A boy in the class asked why Poe just didn’t say what he meant instead of hiding the meaning in symbols and metaphors. I’m sure we’ve all felt the same way at some point. But the answer to that boy’s question was that the story would be really dry and boring.

Symbolism is one of many literary devices used not only to bring more meaning to a story but also to make it more captivating.

If you have trouble writing about literary symbols, or even finding them in the first place, you’re not alone. Plenty of students are in the same boat. But don’t worry, I’m here to help you navigate through the rough seas of symbol-searching.

What Is Symbolism?

The first thing we have to talk about is what symbolism and symbols mean.

Put simply, literary symbols are objects, actions, places, words, colors, and sometimes characters that signify something different from their original meaning. Symbolism, then, is the use of symbols within a story.

Symbols exist everywhere, even outside of literature. Think about the American flag, for instance. The 13 stripes on the flag symbolize, or represent, the original 13 colonies, while the stars represent each of the current 50 states.

Wedding ceremonies are also loaded with symbolism.

The rings represent the lasting commitment the couple vows toward one another. Some people have knot-tying, sand-pouring, or candle-lighting traditions that symbolize the way two lives are becoming one through the marriage.

It works the same way in literature. Authors may choose to make up their own unique symbols or use some more common ones.

70 Common Literary Symbols

Most authors use some common symbols within their texts.

Using symbols people already know helps readers realize what the symbols represent without the need for much more explanation. It keeps the story or poem more succinct, understandable, and enjoyable to read.

Below are some of the most common literary symbols, separated by category.

It’s important to note that, just because authors use a color or an object in their writing, it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a symbol. They could be describing the colors of a sunset for imagery purposes instead.

I know—confusing, right? So how are you supposed to know when something represents a bigger idea or when it’s just part of the prose?

How to Tell When Something Is Really a Symbol

Now that you have an idea of what symbolism is and what a few of the most common literary symbols are, it’s time for the hard part—identifying the symbols within the book, play, or poem you’re reading.

Hopefully, these next few pointers will make the process easier.

1. Look at descriptions

If a character is always dressed in purple clothing and wearing a crown, these items probably symbolize the character’s power, wealth, and royal status. If the items disappear later in the story, you can see the character might have lost power and royal status.

Colors, numbers, objects, and names can all be literary symbols. And if certain descriptions of objects appear regularly throughout the text, they’re probably symbols.

2. Look for repetition

Symbols hardly ever appear just once. Think about The Sixth Sense. In that movie, whenever a ghost is about to appear or is in the scene, the color red is always present. If this just happened once or twice, it probably wouldn’t mean much.

But the fact that it happens every time makes it symbolic. The same thing happens in literature. If a character only appears at night (think vampires) throughout the book, the character probably represents some evil or mystery.

3. Pay attention to the turning points in a story

When a symbol does only appear once or twice in a story, it’ll be around the turning points. Think about a rainbow after a large storm. The characters may have struggled through the storm, but the rainbow symbolizes hope and peace.

Thus, turning points are your cue to pay attention. If there’s a dramatic shift in the tone or plot, you can probably find a symbol or two in the text.

Writing About Literary Symbols With Confidence

Writing with confidence about any literary device can be challenging. But there are a few ways that can help.

First, do your research.

If you just can’t find any literary symbols in the book or poem you’re reading, find out what others are saying about it. There are websites where you can find the common symbols in many popular stories. Kibin’s a pretty valuable resource too. Just look at these posts:

• 4 Tips for Dissecting Symbolism in The Scarlet Letter
• 3 Smart Ideas for Your Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Analysis
• Lord of the Flies Symbolism: 3 Ideas for Your Essay

There’s also Kibin posts that address the symbolism in Beowulf, On the Road by Jack Kerouac, The Grapes of Wrath, Araby by James Joyce, Frankenstein, and The Great Gatsby. Need some general advice on writing a literary analysis? We’ve got you covered there too.

You’ll want to use your own evidence, however. Plagiarism is a big no-no. It can hurt not only your grades but also your credibility.

Using another source to find out what symbols are present in your book is not plagiarism as long as you gather the evidence from the text yourself and write about it using your own words and ideas.

Finally, it all comes down to practice. You won’t feel confident the very first time. But the more you look for, analyze, and write about literary symbols, the easier it gets.

Lean On Us for More Confidence

Whether it’s your first or 91st time writing about literary symbols, you may still not be 100% sure about your analysis. That’s perfectly normal.

Fortunately, the team of Kibin editors is here to make sure your writing flows and that you have enough support to back up your claims.

With their help, you can be completely confident about your essay.

Stuck on Your Analytical Essay?

Check Out These Example Analytical Essays

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And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.

The officer, surrounded by these noises, was moved and a little embarrassed. He turned away to give them time to pull themselves together; and waited, allowing his eyes to rest on the trim cruiser in the distance.

You read these last few sentences, close your copy of Lord of the Flies and think, “Man… That was intense.”

I have to admit that I have a soft spot for this novel. Every time I read it — which has been more than I can count on one hand — I see some new symbol I never thought about before.

So while it may be a lot to wrap your head around on the first readthrough, I’m going to help by explaining seven different symbols and grouping them into three Lord of the Flies symbolism ideas to help get you started on your essay.

Why Your Teacher Assigned This Book

You have to do a lot of reading for school, and sometimes the books your instructor assigns seem a little pointless. I’m sure that he or she actually has reason for assigning every book, but there is so much value in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies that the reasons you’re reading it should be obvious by the time you are done.

The first reason your instructor assigned you this book is because of its profound theme. The novel’s main theme is one that touches on the human condition: the struggle between civilization and savagery. What do seemingly civilized people, children in this case, do when there are no more concrete rules to govern them?

Furthermore, your instructor probably assigned you to read Lord of the Flies to get you thinking more about symbolism. Almost everything you come across, from the characters to the setting to the various objects, are symbols for something.

Before I give you an example of some of this Lord of the Flies symbolism, I will first give you a more in-depth description of what symbolism is.

What Is Symbolism?

Symbolism, simply put, is any concrete person, place, or object that represents a more abstract idea. In Lord of the Flies, different characters represent different concepts such as leadership and order (Ralph), intelligence and reason (Piggy), kindness (Simon), and savagery (Jack).

There are examples of symbolism in real life too. Some see a crown as a symbol of power, and a lion as a symbol of bravery or courage.

If this symbolism thing is still escaping you, read the following Lord of the Flies symbolism examples. They’ll really help you get the picture.

3 Lord of the Flies Symbolism Ideas

You, of course, don’t have to use the examples listed below. They’re here for example and inspiration purposes. You can group them however you want. You can choose to focus on one symbol or even write about all of these Lord of the Flies symbolism examples in one essay if you want — though that would probably be a really long essay.

Whichever way you cut it, these symbolism examples will give you a good starting point.

Evil Within: The Beast and The Lord of the Flies

The Beast and the Lord of the Flies are interconnected in this novel. The Beast is just a made-up monster that no one actually sees. At first, most of the boys shrug off the Beast, but as they fall further from civilization, they put more faith in it.

The Beast is a symbol for the evil and malice that reside within everyone, and it gets more powerful as the boys succumb to their savagery.

LOTF Symbolism Idea #1: The Beast is a symbol for the evil and malice that reside within everyone.
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Jack’s savage group ends up making an offering to the Beast in the form of the Lord of the Flies — a pig’s head on a spike.

This shows not only how much the boys believe in the Beast (enough to make it an offering), but also how savage they have become (killing a pig and putting its head on a spike).

Simon is the only character who recognizes that the Beast is the evil inside them, and he’s the one who starts hearing the Lord of the Flies talk to him, evoking a great sense of fear.

The Beast and the Lord of the Flies end up becoming symbols for the same thing — the Beast as a mental manifestation and the Lord of the Flies as a physical manifestation of the evil and darkness within everyone.

The Conch Shell, Fire and Piggy’s Glasses: Rise and Fall of Order/Civilization

The conch shell symbolizes order and civilization. Piggy quickly recognizes what the conch shell is and how to make sound from it, and it is Ralph that makes the most use of it.

In the beginning, all of the boys agree to meet whenever the conch sounds and that whoever is holding the conch in meetings is the one who gets to speak. The conch shell is destroyed by the boulder that also kills Piggy. This incident symbolizes the fall of order and civilization on the island.

Similarly, the signal fire represents the hold that order and civilization have over the boys on the island. At first, when the boys are trying to maintain the social order of the outside world, they attempt to keep the fire going.

LOTF Symbolism Idea 2: The conch shell symbolizes order and civilization.
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The more vicious and savage some of the boys become, the smaller the signal fire becomes.

The signal fire, however, is not what gets the attention of a passing ship, but the destructive fire Jack lights to hunt Ralph.

Thus, fire as a whole in this novel can represent both civilization and savagery. The ability to control the fire as the boys did with the signal fire represents a controlled and orderly society, while the out-of-control fire shows the destructive force of a society without restrictions.

Piggy himself represents intelligence and logic, but it is his glasses that are a symbol of intelligence as a foundation for civilized society.

The glasses are the physical manifestation of Piggy’s best qualities. He’s not athletic, but he has brains. The glasses are also one of the last remaining tools from the outside world. The boys use this tool, instead of more primitive means, to light the signal fire (the desire for order).

But the glasses, like the conch shell, are broken by savagery. When the glasses break, the last link the boys had to their past society is broken.

You can write about all three of these symbols in your essay to discuss the competing forces of civilization and savagery, which is one of the main themes of the novel.

Humankind’s Capacity for Destruction: The Island and the Scar

Along with mankind’s inner evil and the forces of savagery and civilization, the Lord of the Flies symbolism also covers the destruction humans are capable of. Not only does this whole story take place during a war, which causes destruction on a massive scale, Golding also includes a couple symbols to demonstrate this point.

The island itself is a symbol of perfection — unadulterated natural beauty. It is said to have plenty of fruit, and the children are all able to build shelter from its resources. Even the pigs that some of the boys end up brutally killing seem to have never seen humans before.

But then the humans come, and the island’s beauty is disrupted from the moment the boys arrive. The crashed plane creates what the author calls a scar–literal, permanent visible evidence of a gash or wound. The plane crashing was a product of the destruction of war, and by the time the boys are rescued, they have engaged in their own kind of war and further destroyed the paradise.

Final Thoughts on Lord of the Flies Symbolism

These are only a few examples of Lord of the Flies symbolism, and I’m sure you can find countless more as you read through the novel. I’ll give you a hint though — most of the symbols involve opposing parts of the human condition:

• Savagery versus civilization
• Perfection versus destruction
• Kindness/goodness versus evil

I hope this helps get the wheels turning on your thoughts for your own essay. If you want to make absolutely sure that you got it, send it to one of the Kibin editors when you are done. They’ll let you know if you need to add anything and will help you get that essay cleaned up.

Good luck!

*Cover image by SpartanHedgey

Stuck on your Lord of the Flies essay?

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