lord of the flies allegory essay

Lord of the Flies

By william golding, lord of the flies the lord of the flies: biblical allegory or anti-religious critique.

One of the major points of debate between critics who have studied Lord of the Flies is the significance of the substantial number of allusions to Judeo-Christian mythology. While many scholars have argued that these references qualify the novel as biblical allegory, others have suggested that the novel's allusions to the Old and New Testaments turn out to be ironic and thus criticize religion. A careful reading of Lord of the Flies should take into account not only the abundance of biblical images and themes in the text, but also the ways in which religion and religious themes are used.

In particular, the biblical account of good and evil is invoked-but the account in the novel is not quite the same. Take, for instance, the narrative of Eden. The early chapters of the novel, the island itself resembles the Garden of Eden from Genesis, with its picturesque scenery, abundant fruit, and idyllic weather. Accordingly, the boys are symbolically linked to Adam and Eve before the fall. Ralph 's first act after the plane crash is to remove his clothes and bathe in the water, a gesture that recalls the nudity of the innocent Adam and Eve and the act of baptism, a Christian rite which, by some accounts, renews in the sinner a state of grace. Naming also becomes important in Genesis, reflected in the novel as the boys give their names. Golding extends the Edenic allusion when he presents the contentment of island life as soon corrupted by fear, a moment that is first signified by reports of a creature the boys refer to as "snake-thing." The "snake-thing" recalls the presence of Satan in the Garden of Eden, who disguised himself as a serpent. But unlike Adam and Eve, the boys are mistaken about the creature, which is not a force external (like Satan) but a projection of the evil impulses that are innate within themselves and the human psyche. Still, it is the boys' failure to recognize the danger of the evil within themselves that propels them deeply into a state of savagery and violence. They continue to externalize it as a beast (again "Lord of the Flies" and "the Beast" are used in religion to refer to Satan), but they become more and more irrational in their perception of it, and they end up developing alternative religious ideas about the Beast and what it wants and does. Although Satan in the Genesis account also has been read as a reflection of evil within human nature, readers usually consider Satan an external force. Original sin enters human nature because of Satan. Without a real Satan in the novel, however, Golding stresses the ways that this Eden is already fallen; for these boys, evil already is within them waiting to be discovered.

On the positive side, Simon 's story is that of a prophet or of Jesus Christ. Simon is deeply spiritual, compassionate, non-violent, and in harmony with the natural world. Like many biblical prophets and like Jesus, he is ostracized and ridiculed as an "outsider" for what the others perceive as his "queer" or unorthodox behavior. Critics also have noted that Simon's confrontation with The Lord of the Flies resembles Christ's conversation with the devil during his forty days in the wilderness as described in the New Testament gospels, and critics have noted parallels between Simon's murder and Christ's sacrifice on the cross. But Simon's revelation is more of a debunking and a turn to the secular, rather than a prophetic condemnation of evil or a call to the higher things. His revelation is that the beast does not exist but is just a dead human.

Lord of the Flies Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Lord of the Flies is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Where had Simon fainted before?

From the text:

“He's always throwing a faint,”said Merridew. “He did in Gib.; and Addis; and at matins over the precentor.”

Quote Analysis. "There was a throb..."

At this point Ralph is once again challenging Jack's authority, Unfortunately all the cards are stacked against Ralph. A storm is brewing and to deflect the boys' fears, Jack orders them to dance around the fire. This communal spectacle of...

How do the boys respond to Jack's call for Ralph's removal as chief? How does Jack react? Respond with evidence from the text.

There is a lot of immaturity here. The other boys refuse to vote Ralph out of power. Enraged, Jack has a tantrum and runs away from the group, saying that he is leaving and that anyone who likes is welcome to join him.The boys don't like the open...

Study Guide for Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies study guide contains a biography of William Golding, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About Lord of the Flies
• Lord of the Flies Summary
• Lord of the Flies Video
• Character List

Essays for Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

• Two Faces of Man
• The Relationship Between Symbolism and Theme in Lord of the Flies
• A Tainted View of Society
• Death and Social Collapse in Lord of the Flies
• Lumination: The Conquest of Mankind's Darkness

Lesson Plan for Lord of the Flies

• About the Author
• Study Objectives
• Common Core Standards
• Introduction to Lord of the Flies
• Relationship to Other Books
• Bringing in Technology
• Notes to the Teacher
• Related Links
• Lord of the Flies Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Lord of the Flies

• Introduction

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Essay On Religious Allegory in Lord of The Flies

Favorite Quote: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, but I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

In his dangerously revealing novel, Lord of The Flies, author William Golding explores human behavior in it purest, unadulterated form. From stranding a group of boys on an island to formulating a complex, inner " beast", Golding experiments with the notion of life outside society's limitations and the inevitable deterioration of order and civility that ensues. Throughout this journey, Golding unveils brutal truths about the boys' inherent savagery and insatiable urges, linking to several biblical stories: ultimately, to human kind.  In Lord of The Flies, author William Golding employs religious allegory from three preeminent biblical stories: The Story of Adam and Eve, of Cain and Able, and of Jesus Christ to illuminate the fundamental flaws in human nature. Golding argues that the boys' constant dissension throughout the novel stems from a larger, more threatening evil within them: one, which brings to mind the story of Cain and Able. Due to his charisma and conviction, Ralph beats Jack in the race for chief. Jack's boiling "mortification" (22) seen earlier in the book, is eventually released in a full-on attempt to kill Ralph: "He ran forward, stooping. 'I'm chief.' Viciously, with full intention, he [Jack] hurled his spear at Ralph" (180). In this sense, what was a petty jealousy has now become a motivation for murder: this resembles the idea of the beast, originating as a little'un's nightmare and with the boys' mounting fear, escalates to a ravenous darkness encasing the island. Furthermore, this attempted murder is done after Jack assumes the position of chief, revealing that his conduct stems from a personal anger towards Ralph rather than a means of achieving a goal. Likewise, Cain kills his brother Able out of a deep-seated feeling of spite and jealousy. Finally, in Lord of The Flies as well as in the bible, the victims are murdered with "full intention:" even when thinking clearly, Jack and Cain do not demonstrate sound, moral judgement. Towards the end of the book, officers arrive to rescue the boys and Ralph has the chance to study his surroundings: he fathoms a brutal truth, "…the other little boys began to shake and sob too…Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart…" (202). The undeniable pleasure of childhood: living young and unaware of depravity in the world has been stolen from the boys during their life on the island. The ruination of a beautiful land and the cold murder of two close friends have brought out a "darkness in man's heart" that the boys were not ready for. Because they understand this untamable evil within them, they "weep" for the end of their own "innocence" and days of simplistic living. In Cain and Abel, Cain too cries after murdering his brother: he learns that he has a "darkness" within him, which drives him to commit the ultimate sin, murder. Just as Adam and Eve were expelled from The Garden of Eden because of their overmastering impulse, the boys find their heavenly island in ruins as a result of their animalistic urges. Many times, Simon (the enigmatic, supposedly "batty" child) retreats to a spot deep in the bed of the island: one that exhibits traits parallel to The Garden of Eden. "The whole space was walled with dark, aromatic bushes, and was a bowl of heat and light…the deep sea…made an undertone less perceptible than the susurration of the [boys’] blood" (56). This spot is “walled” away to the other boys due to natural barriers, and Simon is the only human able to access this paradise: this, combined with the fact that Simon is the only boy with a passive outlook towards the disgusting behavior on the island, prompts us to classify him as a variant of Adam--who too, was described as passive in the bible. In addition, Golding gives the island a heavenly, almost haunting atmosphere with "dark bushes" and an ethereal combination of "heat" and "light." Its "undertone," bearing comparison to the "susurration of the boys' blood" provides it with an additional, life-like quality: as the boys raze the island, they are not just damaging vegetation, they are slaughtering a living, breathing entity. Nevertheless, the end all fact of innocence, one of Golding's foremost themes, fully corroborates this connection between the biblical story and Lord of The Flies: Just as Adam was deceived into eating the forbidden fruit, Simon suffers from the unshakable naiveté of adolescence and is deceived by the belief that everything will end up "all right" (111). Simon can be seen as a prophet who is betrayed by his own comrades in the same way Jesus was perceived as a diviner. A few nights prior to his murder, Simon finds himself talking to Ralph in a situation very similar to Jesus during his "Last Supper": "Simon shook his head violently…"I just think you'll get back all right'…and then they suddenly smiled at each other" (111). Simon reassures Ralph of his safety but says nothing of his own, suggesting that Simon senses his death is near: this prophetic vision into the future mirrors the biblical character Jesus and his otherworldly abilities. Furthermore, Simon "smiles" after predicting his own demise: to Simon, his own death is trivial if it means the survival of another boy. This solicitous, inconceivably selfless nature in Simon is what sets him high above the other characters in Lord of The Flies’ spectrum of morality--to a point, which borderlines “batty”. Secondly, like Jesus set out to spread the word of God and was crucified, Simon endeavors to reveal new-knowledge concerning the boys’ “beast”, and is killed in the process: "It was crying out…about a body on the hill. At once the crowd…leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words…but the tearing of teeth and claws" (153). The boys surmise that Simon, who appears large and intimidating in the dark, is the beast, and they act on an inherent impulse of savagery. While attacking Simon, Golding gives the boys characteristics such as "claws" as a means of equating them to animals on a physical level. Furthermore, "there were no words," throughout the onslaught: without humanely deciding how to handle the “beast”, the boys again convince us that they are animals—this time, on an intellectual level—and are incapable of fighting their bestial instincts. So, both through their physical appearance and merciless, highly irrational behavior, Golding fully relegates the boys to that of ferocious animals. Through the active use of religious allegory and biblical parallels, William Golding redefines his novel, adding a deeper and more personal level of dimension to what on the surface, appears as just an adventure story. The bible is universally seen as the pinnacle of moral guidance and judgment. By interweaving situations in his novel to stories from the bible, Golding is able to juxtapose the boys and their deportment against what ethical standards the bible sets forward. Thus, since the boys and their actions ultimately equate to the some of lowest instances of morality in the bible, Golding’s original claim is corroborated: man is inherently evil.

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Lord of the Flies as an Allegory. (2016, Jun 22). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/lord-of-the-flies-as-an-allegory-essay

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