The symbol of the fire throughout the novel is a symbol for the boy's connection to civilization, and later a symbol of power and leadership. The fire is also affected by other symbols in the story such as the beast and piggy's glasses. The purpose and function of the fire fluctuates throughout the story from that of helping and civilization to to that of chaos and killing.

Early in the novel the children decide that in order to be saved by a ship the ship must see them somehow, so they decide to make smoke by building a fire. The symbol of Piggy's glasses is first used to create the fire. At first, the children are all helping and collecting fire wood and they get a small fire but don't keep their eye on it. The fire then shows it power to the kids and that they need...