Karunan 1!

Saran Karunan
Mr. Mark Cooprider
British Literature
18 September 2015
Social Values and Hierarchy as a Social Allegory in Lord of the Flies
Social values and social order is all around us. Its everywhere and we see it every day.
Social values and order are a quintessential part of keeping a society intact and free from distress in
our modern world. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the author uses a social allegory to
represent modern day society. His use of extensive symbolism and deep meaning in characters,
locations, and objects enhances the social allegory seen in the book. Lord of the Flies by William
Golding can undoubtedly be interpreted as a social allegory relating to modern day society and
civilization as a whole. Through various symbols such as the dead parachuter, the conch, and
Piggys glasses, Golding reveals and points to modern day social corruption, extortion, and
repercussions.
The dead parachuter has significant symbolism and a sense of dramatic irony which reveals
humanitys fear and the consequences of social issues in the world today. For example, [When] the
figure fell and crumbled among the blue flowers of the mountainside (119), it is literally a dead
body falling from the sky. This can be interpreted as a waste product of humanity, carelessly
taking lives with no justification. The parachuter is falling from the sky from the air battle above,
just like he is being thrown down straight into a garbage can - a waste product. Even the reaction
of the kids says it all: There were eyesteethclaws (124). Humanitys fear of the unknown is
clearly shown here as the kids become frightened and scared for their lives after their imagination
drives them wild. They even refer to the dead parachuter as the beast. However, later in the book,
as one of the boys: Simon, takes a closer look, while throwing away his fear, saw a humped
thing suddenly sit on the top and look down at him (181). While holding his fear and taking a close
look, he realized that it is just one of his own kind - a human being. Humans fear the unknown and

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when we are drowned in fear and taste death, we do not see the truth or accept other explanations.
Simons revelation is dramatic irony, as the reader knew all along that he was just a dead parachuter,
but the reader experienced seeing the boys reaction and that revealed humanitys flaws and fear.
The conch symbolizes social order and democracy for the boys. The conch represents
something like a microphone - the ability to talk for all to hear. The power and the authority of the
conch are revealed when Piggy says, I got the conchyou let me speak! (58). Piggy is viewed as
a genuinely caring and kind character, and to see him exclaim for his right to speak while holding
the conch goes to show how the conch is a figure of authority to speak. Towards the end of the
story, The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist (260). This event
in the story is highly symbolic of the transition from social order and democracy to a dictatorship by
one of the other tribes of the boys. The destruction of the conch results in Ralph running for his life
knowing that there is no more social order and its now just open killing time. Before the
destruction of the conch there was at least a sense of social order and rules, but ever since the conch
was destroyed, order ceased to be in practice.
Piggys glasses represent magnified thoughts, a pure, crisp vision of the world and power.
Piggy is a character with a sense of maturity and he thinks before he acts, unlike the other boys.
Piggy with his glasses, always seems to see the positive side and comes up with ideas which the
other boys cannot think of. In addition, Piggys glasses, along with the conch, symbolize power.
With the conch, it was the power of speech, the right to speak when holding it. Piggys glasses,
however, result in the power to make fire, and with that, a hope of getting rescued. Despite this,
Jacks tribe wants to take Piggys glasses to make fire for cooking meat. In the dead of night, Jack
and his tribe steal Piggys glasses when, From [Jacks] left hand dangled Piggys broken
glasses (207), and with it; the power to make fire. Later in the story, Piggys death is quite ironic
and shows the power of his glasses. When Piggy tries to retrieve his glasses from the hunters, he
ends up getting killed by a boulder which was rolling down the hill. Piggy was not wearing his
glasses so he couldnt see, this shows the significance of Piggys glasses. If he was wearing it, he

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might have been able to get out of the way. Without it, he doesnt have magnified thoughts,
intelligence or a pure, crisp vision of the world.
William Goldings Lord of the Flies is a terrific example of a social allegory and reveals
modern day social issues and human greed and fear. The dead parachuter, the conch, and Piggys
glasses are all ways in which Golding shows the struggle of society through fear, struggle for power
of speech, and intelligence and maturity. The dead parachuter, viewed to the young boys as the
beast shows humanitys fear of the unknown and childrens imaginations driving them insane to
believe things which do not simply exist. The conch, the symbol of command, gives the boys the
ability to speak in turn, allowing all voices to be heard, as in a modern day democracy. However, as
corruption occurs, people speak out of turn, as some of the boys interrupted each other, when not
holding the conch. Finally, Piggys glasses show the greed of humans to take others belongings just
for more power. In the story, Piggys glasses gave him a clear vision and also the ability to make a
signal fire to get rescued. However, the hunters had other plans to use the fire, and as a result, stole
Piggys glasses, eventually leading to his ironic yet desolate death. Lord of the Flies is a perfect
reflection of modern day social corruption, violence for power, and consequences of our actions
which may eventually lead to our doom.

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Works Cited
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber, 2012. Print.