Lord of the Flies as a Religious Allegory

There are many ways to read «Lord of the Flies». To some it is simply an adventure story about a group of boys stranded on a desert island, others interpret it, and see the boys as metaphors for important aspects of our everyday lives. Several different theories have been presented, claiming to explain Golding's symbolism. What many seem to have overlooked, is that the answer is right there in front of them. It is in the title: «Lord of the flies», a translation of the greek word «Beelzebub». And what do most people think about when they hear this name? The Devil, Satan himself . «Lord of the Flies» is an allegory showing the ht between Christian and Pagan values.

The character that more than anyone represents Christianity in the book is Simon. The first time you read through the story, he is probably the character that is the hardest to describe and find a purpose for. He is different and does not fit in among the other boys, But if you go deeper into the book, it becomes more and more obvious that Simon's life on the island is strikingly similar to the life of another person that did not fit in. A person that lived some 2000 years ago in Israel.

Just like Jesus Christ Simon cared about the small and vulnerable, he loved nature and all living. Simon is also a prophet. He knows that Ralph will come back to civilization alive. He does not say anything about himself or Piggy. Neither Simon nor Jesus are ever scared, because they are certain that what is meant to happen will prevail. They were both able to challenge the unknown and conquer it. Jesus won over death, Simon faced the Beast and came back alive. Jesus did it for all the people living on Earth, Simon for the other boys. What is so puzzling and sad is that they were both killed when they tried to share what they had found out. They were both killed in anger and in the belief that they were evil.

On the other side, representing anism and hedonism, we see Jack and his hunters. All they care about are themselves. They do not want to live by any rules and they do not have any respect for the island, They burn and kill without worries, all to please themselves. The tribe loses all features of civilization, the only thing that influences them, except for their own will, is the fear of the Beast. None of them have ever seen an actual monster, but it is a fear of the unknown. In many ways the Beast becomes a religion for the boys. As we know hunters did in ancient times, the choirbboys start to sacrifice part of their prey, They leave meat so that the Beast shall like them and leave them alone.

The most abstract and symbolic incident in the book occurs when Simon sees this sacrifice. The symbol of Christianity, and what is good, meets the symbol of the Devil, and all that is evil. We know that Simon is only hallucinating because of his epilepsy, but a lot of what he sees make sense. The sow's bloody head convinces him that «'everything is bad business' . The half shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynisism of adult life.» The Lord of the Flies says «Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill . I'm part of you . I'm the reason why it's no go . Why things are what they are.» What Golding is saying is that the Devil is hidden somewhere deep inside of all people. Without morals, law and order it will eventually surface and come out.

Law and Order

The boys come from a society where law and order is the normal thing. At first they attempt to continue with this when they arrive on the island. But after a while their society develops into two different political systems: democracy and anarchy.

In the beginning the boys elect Ralph as their leader. Ralph (presumably influenced by his school background and his father) tries to promote a sense of order. Ralph uses a conch in their assemblies. Only the boy holding the conch is allowed to speak. In this way Ralph is having a democratic system where all the boys can express their thoughts, but in order and only when holding the conch.

Through different symbols we see that the political system develops. One symbol is Piggy's glasses. They belong to him, and they are necessary for him to be able to see. They are also necessary to make the fire. First Jack destoys one of its lenses, and later he steals the other lense. This act makes the other boys unwilling to accept the laws that they have made.

Also the fear of the beast makes them want a strong leader that can deal with the beast. Through this situation Jack can step into the position as a leader, and get through his anarcistic, and eventually tyrannic system. Jack is a person that wants to mess things up for Ralph and get rid of his democratic system.

The end of the democratic system comes when the conch is crushed.

DISCIPLINE

William Golding worked as a teacher both before and after he wrote «Lord of the Flies». He was very displeased with the English school system, because he thought that hard discipline was not the right way to change children into young adults.

When the boys arrive on the island they, create their own little society with a leader, with laws and with different groups with different jobs, for example the hunters. Here we can see that they follow the rules from the society they are used to; the school's discipline. But it turns out that it is not possible to live like this. So instead it is Darwin's theory about the 'survival of the fittest' that takes control over the boys. Without real rules, laws, policemen and schools to look after them, they set free their impulses and do not care about discipline.

Jack was presumably the strongest one at school, but in the beginning he follows Ralph who is the reasonable one. After a while we can see that the dictator and murderer in Jack's personality comes out into the open, something that leads to the murders on both Piggy and Simon. It is clear that if they had followed the normal society's discipline, these disasters would have been prevented.

In a way you could say that the society the boys create on the island gradually changes. In the beginning of the book it is based on democratic values and equality - symbolised by the conch. It takes self discipline from the boys to obey the rules and work for the benefit of everybody. However, this proves difficult. In the course of the novel, the boys form a more autocratic and totalitarian society, where discipline in the form of obedience and subordinance is required by the leaders (Jack, Rogers, etc) in order to maintain order.

If you go deeper into the book, you can see that sex is something that the boys are taken by. But they cannot let their needs show, because sex is something which is taboo, like it also was at school. Their needs is let out in other ways, for instance when they are out hunting. This shows us that the hard school discipline is a real problem, because discipline conceals the needs of human nature.

The deterioration of law and order

From the calling of the first meeting and all along up to the final hunt for Ralph the sense of order and respect is gradually declining among the boys. In the beginning everybody listens to what everybody has to say, and they try to build a civilized society on the island. The boys had obviously gotten a pretty strict upbringing both at home and at school. All of them have a definite view of what is right and what is wrong.

We see this even in Jack as he cannot kill the first pig they meet. At first they are able to use this sense, and keep their traditional standards also on the island. They elect a leader democratically, and by popular vote they start deciding what has to be done. They have rules for the meetings and they make laws for what is allowed and what is not.

The problem comes when the boys start realizing that there is no one there to control them. There are no adults there to make them toil and sweat if they do not want to. The boys realize that swimming and eating fruit all day is more fun, than laying the foundation for a fair and safe society where everybody works for the benefit of the whole group.

The main symbol that represents the law and order on the island is the conch shell. It is with this Ralph calls all the meetings and all of the other boys seem to respect this. Anyone who holds it has the right to be heard. Without this, nobody would probably ever have listened to any of Piggy's intelligent suggestions. There would have been no fire, no shelters and no assigned place for lavatory use.

As the respect for the conch disappears, so does the law and order on the island. This hits rock bottom as Piggy is killed and the conch is crushed with him. There is no longer any respect for old world rules left on the island.

Still, I would not say that the decline of law and order is one of the main themes in the book. I would rather look at it as a subtheme; it shows one of the effects of giving in to egoism and hedonism. It is also part of showing the short way from civilization to savagery.

Mass Mentality

This novel can easily be read as a comment on the mass mentality in Germany immediately before and during World War II. How Adolf Hitler was able to gain support for his horrible actions in Nazi Germany, has been debated continuously ever since the war. And I think this is one of the main themes of the story.

It is interesting to study how the group of boys develops from being well organized and disciplined (lead by the clever and decent Ralph) till they in the end become a group of barbarian boys with a mobbish behaviour.

To show how the mentality changes, William Golding has, among other things, described the hunting for pigs in a detailed way. In the beginning the boys have troubles killing a pig. They are afraid of the blood. But later hunting becomes a ritualised act, in which they sing macabre chants.

When Simon is killed, this proves that the boys have lost their identity and in a way distanced themselves from their own actions. They are completely controlled by Jack Merridew, who holds many of the same qualities as Adolf Hitler. Jack is desperate for power and control on the island, and he is prepared to kill anybody to gain it. His charisma and the way he emits self-confidence makes him a natural leader and his skills as a leader give him support among the boys.

The fact that Jack actually gains support and finally wins the power-struggle against Ralph, who definitely is the more clever and foresighted of the boys (together with "Piggy"), is scary. But history has shown that sane people can, given the right background, ignore, and even support, vicious actions and regimes.

«Lord of the Flies» in the view of the Cold War

William Golding wrote «Lord of The Flies» in the beginning of the Cold War period. The book is at first sight only a tale - a story about some boys as the only survivors of a e crash.

The first hint showing that the book is more than just a tale, is the fact that the e was shot down. Later in the novel, we get another clue through the landing of a pilot, who has jumped out from his e in a parachute. This pilot is probably a war-pilot, who was shot down above the island.

What Golding says here, is that the Cold War has turned into a real war.

A further look into the book shows that it contains certain confrontations. (Examples: Jack against Ralph, savages against the conch group, evil against good.) These confrontations are results of the Cold War outlook. In view of these confrontations one could look at the book again, and see that Golding has made several points that can be related to the Cold War.

These points are:

The threat from the atomic weapons. These weapons could destroy the world. In view of this, the island itself can be seen as a metaphor of the earth after a nuclear war. This means that the island is the only place left on earth, and that a new world should be built on this island.

The response from the Cold War where everybody wants to be on one side or the other, is related in the book through the two groups: the savages or the conch group. None of the boys stands beside, they all want to be part of one of the groups. Golding says that this mentality can only bring the nuclear disaster closer.

As the last point Golding comes up with a solution to avoid the disaster. He says that through individuals taking responsibility for themselves, and not being manipulated by mob mentality, everything would have ended good for the boys on the island, and then for the world (since the island is a metaphor for the earth).

As we know, through reading the book, the society on the island breaks down and Piggy and Simon are killed. This is meant as a warning. Without a substantial increase in personal responsibility, the world will end up with a fate like the one of the boys.

Good and Evil

The most central theme of Lord of the Flies is probably the battle between good and evil. Several conflicts on several different levels underline and emphasize this theme. Examples of these conflicts are the conflicts between the conch group and the savages, between the boys and the terrifying «beast», and the conflict between Jack's band on the one hand and Ralph and Simon on the other.

This theme is mostly revealed through symbolism. Ralph is the symbol of good, while Jack is the symbol of evil. This can be seen, for example, by the fact that Ralph is the one providing law and order, and he is constantly involved in several projects for welfare and safety, which he tries to carry through the best he can. Ralph and Simon, who are both good, build shelters and maintain the fire only to preserve a good situation and health for their fellow islanders.

Jack is a symbol of evil. He and his choir boys, who are presented almost as an army, have no respect for Ralph's government at all. They resent all kinds of authorities and restricting rules. In the beginning, Jack attempts to take over the conch group from Ralph, but he fails in all his attempts. This leaves him with envy and a desire of revenge towards Ralph and his rules. Jack withdraws from the conch group and froms his own 'tribe', which will not submit to any governing force. In Jack's world, anarchy rules. The boys that join Jack's army do it because they get to hunt pigs and they don't have to work.

Symbolism In Lord of the Flies

Symbolism played an important part in the development of story. This narrative technique is used to give a significance to certain people or objects, which represent some other ure. The following table lists many of the examples of symbolism used throughout Golding's book.

There are many other aspects in the story that may be considered symbolism, but the several above are probably the most significant. Another good example of symbolism, brought to my attention by a site visitor, is the shape of the island. The boat shape of the island is an ancient symbol of civilization. The water current around the island seems to be 'flowing backwards,' giving the subtle impression that civilization may be going backwards for the island or its inhabitants. Additionally, another reader pointed out that Jack could also represent Communism or Fascism. Golding was influenced by events during the time period that the book was written, which was around World War II.

Themes William Golding presented numerous themes and basic ideas that give the reader something to think about. One of the most basic and obvious themes is that society holds everyone together, and without these conditions, our ideals, values, and the basics of right and wrong are lost. Without society's rigid rules, anarchy and savagery can come to light.

Golding is also showing that morals come directly from our surroundings, and if there is no civilization around us, we will lose these values.

Other secondary themes include the following:

People will abuse power when it's not earned.

When given a chance, people often single out another to degrade to improve their own security.

You can only cover up inner savagery so long before it breaks out, given the right situation.

It's better to examine the consequences of a decision before you make it than to discover them afterward.

The fear of the unknown can be a powerful force, which can turn you to either insight or hysteria.

Miscellaneous Information William Golding obviously was influenced by several other authors in his creation of Lord of the Flies. His references to Coral Island and the use of the names Jack and Ralph are both derived from Robert Ballantyne's Coral Island. He has also had influence from the likes of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Jules Verne. Golding, however, held a much more negative outlook on human nature, which he expressed in his works, beginning with Lord of the Flies.

LORD OF THE FLIES - the film

Date of publication: 03/16/1990 

By Roger Ebert

William Golding's Lord of the Flies is, or used to be, a staple of everyone's teenage reading experience, a harrowing fable about how ordinary kids revert to savagery when they are marooned on a deserted island. The story is less poignant nowadays than it once was, if only because events take place every day on our mean streets that are more horrifying than anything the little monsters do to one another on Golding's island.

When Peter Brook made the first film version of the novel in 1963, most viewers no doubt identified with the character of Ralph, the little liberal humanist, instead of with Jack, the little free market economist. These days, I imagine the audiences are more evenly divided. Of all the films that cry out to be remade, the call of Brook's 'Lord of the Flies' is very faint indeed. But it has been heard by Harry Hook and Sara Schiff, who have directed and written this new and anemic Classics Illustrated version of the story.

Golding's tale is a parable, a simple one, ideal as the subject for essays in English class. Schoolboys from a private school are shipwrecked (or, in the new version, their aire crashes into the sea), and they swim to a deserted island where they must fend for themselves. At first they stick together and act reasonably, but then they divide into two camps: followers of Ralph, who believe in decency and civilization, and followers of Jack, who paint their faces, sharpen their spears and become militarists. Despairing of ever being rescued, the boys go to war with one another, with deadly results.

The staging of this story is fairly straightforward. The kids crawl up on the sand, their clothes gradually grow more tattered, they light a signal fire and then ht over who will tend it, they ht for possession of the knife and a pair of glasses that can be used to start fires, and they draw the battle lines between their two camps.

Hook's visual sense is not acute here; he doesn't show the spontaneous sense of time and place that made his first film, 'The Kitchen Toto' (1988), so convincing. He seems more concerned with telling the story than showing it, and there are too many passages in which the boys are simply trading dialogue. The color photography tends to turn many scenes into travelogues; this is a film that needs black and white to contain the lush scenery. The 'lord of the flies' itself - the rotting head of a wild boar - never becomes the focus of horror it is intended as, and the surprise ending of the film is somehow over before we have the opportunity to be surprised. The acting is workmanlike.

Because this material is so obviously constructed to bear a message, a film made from it will work best if it concentrates on the story elements and lets the symbolism take care of itself. Hook's version does neither. The symbolism is right up front and unmissable, and the story part - the events that in theory should cause our throats to tighten and our pulses to quicken - is pretty lame. Once you understand what is going to happen (and even the viewer who has never heard of the book will not take long), there are few surprises. It happens.

The reviews of Brook's 1963 film version were not glowing ('Semiprofessional . . . crude and unconvincing' - Halliwell; 'Patched together' - Kauffmann). But I recall it having at least a certain force, maybe because in 1963 it was still shocking that ordinary schoolkids could be killers - that they had the seeds of evil in them, and, given the opportunity and freedom from the restraints of society, the seeds would grow.

Golding's novel is the sort of fable that could shock only those who believe in the onwardness of civilization, as some still did in those days. At the time of its publication (1954) attempts were made to find political messages in it, but today it seems more like a sad prophecy of what is happening in neighborhoods ruled by drugs. What week goes by without another story of a Ralph gunned down by a Jack?

Lord of the Flies (STAR)  1/2

Ralph Balthazar Getty

Jack Chris Furrh

Piggy Danuel Pipoly

Simon Badgett Dale

Columbia Pictures presents a film directed and edited by Harry Hook. Produced by Ross Milloy. Written by Sara Schiff. Photographed by Martin Fuhrer. Music by Philippe Sarde. Running time: 90 minutes. Classified R. At local theaters.