Lord of the Flies
Last of the Allegories
LOTF:WHAT IS AN ALLEGORY?
• A figure of rhetoric
• The use of symbols to portray a moral or
message
• Fables or parables are short allegories with
one DEFINITE MESSAGE!
– Example: “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”
• In this fable, the boy is an allegory for children who do
not tell the truth and are not believed in the end.
LOTF: Allegory Vs. Symbol
• How do we tell the difference between an
allegory and symbolism?
– They are similar, but the difference is in the
details. An allegory is much longer and in much
more detail then symbolism is.
• EXAMPLE: In LOTF, Piggy’s glasses symbolize intellect
and & knowledge (science/technology)
• EXAMPLE: In LOTF, the allegory of Piggy’s glasses
express the eventual and unavoidable decline of
mankind when faced with terms of survival.
LOTF: The Role of an Allegory
• Allegories have been used in education to
leach a lesson for years! WHY?
– Entertainment
– Easy to remember = Easy to pass on
– Underlying principles were used for teaching
lessons
– Oral traditions
LOTF: The Decline of the Allegory
• We are a literal culture now! We want
gratification NOW.
• We are tired of figuring out “the message”,
rather, we want it clearly delivered upfront.
– Proves why allegories are difficult to comprehend
– LOTF is one of the last novels to have substantial
allegories.
LOTF: 3 Types of Allegories
• Political Allegory (Think: WWII, Cold War,
atomic destruction)
• Social Allegory (Think: How people work
together)
• Religious Allegory (Think: Garden of Eden,
Christ-like characters, God Vs. Satan)
LOTF: Political Allegory
• The world was divided into 2 “camps”: Free
World vs. Soviet Union
– Which character represent these two camps?
• Ralph (Piggy, Simon)– Free World
• Jack (Roger, Choir Boys) – Soviet Union
• The Cold War brought about fears of atomic
destruction – those of which were
materialized in LOTF.
LOTF: Social Allegory
• Human beings, institutions, systems
• Communism vs. The beast within
LOTF: Religious Allegory
• The Garden of Eden = the island
– Describes the perfect living condition with
food/water, good weather, etc.
– Utopia?
• Golding portrays this “Eden” with a sense of
evil at the same time to create a foreboding of
something terrible. The island ends up in a
state of misery: Dystopia
LOTF: Religious Allegory
• Piggy = the “fall” of mankind
• Lord of the Flies = Satan/evil (living inside
mankind)
• Simon = quiet/observer; always does good to
benefit others (littluns); used as the sacrificial
lamb; he is the Christ-like symbol.
• Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies is
important because it represents something
pure/good vs. evil in its worst form (Satan).
LOTF: Name Meanings
• Ralph = Anglo-Saxon word meaning, COUNCIL
• Piggy = vulnerability comparable to vulnerability
of pigs on the island; how much the other boys
dislike him because of his intelligence (pig =
smart)
• Jack = Hebrew word, “Yakov,” meaning “one who
deceives” or “ one who takes over.”
• Simon = Hebrew word, “one who listens”,
“one who observes”
• Roger = “Famous with the spear”
LOTF: The Real World Island
• The island is a representation of what is
happening in the outside world. Destruction
and chaos are imitated within the society set
up by the boys
• ISN’T IT IRONIC …
– Without realizing it, the boys have created the
same society from which they were being
protected