Darkness In Lord Of The Flies Symbolism Essay Example

Have you ever wondered how Golding is portraying humanity in The Lord of the Flies? This topic has been argued over for many years. The Hunters Tribe, Conch Tribe, the Littluns, and the Adult World all show darkness in their daily lives. When distinguishing darkness from lightness in The Lord of the Flies, it is darkness that is more prominent throughout the story. 

In The Lord of the Flies, the Hunters Tribe has killed Simon, Piggy, and have plotted to kill Ralph. Simon was killed while trying to tell everyone about the beast. “Only the beast lay still, a few yards from the sea. Even in the rain they could see how small a beast it was; and already its blood was staining the sand.” (Golding 152). Roger, who is a part of the Hunters Tribe, purposely killed Piggy. “His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pig’s after it has been killed.” (Golding 181). Jack and his tribe conspired to find and kill Ralph. “They hate you, Ralph. They’re going to do you. They’re going to hunt you tomorrow.” (Golding 188). Darkness is shown in the Hunters Tribe because they were savages who wanted to kill and destroy.

The Conch tribe also shows darkness by joining Jack’s tribe, the Hunter tribe, and participating in some of his immoral events. Some members of the conch tribe, including; Sam and Eric, Bill, and other littluns, went to join Jack’s party instead of staying with Ralph and his tribe. “Where’s everybody? Where’s Samneric? And Bill? Piggy pointed beyond the platform. That’s where they’ve gone. Jack’s party.” (Golding 148). Another example of darkness in the conch tribe is when everyone joins in the dance, which is associated with Simon’s death. “The littluns ran and jumped on the outside of the circle. Piggy and Ralph found themselves eager to take a place.” (Golding 152). When members of the conch tribe are given a choice to join the hunting tribe, some willingly leave for more excitement. “The fire—rescue. Who’ll join my tribe? I will. Me. I will.” (Golding 151). All of these examples show how darkness is found in the conch tribe.

Darkness is shown in the Littluns and the Adult World. The littluns are afraid of the beastie that turns into vines in the forest; fear is a trait of darkness. “He says in the morning it turned into them things like ropes in the trees and hung in the branches. He says will it come back tonight?” (Golding 36). Simon talks with the lord of the flies, and the he tells Simon that the others have evil inside of them. “There was blackness within, a blackness that spread. We shall do you? See? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph. Do you. See?” (Golding 144). The Adult World is not any lighter than the rest. In the story, they are in the middle of a war. “but there were other lights in the sky, that moved fast, winked, or went out, though not even a faint popping came down from the battle fought at ten miles’ height. But a sign came down from the world of grown-ups, though at the time there was no child awake to read it.” (Golding 95) This shows that adults are no different from children in this book.

As you can see, the Hunters tribe, the Conch tribe, the Littluns, and the Adult world all show darkness throughout the book. The Hunters tribe kill people; the Conch tribe joins the evil side; the Littluns fear the beastie and see that there is evil inside of the others; the adults are fighting in a war. You should strive to be better than these boys by seeking out light and not darkness.