Symbolic Objects - Reading Focus Tracker

I'm very proud to say that I have been keeping up with my Reading Focus Tracker. Hopefully, I've included every symbolic object that I've come across so far. However, the significance of certain symbolic objects have changed throughout the first through eleven chapters. 


The first major symbolic object is the conch shell, of course. In the beginning, the conch held a great deal of power. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak. He can hold it when he’s speaking.” (32).  The conch shell holds the unity and order of the civilization on the island as well as Ralph's authority over everyone. But the importance of the conch shell is broken in chapter 11 when it is shattered: “The conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist." (181). 


Throughout the whole book, the significance of fire is deeply emphasized by Ralph because he is the only person who truly understands how vital in maintaining the fire is. It represents their hope of getting off the island and being rescued. When the fire burns down, it shows that their hope is also gone. But when the fire is burning, their hope is alive and they also will survive. “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever be rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Don’t you understand? Can’t you see we ought to die before we let the fire out?” (80).


The third major object is the Beast. The Beast has also been progressively developed throughout the book. The Beast continuously causes fear among the boys. “He says the beast comes out of the sea.” (88). The children are all scared of the Beast that they’ve been seeing in their nightmares. The Beast symbolizes the evil creature inside each individual. It interferes with everything that they do. Although the others visualize the Beast as an actual beast, Simon senses that the Beast may be inside of them: “However, Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick.” (103). We learn that Simon is accurate when we come across the Lord of the Flies who informs Simon of the truth.