Lord of the Flies, an Allegorical Piece
In Literature, writers apply allegory to add various layers of significance to their works. Furthermore, allegory makes their stories and characters, intricate, so that they represent something greater than their literal standing. Provided that, how is Lord of the Flies, an allegory for humanity? As a matter of fact, several characters in the novel represent a larger aspect, and together, unite the idea of humanity on the Earth. Ralph epitomizes civilization. At the same time, Jack represents a self-destructive anarchy. Piggy illustrates rational thought, whereas Roger embodies sadism. Lastly, there is Simon, who exemplifies the spiritual side of man. There are many types of symbols that one uses in
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In a deeper sense, it is a figure of speech in which philosophical principles and ideas are portrayed in terms of events, figures, and characters. Allegory seems similar to symbolism. Even though allegory uses symbols, both are quite distinct. An allegory is a finished narrative which implicates numerous characters, and events that stand for a conceptual idea. On the other hand, symbol, is only an object that stands for another one, giving it a particular meaning. Lord of the Flies is an allegory, different from Ralph, who is only a symbol. The objective for allegory is to demonstrate a moral lesson, and also allows writers to put forth their moral and political perspectives. An exhaustive study of such a metaphorical piece of writing, can give one insight into the writer’s mind as how he observes the world. Lord of the Flies contain many symbols that depict the …show more content…
The final character, Simon, is a religious symbol. Simon exemplifies the spiritual side of man, for he is compassionate, peaceful, and in conformity with nature. On page 50, Simon is the only boy helping Ralph build the shelter, proving to be compassionate. His persona is akin to that of Jesus Christ. Like Jesus, others mock Simon as an “outsider” distinguishing his behavior as bizarre or “queer”. When Simon tells Ralph, “All the same. You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway”, Ralph is confused and refers to him as “batty” (pg. 111). He is also the only one who hears the Lord of the Flies speak and is first to comprehend that the beast is within each of us. This act simulates Christ’s discussion with the devil during his forty days in the wilderness. The Lord of the Flies tells him, “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” (pg. 143). However, because of Simon’s uneasiness, he cannot articulate this understanding. On page 89, Simon attempts to tell the group that “Maybe it’s only us”, but no one understands what he means. Later, when Simon realizes the figure on the mountain is just “a dead man”, he is killed by Jack’s tribe, for they “leapt on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore” (pg. 153). There are acclaimed parallels between Simon’s murder and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, but Simon’s epiphany is more of a debunking,
Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel in which every person, place, thing, and event creates a parallel to another theme or idea. Golding uses these symbols to represent a much more complex idea. Overall, symbolism played an important role to develop the plot, as well as the overall theme. The main theme portrayed throughout the novel is the idea that savagery is within every person. Golding’s use of various symbols throughout Lord of the Flies, including the conch, the fire, Piggy’s glasses, and Ralph’s hair, show the boys’ gradual loss of civilization as events on the island bring out the savagery within them.
Lord of the Flies is often claimed to be an allegory of modern society. While this is true, Golding’s intentions in writing this novel are much deeper. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies provides an enlightening insight into the true nature of human beings; along with why people refrain from acting upon the evil that resides within them. He presents these ideas through symbolism within the novel and it proves effective in many ways. Through symbolism, Golding can unfold the excellent plot of his novel, while subsequently sharing his ideas on the relationship of mankind and society. Golding uses the beast, the conch shell, and Piggy’s glasses to symbolize the human impulse towards ‘savagery’ and the social constructs put in place to prevent it.
Simon always seemed to have an affinity for meditation. He would leave the group of boys and take it upon himself to go into the woods and pray alone or mediate for self soothing. Simon is sensitive towards the boy's’ feelings when situations arise. Simon felt compassion for Ralph when he was uncertain about their return to civilization, “You’ll get back to where you came from… you’ll get back alright. I think so, anyway.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is an allegorical novel. An allegorical novel is when there is a symbolic level of meaning. There's always the surface of the story and the plot and characters. In the novel, it starts with the British schoolboys named Ralph, Jack, Piggy, and Simon, who get shot down out of their plane and land on an island where it’s just them boys. All the boys work together and try to survive on the island without any adult supervision.Some examples of allegory in Lord of the Flies are the island represents the whole world, the conch, and also piggy's glasses.
In the book Lord of the Flies Simon was had died and whether it was an accident or not he did not deserve to die. They had been on their toes all the time about the beast, what it was, and how to kill it, but the beast was in their mind the whole time and Simon was the only one who knew it. The boys were weary about any kind of movement when they were hunting for the beast. They were anxious to get rid of it that when Simon stumbled over an edge they assumed that he was the beast and they all screamed “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his
Although many things are stated outright in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the book is rich with symbolism and subtext. The story starts with British school boys being stranded on an island after escaping a threat of nuclear war. The boys elect fair-haired Ralph as their leader, but Jack, a fiery choirmaster of some of the boys, is jealous and the story quickly goes downhill from there, leading to aggression, mayhem, and murder. Throughout the novel, there is also a mysterious and imaginary beast that haunts the minds of the younger boys. Lord of the Flies has many details, many of which are symbols or have implied meaning. One of the most important examples of subtext is Simon, the strange, ethereal boy who aligns himself with
Lord of the Flies was a piece by William Golding that contains a theme of savagery and shows the human nature. For instance, the conch, the glasses, the campfire, and many others. Lord of the Flies serves as a political allegory because the island brought out the true sides of people. For instance, the island brought out Jack’s savagery. It showed what kind of leader he was and only cared about himself. He became a killer and a stealer. The only things he wanted, was for Ralph being dead, and for his savages to have rule over the island. The way allegory is used in this situation is the way Jack changes. He turns into a savage and in Lord of the Flies, it shows how anyone is capable of change due to a specific situation. In this story showing the kids adapt to their environment, and adaptation plays a huge role in human nature. It shows how quickly people can adapt, especially when people are expected to be in that type of environment for a long period of time.
The Lord of the Flies is a novel full of powerful symbolism, as illustrated by the scene in chapter 8 where Simon encounters the “beast” as he roams free through the forest glade. When he sees it, the Lord of The Flies begins to speak. It taunts him and frightens him, saying, “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! . . . You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?”
In the story, Lord of the Flies, there are many biblical allusions; Simon represents Jesus, the pig’s head represents Satan or rather their satanic sides, Jack represents Judas, and the island represents the Garden of Eden. Through out this novel these allusions play large parts in the story and ideals place in the story.
Lord of the Flies, is a story of adventure through nature and the human conscious. A group of boys, stranded on an island, become savage instead of working together and start fighting each other. Golding’s use of the war allegory shows how children can become as ruthless as adults when put in the right setting. While on the island, personality traits surfaced, such as their savageness, their carelessness, their fear, their hunger power, and their childish pride. Golding uses a war allegory to show than man will naturally conflicts with others because of a thirst for power, fear of the unknown, and pride.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about several boys who are stranded on an island trying to create a functioning society. On this island the boys have to build their own houses, hunt for their food, and have to make some form of government. The perfect society the boys wanted ended up falling apart and changes everyone’s behavior. The boys end up turning against each other and starts a civil war. Symbolism plays an important part in the development of the story. In this novel symbolism was given to an object with some form of meaning and sometimes a character was symbolized. Some of these objects in the novel included the conch shell, Piggy’s glasses, and fire. Also as the story progresses the meanings of some objects change symbolically.
A character in a novel can represent a larger idea in society. In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, each character is illustrated to represent a larger idea in society. Ralph represents democracy, Jack represents savagery, and Piggy represents a scientific approach.
Simon is a critical thinker who shows affection toward little kids and acts morally due to his values of virtue. When the other boys, including Ralph and Jack start to lose their innocence and humanity due to hunting the beast, which they consider to be real, Simon is wise enough to realize that the existence of the beast is not factual and that it is an imaginary figure. He is shrewd enough that “Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick.” It indicates that Simon knows that the beast on an island is only something that was inside of humans’ soul. Because he knows that it is an imaginary, he is capable of maintaining his innocence and humanity.
In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, which is set during World War II, English school boys, escaping war in England, crash on a deserted tropical island. From the protected environment of boarding school, the boys are suddenly thrust into a situation where they must fend for themselves. In order to survive, the boys copy their country’s rule for a civilized life by electing a leader, Ralph. He promises order, discipline, and rules for the boys so that they form a small civilized society. This civilized society does not last. Struggling with Jack who wants to be the leader and the boys’ fears of the unknown, Ralph is unable to maintain control, and the boys fulfill Golding’s perspective that human
In the beginning of the book, Lord of the Flies, as characters are introduced in the story they seem to just be a group of British boys stranded on an island. As the story starts developing, the personalities of the boys become much more evident. Ralph the protagonist, Jack the savage, Piggy the intelligent and among those that are the most significant is Simon. Simon