Abstract

Lord of the Flies is the masterpiece of the famous contemporary British novelist William Golding, which occupies an important position in English literature. The story of the novel originates in nuclear war and the two world wars, especially the second world war, which triggers the thoughts of the humanity that are the sources of writer’s creation. The novel is aimed at reveal the darkness of the humanity by analyzing the living conditions of the boys in the islet. In this thesis, it mainly focuses on the actual use of the symbolism. Firstly, it analyzes symbolism reflected in the material objects, such as the conch、Piggy’s glasses; Secondly, it starts with the inner link between the characters and specifically elaborates the symbolism reflected in the characters; Last but not least, it points out that the darkness of humanity is the origin that results in the civilization and barbarization, goodness and evilness, rationality and irrationality.

Key words: lord of the flies;symbolism;human nature

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1.Introduction1

2.Introduction of the Novel and the Writer2

2.1 Brief introduction on Lord of the Flies.2

2.2 Introduction of William Golding.3

3.Background Information of the Novel3

3.1 The Social background of World War.4

3.2 The introduction of symbolism.4

4. Analysis of the Symbolism of the Novel6

4.1 Symbolism reflected in the material objects.6

4.1.1Fire: symbolism of hope and civilization6

4.1.2 Conch: symbolism of authority and democracy.7

4.1.3 Wild animal: symbolism of darkness of people’s mind7

4.2 Symbolism reflected in the characters.8

4.2.1 Ralph: symbolism of leader8

4.2.2 Jack: symbolism of autarchy9

4.2.3 Piggy: symbolism of reason.9

5. Conclusion10 

References.11