LITERARY ANALYSIS Golding's Lord of the Flies is a classic, as well as an often banned and contested book. His novels were written during the darkest events in human history (see information insert for more information). The fact that he wrote during these dark times really shaped him as a person as well as his books. In Lord of the Flies is his most popular book and the book I will write about. There is a lot of symbolism and deeply layered conflict in this book. To read you have to read every word to understand the book because so much is packed into what seems like a short read. However, Lord of the Flies overall portrays mankind as evil due to the savagery displayed on the island and the heavy warfare going on outside of it. Symbols Symbols are important to Lord of the Flies because there are so many of them and if you don't understand them you might as well throw the book away. The most important symbol is the shell that Piggy had found. They determined that “the conch will signal the assemblies” (Golding, 42). Also every time someone wanted to talk they had to have the conch. This shows that the conch represents unity and effectively runs meetings that give it democratic power. When Jack decides to leave and take everyone except Ralph and Piggy, Ralph decides to try to signal them with the conch, but only rocks are thrown at him. When Roger throws a boulder at Piggy, the shell breaks and the island falls into chaos. This was one of the main symbols throughout the book. It was then that the conch also began to lose power as the ferocity overwhelmed it. The savagery in this book is so powerful and so evil that it tears down one of the strongest forms of peace on the island. Conflict Lord of the Flies focuses on fighting between civilizations and... middle of the paper... I can't blame the writer for writing what could easily happen on an island, and keep in mind that none of them are over 12 years old and without adults around there isn't much order. A final reason this book remains published on library shelves is that this book has so much literary value. This book is great for teaching an advanced group of readers and a high school class. This book requires experienced readers to follow symbolism that is more difficult to grasp. There aren't many books that use as many symbols as he did, which makes it the perfect book for teaching. But with so many people questioning this book, many people don't get that privilege. Lord of the Flies should be kept on the shelves of schools and libraries. Do you want people to miss out on a good education? Do you want people to be kept away from enjoying this book? Don't let this book be questioned.