English 10name:

Mrs. Sharpperiod:

Lord of the Flies

Interpreting Symbolism: Chapters 1-4

Some critics believe that in Lord of the Flies, the ship is an important symbol. Read the following quotations from Chapter 4, which mention the ship, then note on the chart how the character involved feels about the ship. The first one is done for you as an example.

THE SHIP

Passage from the Text / How the Character Feels/What the Symbol Implies
Ralph continued to watch the ship, ravenously. Color was coming back into his face. Simon stood by him, silent. (66) / Ralph: stunned, craving rescue, hopeful
Simon: shocked, disbelieving, stunned into silence
Symbolizes: home, rescue, hope, life
“You tell me,” said Piggy anxiously. “Is there a signal?” Ralph looked back at the dispersing smoke in the horizon, then up at the mountain. (67) / Piggy:
Ralph:
Symbolizes:
Ralph ran stumbling along the rocks; saved himself on the edge of the pink cliff, and screamed at the ship. “Come back! Come back!” He ran backwards and forwards along the cliff, his face always to the sea, and his voice rose insanely. “Come back! Come back!"(68) / Ralph:
Symbolizes:
The hunters were more silent now, but at this [blood] they buzzed again. Ralph flung back his hair. One arm pointed at the empty horizon. His voice was loud and savage, and struck them into silence. “There was a ship.” Jack, faced at once with too many awful implications, ducked away from them. (70) / Ralph:
Jack:
Symbolizes:
Ralph brought his arm down, fist clenched, and his voice shook. “There was a ship. Out there. You said you’d keep the fire going and you let it out!” He took a step toward Jack who turned and faced him. “They might have seen us. We might have gone home –“This was too bitter for Piggy, who forgot his timidity in the agony of his loss. He began to cry out, shrilly: You and your blood, Jack Merridew! You and your hunting! We might have gone home –” (70) / Ralph:
Piggy:
Symbolizes:
“There was a ship—“One of the smaller hunters began to wail. The dismal truth was filtering through to everybody. Jack when very red as he hacked and pulled at the pig. “The job was too much. We needed everyone.” (71) / Hunters:
Jack:
Symbolizes:

Based on the evidence, what do you think the ship is intended to represent? Explain.

Some critics do not see the ship in this way; rather, they believe the fire is the main symbol for the boys’ connection to civilization. Create a chart (similar the one about the ship) analyzing the possibly symbolic meaning of fire in the text.For each quotation, analyze how the character involved feels about the fire and/or what the fire could represent.

THE FIRE

Passage from the Text / How the Character Feels/What the Symbol Implies
Ralph reached inside for the worst word he knew. “They let the bloody fire go out.” (68) / Ralph:
Symbolizes:
…a tiny flame appeared. The flam, nearly invisible at first in that bright sunlight, enveloped a small twig, grew, was enriched with color and reached up to a branch which exploded with a sharp crack. The flame flapped higher and the boys broke into a cheer. (41) / the boys:
Symbolizes:
The flames, as though they were a kind of wild life, crept as a jaguar creeps on its belly toward a line of birch –like saplings that fledged an outcrop of the pink rock. They flapped at the first of the trees, and the branches grew a brief foliage of fire. The heart of flame leapt nimbly across the gap between the trees and then went swinging and flaring along the whole row of them. Beneath the capering boys a quarter of a mile square of forest was savage with smoke and flame. (44) / the flames:
Symbolizes:
Piggy stood up and pointed to the smoke and flames…. The crowd was as silent as death. “Him that talked about snakes. He was down there –.” A tree exploded in the fire like a bomb. Tall swathes of creepers rose for a moment into view, agonized, and went down again. The little boys screamed at them. “Snakes! Snakes! Look at the snakes!” (46) / Piggy:
the fire:
Symbolizes:
The fire was dead. They saw that straightaway… (67) / the fire symbolizes:
Before these fantastically attractive flowers of violet and red and yellow, unkindness melted away. They became a circle of boys round a camp fire and even Piggy and Ralph were half-drawn in. (73) / the fire symbolizes:

Based on the evidence, what do you think the fire is intended to represent? Explain.