Political, Social, and Religious Allegory Lord of the Flies Political, Social, and Religious Allegory

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: Political Allegory Similarities between Jack and Hitler, Ralph and the German Weimar Republic Jack marches in uniform at the start Killing of Simon Krystallnacht Roger  Torture and intimidation: The Gestapo LOTF becomes a warning about people who want Power and Control

LOTF: Social Allegory Human beings, institutions, systems Danger of the lust for power Fragility of civilization 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