Allegory in Lord of the Flies

A discussion of the allegories presented in William Golding's The Lord of the Flies

1. Allegory in Allegory in
The Lord of the FliesThe Lord of the Flies
By William GoldingBy William Golding
Political, Psychological and Political, Psychological and
Religious allegory within the novelReligious allegory within the novel

2. Definition of AllegoryDefinition of Allegory
•ALLEGORY: “A story in which people,
things and actions represent an idea or
generalization about life; allegories often have
a strong moral lesson. “
•Often, characters in allegories personify some
abstract quality.

3. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory

4. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•As a political allegory we need only to look at the
state of the world at the end of World War II. The
world was divided into two camps the free world and
the Soviet Union much like the camps of Ralph and
Jack.

5. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•In addition the postwar
Cold War Era suffered
from fears of atomic
destruction. Lord of the
Flies shows the world at
the brink of atomic
destruction. The novel
serves as a warning to the
leaders of the world.

6. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•Ralph’s conch symbolizes power and
authority, like a crown for a king or
Excalibur to King Arthur.

7. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•The conch also symbolizes order and rule
of law.

8. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•Piggy represents (in part) the position of
Prime Minister – the intelligent advisor to
the crown / king.
•The “assemblies” represent governmental
structure and debate, such as parliament.

9. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•Jack and the choir represent, in part, the
government / social organizations that maintain
control, but that can also get out of control
(military / religion). This may particularly
reference the Nazis of WWII.

10. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•“The Beast” might
represent the imagined
external threats that
justify the loss of law and
order or lost civil rights
•Ex: Scapegoating in Nazi
Germany or Demonizing
the U.S. for the U.S.S.R.

11. Political AllegoryPolitical Allegory
•Samneric represent members of society
who have trouble “acting independently”
and might change opinions or sides
rapidly and without warning. They follow
the strongest leader.

12. Freudian / Psychological AllegoryFreudian / Psychological Allegory

13. FreudianFreudian Allegory Allegory
•As a Freudian psychological
allegory the characters in the
novel personify the different
aspects of the human
psyche: the id, the super
ego, and the ego.

14. FreudianFreudian Allegory Allegory
•Jack represents the “id”. This is the part of the
unconscious mind that works always to gratify
its own impulse.

15. FreudianFreudian Allegory Allegory
•Piggy is the “superego”. This is the part of the
mind that seeks to control the impulsive
behavior of the id. Piggy always reminds Ralph
and the others of their responsibilities.

16. FreudianFreudian Allegory Allegory
•Ralph is the “ego”. He is the conscious mind
that mediates between the id's demand for
pleasure and the social pressures brought to bear
by the superego.

17. Freudian AllegoryFreudian Allegory
•The “iceberg” of Freudian psychology:

18. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory

19. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Finally, The
Lord of the
Flies is a
religious
allegory
referencing
the garden of
Eden.

20. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•“And the Lord God planted a garden
eastward in Eden; and there he put the
man whom he had formed.
And out of the ground made the Lord God
to grow every tree that is pleasant to the
sight, and good for food; the tree of
life also in the midst of the garden, and the
tree of knowledge of good and evil.”
Genesis 2:8-9

21. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•It was a perfect
island with good
food, good
weather and
good water.

22. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•“The
Parachutist”
(later) and Piggy
represent The Fall
of Mankind.

23. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
The Fall has become a metaphor for any fall
from a favorable place.
It is the Biblical explanation for why life can
never be perfect for humanity.
It refers specifically to Adam and Eve’s
(original humans and representatives of
humanity) fall from God’s grace as a response
to their disobedience of God’s strict orders to
avoid the fruit of the “tree of knowledge.”

24. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•“The Beast” is the
snake in the
garden that lures
(tricks) the others
to not hold up to
their duty.

25. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you
have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and
between your offspring and hers; he will crush your
head, and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:1-24

26. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Jack could also
represent Biblical
figures such as:
–Judas: who
betrayed Christ
and condemned
him to death for
30 pieces of silver
(greed / jealousy).

27. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Matthew 27:3-5
•When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that
Jesus was condemned, he was seized with
remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to
the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned,"
he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."
"What is that to us?" they replied. "That's your
responsibility." So Judas threw the money into
the temple and left. Then he went away and
hanged himself.

28. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Jack could also represent Biblical
figures such as:
–Lucifer: the archangel who was
cast out of heaven for his war with
God
–He was one of the greatest of the
angels. He rebelled against God
and was hurled from heaven down
to hell where he became Satan, the
Devil and the incarnation of evil who
ruled over the demons of hell.

29. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•The name Lucifer comes from a Latin translation of
Isaiah 14:12, in which the Babylonian king is linked to a
fallen Morning Star call in Latin Lucer ferre “bearer of
light”
•Milton elaborated the story of Satan in Paradise Lost
–In the following quote, Satan laments his loss and attempts to
sooth himself in rationale:
–“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav’n of
hell, a hell of heav’n.”
–His bitterness is obvious in a later quote: “Better to reign in hell,
than serve in heav’n.”

30. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Jack and Ralph
are very much
like Cain and
Abel.

31. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Cain slew (Murdered) his brother Abel in the first
“fratricide” (“brother killing”).
•A mark was put upon his head (Mulberry
birthmark kid that they kill?) and the man was
cursed to wander friendless.
•Per God’s command, no one can kill Cain or
they will suffer “seven times over” the murder of
Cain.
•Who is killed in the first signal fire, due to the
boys’ neglect?

32. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
• 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother
Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's "Am I my brother's
keeper?"keeper?"
•10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your
brother's blood cries out to me from the groundblood cries out to me from the ground.
•11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the
ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's
blood from your hand.
•12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its
crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the
earth."

33. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Simon is a Christ
figure who…?
–Feeds the children /
takes care of others
(Littluns / Piggy)?
–Is tested / tempted?
–Confronts evil?
–Frees man from
death (the
parachutist)?
–Suffers?

34. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Even the title, The Lord
of the Flies is derived
from the Hebrew word
“Beezlebub” who was the
prince of devils and
demons.

35. Religious AllegoryReligious Allegory
•Beezlebub or Ba'alzebub's name derives
from the Canaanite "Baal" meaning "lord,"
and he is known as the Lord of the Flies.
•The boys on the island are often described
with fly-like behavior and actions (Ex: The
boys “buzzed”).
•Nobel Laureate T.S. Elliot helped William
Golding select the title.