“Man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” Golding wrote the text Lord of The Flies after his experiences in World War Two. He became more aware to how easy it is for a person to become such a vigilante for anarchy under the right circumstances. Through the use of objects as symbols such as the rock, masks and the jungle, Golding reinforces the ideas of people abusing power when it is not earnt, only being able to cover up inner savagery to certain point and finally the fear of the unknown can be a powerful force which can either turn you to insight or hysteria.
Through the symbol of the rock, Golding’s idea of power being mistreated when not earnt is strengthened, the rock symbolising the stability and power, having a red colour to which represents violence. At the beginning of the text a rock seems harmless, going unnoticed as it does not have much purpose to the boys, while they are still civilised. For example Jack leans against a rock on top of the mountain, it is explained as “[The rock] moved with a grating sound and went flying down the mountain like an enraged monster.” This foreshadows the end of the text when Piggy is killed from the destructiveness that Jack and also Roger hold on society. Jack is fighting for authority and Roger goes to the top of Castle Rock and “with a sense of delirium abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.” This released the rock which rolled down slaughtered the character of Piggy. Not only did it strike Piggy, but it also shatters the conch. Up to this point the conch and Piggy had been two of the only representations of civilisation on the island, when the rock causes both these two, to cease to exist, all order on the island is bought to an end and the boys, who express no regrets over the death of the incident, have fully become savages. This supports the idea of how power is abused when not earnt, as it shows how Roger did not think rationally but with “delirium abandonment” when proceeding with this task. When he put his hand on the lever, it is suggesting he is knowingly going to commit to this atrocious act of murdering Piggy. He “carried death in his hands,” because of the way he took authority that was not deserved, he was unable to control something as prevailing as the rock. The way Roger kills can be compared to Heinrich Himmler, the chief of the SS in the Nazi’s. Both Roger and Himmler liked killing and torturing, many times in brutal ways. This rock goes in parallel to a large piece of machinery, no one can take on the task of handling it straight away, it takes a long time to learn how to use it and in the wrong hands it could lead to disaster. Just like the rock and how powerful it is and when it was in the incorrect hands a tragedy happened. I believe the rock should be a symbol of admiration and you should only be able to have contact with it if you have earnt the authority. Golding has positioned the audience to somewhat despise the rock as it slaughtered Piggy, but it really signifies the strength and the power it takes for one to be killed, and should be valued for the brutality it holds. Through the symbolism of this rock the idea of power when not earnt is abused is understood as it is expressed to an extent where all civilisation and order was lost.
By using the jungle as an icon, Golding’s theme of the fear of the unknown can either turn you to insight or hysteria is emphasized. The jungle itself symbolizes the decline of society on the island, representing death and decay, being the lair of the beast. It shows how the darkness naturally present within humans is capable of ruling their lives. When the boys first land on the island “The ground beneath them was a bank covered with sparse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest.” The boys may not be afraid yet, but we're getting a bad feeling. This passage, with its "decaying