from it. Everyone respects what holding the conch means and its influence is what keeps the boys in line. As the book progresses, however, the conch slowly starts to lose its meaning. The respect that it, along with Ralph, whose influence originally stemmed from the conch, is gradually lost to the boy's loss of respect for society and civility. The little meaning it has by Jack's rise to power is only respected by a few of the boys, the ones who arguably still have faith in civilization and have not succumbed to savagery. The conch’s unfortunate destruction along with the death of Piggy, the only boy other than Ralph who truly respected its power throughout the entire book, represents the destruction of any order the boys have left on the island. Additionally, with the death of Piggy and loss of the conch, any authority the Ralph possessed is completely lost in favor of the savage leadership of Jack which embodies the opposite of civility.
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Post by Andrew Weiland on Apr 17, 2020 3:04:09 GMT
The fire in the Lord of the Flies represents hope for the boys. The fire unifies the boys and brings them together as one. As long as the fire is still burning the boys believe that there is a chance that someone will see their fire from a plane and rescue them. Piggy's glasses are all that can make the fire, so whoever has the glasses, has control. Golding wrote, "This was the first time he had admitted the double function of the fire. Certainly one was to send up a beckoning column of smoke; but the other was to be a hearth now and a comfort until they slept." (168) This quote shows that not only does the fire represent hope, but it is also a sign of comfort for the boys.
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Post by Lucas LaBruzzo on Apr 17, 2020 3:11:29 GMT
In Lord of the Flies, Piggy’s glasses symbolize reason. One justification is that Piggy, who the glasses belong to, is extremely intellectual relative to the other boys. While certainly not always true, glasses in the real world are commonly associated by some to be tied to high intellect. In the book, Piggy’s glasses carry a vital importance; due to its ability to start fires. Fire is an essential component of all shown groups on the island; and is the one need the boys have difficulty grasping. Food and fresh water are in abundance; even the shelters did not take incredibly long to construct. Ralph’s group needs fire, and thus the glasses, to make a smoke signal and be rescued. Jack’s group too relies on the glasses, as they enable their society based largely on hunting to exist; “‘But tomorrow we’ll hunt and when we’ve got meat we’ll have a feast-’ Bill put up his hand. ‘Chief.’ ‘Yes?’ ‘What’ll we use for lighting the fire?’” (Golding, 226). The glasses fulfill the greatest needs of the island; and ultimately cause conflict due to there being only one pair. In the beginning, there exist no troubles with Piggy’s glasses, and society largely functions as normal. However, there lies a noticeable trend of when Piggy’s glasses, aka reason, deteriorate, so does the stability and civility of the island. For example, once Piggy’s glasses are ultimately broken near the end of the book, numerous violent events occur such as the death of Piggy, torture of Sam and Eric, and the vehement manhunt to kill Ralph and display his head as a trophy.
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Post by Rachel Thomas on Apr 17, 2020 3:13:54 GMT
Throughout the book, the fire changes depending on the mood and livability of the island. I think it represent hope in the way that it was able to increase their chances of survival and helps them stay more positive, especially at night. When the fire was dying, they were struggling to find motivation, and when it was stolen by the other group, times were tough. Ralph encourages the little boys when he says "'The fire's the most important thing. Without the fire we can't be rescued." because they build the fire, so they can get rescued, and when its thriving, they feel their chances are greater. Another part of me also feels the fire represents society throughout the book on the island, and real life. When the fire is more controlled, even though its not crazy high it will get attention from passing ships, represents a balanced society that is independent enough or a semblance of survival, but can also get help from other people. Whereas when it is out of control, taking over the forest, they are pretty much going crazy, like a society going into chaos, and when its dying, they're society is really far out of balance.
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Post by benjkoller on Apr 17, 2020 4:18:37 GMT
In Lord of the Flies, the conch is a shell that is found at he beginning of the novel and remains throughout. The conch symbolises democracy and power as one is only allowed to speak when he holds the shell. “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.” (Golding 33). The conch is a shell that has a deep cream colour. The purpose of it is o show a sense of normalcy in their messed up world however the shell begins to lose its influence when jack splits off. This can very compared to a (presidential, for example) democracy in real life where if the president stays in office too long, he will become to accustomed to his power and will want more and more, descending into chaos. This happens in LOTF when the boys Begin to disrespect the conch and the island slowly starts to descend into a chaotic state.
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Post by Gina Meyer on Apr 17, 2020 4:53:33 GMT
I think that the fire is a symbol of hope. The fire is on the mountain where it can be seen by passing ships and it is very large so it can be spotted from a distance. At the beginning of the novel, the fire is described as beautiful and good, but as the novel comes to an end it turns into destructive descriptions. The purpose of the fire in the book was to help the boys be rescued by passing ships. At the beginning of the book, Golding writes, “There’s another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire.”(ch 2). Then near the end of the book, the author writes, "Ralph mentioned, 'But I've done nothing, I only wanted to keep a fire,"(ch 7). These quotes show the transition of the fire throughout the novel from good and hope to disaster and savagry. When the boys start to follow Jack, who has different perspectives on the fire, the good representation of the fire seems to start to disappear.
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Post by Daniel Nguyen on Apr 17, 2020 7:21:33 GMT
Piggy's glasses represent the power of intelligence in society. Piggy is the smartest and most resourceful person in LOTF. His glasses were used to make a fire and helped him see, when the other boys took his glasses, the ability to make a fire was stripped away from Ralph and his boys. Piggy also lost his ability to see and that affected his ability to comprehend things. Piggy's glasses were dirty but were still working and in good condition, at the end of the novel, where there was only chaos and no order, his glasses were broken and shattered. Its purpose is to show how getting rid of our intelligence and ability to think rationally causes chaos.
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Post by Joey Allen on Apr 17, 2020 9:23:16 GMT
The island represents the earth in a way, it being the only thing that the boys have to survive on. The earth is what we all live on, obviously but in the case of the book, all we ever know is the island outside of stories and memories from the other boys. This also means that the boys are all living close, and have nowhere to go if something goes south, so the island in a sense is shrunk-down earth. "On the other side of the island, swathed at midday with mirage...one might dream of rescue; but here, faced by the brute obtuseness of the ocean, the miles of division, one was clamped down, one was helpless, one was condemned, one was---" (Golding 111). Ralph, in this case, is thinking about what life would be like elsewhere now, but knowing that there is no hope for their rescue, is facing a hardship. Even linking back with the people on the island, almost every character in the book can be linked with someone who has made a dent in history by their actions, in a good or bad way. and like the earth, the people on this island are slowly exterminating it. This being by hunting, or the inhumane actions like the pike with the boar head at the garden, it shows how every character has a roll in slowly killing this island; how we are killing the earth with our actions.
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