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Religious symbolism in lord of the flies
Symbols of the lord of the flies
Religious symbolism in lord of the flies
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William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, has been regarded as a masterpiece in the world of literature. This adventurous tale mixed with its frightening experiences arouses a sense of uncanny and even supernatural evil. But why is this? What impacting literary device does Golding use to bring out the terror of human darkness in his novel? Digging through the novel, it is a fact that William Golding uses symbolism to allude to religious archetypes that can be found in the Bible. This is exactly the function of the allegories used in this novel; it enriches the text depending on the different circumstances depicted in the novel. These allusions truly expand the readers view upon the situation in which the stranded boys are in. This respected …show more content…
Simon is used as a symbolical character to represent a religious hero such as Jesus. Like Christ, Simon is innocent, pure, and kind; there is no innate evil within him. An example of this is when he feeds the littluns, whom nobody cares for anymore. “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands” (pg.78). This is line from the book correlates to how Jesus, in Mark 6:41, hands out bread. “And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all.” Another critical action Simon takes is when he shares his meat with Piggy on page 104. “Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it” This quotation shows how much Simon cares for others. Not only is Simon's kindness relate to Christ, but so does his loneliness. Both are outcast by others because of what they believe. Simon is teased by the other boys for being weird and undecipherable. The point in the novel when Simon feeds the littluns fruit shows exactly what the boys thought of him. “The littluns watched him inscrutably over double handfuls of ripe fruit” (pg.78). All the kind things Simon does is …show more content…
The sow's head on a stick is a prominent example of this.The Lord of the Flies is compared to Satan because of it's role in the story. The sow's head evokes sin among all of the boys on the island. Identically, Satan evokes sin among all of humanity. The Lord of the Flies also represents temptation just as Satan is said to be a form of temptation in the world. The Lord of the Flies is also a direct translation of Beelzebub which is a symbol of pure evil and death. In the novel, Simon is tempted by the sow's head as it mocks him, calling him a “silly little boy”. and threatens him to not “try to escape” the evil within himself (pg.158). In Matthew 4:1-4, it says, “After 40 days and 40 nights of going without eating, Jesus was hungry. The tempter came to Him. He said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” The “tempter” is another name for Satan, who tries to place a seed of doubt in the mind of Jesus. For example, he questions Jesus' goodness with words like “If you are the Son of God...” while the Lord of the Flies tempts Simon by saying “We are going to have fun on this island”
-Lord of the Flies makes many references that it represents pure evil, by saying things like “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” and “You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there- so don’t try to escape!”
Many works of literature inspire new works to be made every day. From things as old as beowulf to the many shakespeare plays, current day writers keep pulling ideas from the classics to create their own stories. Because of this, many older works of literature are still relevant today. The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is more current than ever with allusion from Popular television shows, music that is heard on the radio and the newest blockbuster movie. The many allusions in modern day literature and works of art to lord of the flies are too numerous to count.
Simon shows the most purity and compassion as problems increase through the boys as he tries to not let any of the causes affect him. In Lord of the Flies, Simon represents the goodness of the island as he helps the littluns, supports the boys and does everything in his power to make the best of the situation on the island. The lack of civilization and human goodness leads the young children to evils and a bad environment that they have never faced. Simon, a “skinny, vivid boy,” pg. 113. 24)” is a member of Jack’s choir but soon leaves his tribe and joins Ralph because he is not able to deal with the cruel leadership.
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
Golding makes very good use of characters in Lord of the Flies, he shows both good and evil through each of the characters. One of the characters that represents goodness is Simon. He is very good and pure, and has the most positive outlook. Simon is very different from the other boys, he seems to always be helping the Littluns and many other vulnerable boys such as Piggy. "Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it." (Golding, pg.74) This quote interprets an example of a time when Simon helped Piggy by giving him food, it shows Simon's wholeheartedness. Another example would be when Simon helps the Littluns pick fruit from high to reach places. All in all Golding tries to portray Simon as a Christ like figure.
Simon is the morally good boy. His selflessness and goodness comes from within. He is kind to the little boys, and helps the outcasts. For example, when none of the boys want to give Piggy meat from the first pig, Simon steps up and takes him meat. "Simon…wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy…"(p.74) While everyone else is cruel to the young ones, he helps the "lil'uns" grab meat from the trees when they can't reach. "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest…passed them back to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.56) Simon helps those whom no one else is kind to, perhaps remembering that he was looked down upon once. He realizes what it's like to be scorned and to be the "little one", so he tries to make it less miserable for the outcasts by being kind to them. He wants to always help others, so when he discovers the beast is inside of everyone, not external, as they had imagined, he instantly runs down the mountain to tell him. He helps others even to the point of death.
...religious allegory. He depicts a story in which the boys are stranded on an island and need to fend for themselves. However, instead of focusing on rescue and building a fire, the boys ultimately shift their priorities to hunting and killing. They turn a once beautiful and majestic island into a place of terror and evil. Additionally, they maul and kill their only hope of ever changing, Simon. Lord of the Flies is reminiscent of the television series “Lost.” Just like in Golding’s world, “Lost” is staged on a remote far away island after a plane crash. However, these people are not children. They are adults, which makes the story even more chilling. These adults eventually succumb to murderous acts and violence, further proving the point Golding sets out to make. Humans are inherently evil, and without any system to keep them in line, they will destroy the world.
The novel “Lord of the Flies” was written by William Golding to demonstrate the problems of society and the sinful nature of man.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the boys who are stranded on the island come in contact with many unique elements that symbolize ideas or concepts. Through the use of symbols such as the beast, the pig's head, and even Piggy's specs, Golding demonstrates that humans, when liberated from society's rules and taboos, allow their natural capacity for evil to dominate their existence.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.
"Maybe there is a beast... maybe it's only us." In William Golding's post-war novel, The Lord of the Flies, he illustrates how darkness is within everyone by portraying the island as a replica of World War II. The island symbolizes life in the real world by allowing people to view the war through these young boys. The background of the book and the outside world are shown to correlate through the symbols. The archetypal symbols, characters, and setting relay the idea that the beast is within.
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.
In many classic novels, authors use biblical allusions to highlight a certain character or situation. By using biblical allusions, authors can help the reader better understand what it is that they want to convey through their literary work. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Golding utilizes symbolism of places and characters to allude to the Bible. Out of the many references, four significant biblical allusions – title of the novel, Simon, beast, and the island itself – emphasize Golding’s theme inherent sin and evil in mankind.
... of hope for rescue and the destruction of their ties to former human society; and the Lord of the Flies, used to represent mankind’s “essential illness”: inherent human evil. Ultimately, Golding’s symbols, simple in appearance yet burdened with the weight of human savagery, violence, and inner darkness, do more than frighten. As these symbols are ingrained into our minds, so, too, is responsibility: the responsibility of recognition, understanding, and action. If we do not take heed of the messages behind Golding’s symbols, then our ignorance may be more than unwise—it may be fatal. For if we do not soon take steps to confront our inner evil face-to-face, we may eventually find ourselves trapped in Golding’s harrowing depiction of human society: one bound only by rules far too fragile that, when broken, lead only to chaos, self-destruction, and total savagery.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.