What does fire symbolize in Lord of the Flies?

Fire symbolizes both the boys’ hope of rescue and the dangerous, destructive power of human technology. At the beginning, the signal fire represents connection to civilization. Ralph insists they build it on the mountain so that passing ships might see the smoke and save them. When the boys first light it using Piggy’s glasses, the fire carries their optimism—it’s a visible sign that they still believe in order, rescue, and a return to the adult world. Later, when Jack lets the fire go out while hunting, a ship passes unnoticed. This moment shows how fragile that connection is: choosing savagery over responsibility literally costs them a chance to be saved.

But fire is never just a hopeful symbol. From the start, it also threatens destruction. The boys’ first fire spirals out of control and burns part of the island, even leading to the disappearance of a young boy. As their society collapses, the purpose of fire shifts further away from rescue and toward violence. By the end, Jack’s tribe set the entire island ablaze to flush Ralph out and kill him. The same tool that once symbolized salvation becomes a weapon of total destruction.

This double meaning runs through the entire novel. Fire shows that human inventions can sustain civilization or annihilate it, depending on how people use them. The boys gradually lose the discipline to control how they use fire, mirroring the broader collapse of order into chaos.