ABriefAnalysisofSymbolisminLordofheFlies_开题报告

文献综述

Lord of the Flies is a famous work of contemporary British writer William Golding, and is a classics work of world’s literature. Golding used realistic described method to write fable myth, and inherited the tradition of Western ethics, striving to show the theme of “The darkness of heart”, showing the writer’s concern for the future of mankind. He successfully used the expression of symbolism in Lord of the Flies. In this novel, the characters and the ordinary objects of nature have been given a profound symbolic meaning in a particular environment. Symbolism has played an important role in the portray of characters, the promotion of the development of the story and the reveal of theme of the novel and other aspects.

The story of Lord of the Flies is simple, but it has a profound message and its technique of expression is unique. So, once the production was published, it became a hot topic for many literary critics. However, most of the comments are confined to the author's creating intentions. From the point of human evil, the characters in the book are divided into two groups of good and evil, then to discuss about human nature. Golding held that “society is rooted in the evil side of human nature, and now our main responsibility is to have a clear understanding of our nature.” Some discuss based on the social background at that time. For example, Ruan Wei held that “the fundamental moral of the work is not the evil of human nature itself, but the need of necessity and urgency of resisting evil.”Xu Ming held that the first emergence of the painted face symbolized the beginning of the barbarian trend. These comments are very important for us to understand the work in the round.

E.L Epstein, the foreign scholar, held that the themes Golding expressed in Lord of the Flies are as follows: Lord of the Flies is aimed at the weakness of human society dates back to the weakness of human nature. Its moral is that the society should establish on the basis of personal morality, rather than a logical or respected political system. The whole book is the symbol of human nature while it appears a solemn and competent adult image when reusing at last, but it is a symbol of the real meaning as the same as the children's life on the island. The novel’s affluent symbols that made Samuel Hynes concluded that “Lord of the Flies is a symbolic novel, not a fairy story.” In 1983, William Golding was awarded Nobel Prize for literature. With its extraordinary imagination, Golding using his refined brushwork successfully created a lot of vivid symbolic images, which give a strong artistic appeal to the novel. The novel is about a future war in which a group of children living on the island, and they are changed from civilization to barbarism step by step. The novel’s plot may seem simple, but its meaning is rich. By designing and arranging distinctively, Golding gives profound meaning to the original ordinary things, and its full of wonderful luster.

Wang Changrong, domestic scholar, analyzes the theme of The Catcher in the Rye and The Lord of the Flies in his essay The Childlike Mind or the Crisis, and analyzes the British and American novels' reflection on the social changes and people's mentality after the Second World War. Guan Jianming’s paper "theme of human redemption implied in the theme of human evil in the Lord of the Flies", on the basis of analysis about the theme of humanity evil revealed in the Lord of the Flies, explained that in this work which won the world reputation, Golding revealed the theme of humanity evil, and meanwhile implied the theme of human redemption, which started with Simon, the character hinted Jesus image. Because of the presence of the theme of redemption, revealing the theme of human evil in the Lord of the Flies implies a possibility that after facing and recognizing human evil, it’s possible to promote the transformation of man to supreme good. Therefore, experiencing the darkness of the soul is a necessary process for human redemption, and it has a dialectical significance for mutual transformation between revealing human evil and pursuing human's spiritual redemption.

Firstly, this essay explains the artistic symbolism and the symbolism of literary art forms. Secondly, it elaborates the symbolism of several major figures in the work ----Ralph, Piggy, Jack and Simon. Ralph is a responsible boy, he symbolizes democracy and order; Piggy, although he is fat, nearsighted, but he is really a symbol of wisdom; Compared with Ralph, Jack represents barbarism and infinite desire of power, with red hair and dressed in a black cloak. Simon is a symbol of goodness nature. Then the novel narrates the symbolism of objects of nature: First, the name of novel----Lord of the Flies----as a symbolism of cult and contamination is obvious; Of course, the most obvious symbols of the novel is that pretty conch. It obviously symbolizes the civilization and order; And masks and painted face is the symbol of the lost of self, and evil human nature; Fire symbolizes death and destruction, and the glasses is related to fire, it can be regarded as the symbol of science and civilization. Finally, this essay analyzes the significance of symbolism of Lord of the Flies.

By analyzing the symbolism of Lord of the Flies, on the one hand, we have a deeper understanding of the theme and moral philosophy; on the other hand, we know more about William Golding and his works, and have a better understanding of the social reality and spirit of the times.

二、^范文提纲

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

2.1. Symbol

2.2. Symbolism

3. Symbolism in Main Characters

3.1.Ralp and Piggy 

3.2.Jack and Simon 

4. Symbolism in Objects

4.1. Paint and Mask.

4.2. The Fire and the Glasses

4.3. The Conch

4.4. The significance of Symbolism of Lord of the Files

5.Conclusion

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