lord of the flies
..., both Ralph and Jack have a major role in the way the island is run. Since Ralph is gets voted out of power and all democracy is gone, the boys relate back to their nature of evil, and become savages under the power of Jack. Not only do the characters of the island reveal that the basic nature of humanity is evil, symbolic objects of authority and fear that are used on the island do as well. The main purpose of the conch in the beginning is to keep order on the island, and ensure that everyone has a chance to state their own opinion. The conch represents civilization, which the boys need to maintain to be rescued from the island. Without the conch there will be no order and the children will end up turning against each other. “… the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.… This time the silence was complete. Ralph’s lips formed a word but no sound came” (Golding, 167). Through Ralph’s reaction it is evident that the conch is a symbol of authority. However when the ruthless boys demolish the conch, all evidence of authority, civilization and in some aspects freedom is completely destroyed. In addition, the stick “sharpened at both ends” is another symbol that reveals evil and fear. “ ‘Sharpen the stick at both ends.’ …. Jack held up the head and jammed the soft throat down on the pointed end of the stick, which pierced through into the mouth. He stood back…. Instinctively the boys drew back too; and the forest was very still…. ‘This is for the beast. It’s a gift.’ The silence accepted the gift and awed them…. All at once they were running away, as fast as they could, through the forest toward the open beach”(Golding, 126). The boys use the stick to protect themselves from the beast. This brings out the ignorance in the boys because the beast is within their own spirits; it is simply apart of their imagination. Therefore this represents the fear and evil within the boys because the present is made out of pleasure and it is a peace symbol. Undoubtly both the conch and the stick sharpened at both ends are symbols of authority, fear and evil. Since the shatter of the conch, and the stick sharpened at both ends, all civilization the boys once had is now gone, and this results to prove that the nature of humanity is inherently evil. The variety of settings on the island adds to the symbolic objects and character traits that reveal the true evilness that lies within the basic nature of mankind. The peaceful setting of Simon and the fire that rescues the boys prove that mankind is inherently evil. Simon is always separate from the group and their evil schemes. He disappears into his own peaceful area. “Flower and fruit grew together on the same tree and everywhere was the scent of ripeness and the booming of a million bees at pasture….He came to a place where more sunshine fell.” (Golding, 50-51) When Simon is murdered all peace and civilization die with him, and his peaceful place becomes another setting on the island overtaken by savagery. One of Simon’s ‘number one’ characteristics is that his isolation is through peace; in many cases isolation is a product of depression and loneliness. However Simon is the one that continues to be pure and kind hearted out of all of the boys, until he surrenders to the devil. Therefore the savage boys of the island will turn against each other and the tension between Jack and Ralph will continue to flourish. As well as the peaceful place of Simon, the fire that would have been used to kill Ralph repre...