摘 要

《蝇王》是英国著名小说家威廉.戈尔丁的代表作之一。戈尔丁在许多作品中强调“人性恶”的主题，而在小说《蝇王》中，戈尔丁使用了大量的象征来表现这一主题。本文旨在具体分析作品中一些典型人物和实物的象征意义，并进而探究作者是如何通过这些象征意象来深化主题的。

关键词：《蝇王》； 象征主义；人物；实物

Contents

1. Introduction------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1
2. Demonstration---------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
   1. A brief introduction to symbolism--------------------------------------------------------2
   2. Symbolic meaning of characters--------------------------------------------------------3

2.2.1 Ralph—symbol of democracy and civilization-----------------------------3

2.2.2 Piggy—symbol of sense and wisdom----------------------------------------5

2.2.3 Jack—symbol of savage and despotism----------------------------------------------6

2.2.4 Ralph—symbol of accomplice and executioner -------------------------------------7

2.2.5 Simon—symbol of saint and hope---------------------------------------------8

2.3 Symbolic meanings of objects-------------------------------------------------------------9

2.3.1 The symbolic meaning of the shell------------------------------------------------------9

2.3.2 The symbolic meaning of the fire------------------------------------------------------10

2.3.3 The symbolic meaning of the beast----------------------------------------------------11

3. Conclusion-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------11

Works Cited-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12

Bibliography-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------13

A Study of Symbolism in Lord of the Flies

1. Introduction

It is world-widely acknowledged that William Golding (1911~1994) is one of the greatest novelists in Britain. Born in an intellectual family in Cornwall, England, Golding loved literature since he was a child and he began to write at 7 years old. Golding’s father, who was obsessed with knowledge and exploration, was the local school headmaster and scholar. He was extremely enthusiastic about politics and believed in science. Golding’s mother advocated women’s suffrage rights. Golding inherited his father’s open and rational nature.

Golding spent a peaceful and lonely childhood in this typical English middle class family. When he was 12, he tried the novel creation. He planned to write a great novel about the union movement, but it was unfortunately not accomplished. In 1932 he began to study English literature in Oxford. He devoted himself to the study of the Anglo-Saxon history, which had a great influence on his later literary creation. In 1934, Golding’s debut Poem was published. It displayed his writing talent.

The outbreak of the Second World War broke his peaceful life. In 1940 Golding joined the British Royal Navy to attend the war. As the commander of the battleship, he personally fought many memorable battles. After the war, Golding retired in 1945 and returned to the mission school to teach English literature and kept on writing in spare time. His view of human beings was completely changed. He started writing novels. In 1954, he published his first novel Lord of the Flies, which won him great reputation. Hereafter, he published many works such as The Inheritor(1955), Pincher Martin(1956), The Brass Butterfly(1958), Free Fall(1959), The Spire(1964), The Hot Gates(1965), Darkness Visible(1979), A Moving Target(1982), The Paper Man(1984), Rites of Passage(1980), Close Quarters(1987), Fire Down Below(1989). In addition, he also wrote some scripts, proses and short stories. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature for his novel Lord of the Flies.

Lord of the Flies, as Golding’s most famous novel, has been put in a very high place both at home and abroad. The story highlighted the constantly delved theme—the struggle between human natural savage and civilized rationality. In this novel, Golding mainly described a story about a group of children who were stranded on a small island. At first, the children could face difficulties together. However, they gradually split into two camps because of the fear of the beast. Under the pressure of survival and hunger, the children’s original savage and cruel nature was exposed. They at first hunted and killed animals, and then they became bloodthirsty and mutilated their compatriots. Their humanity became evil step by step.