Preview

Allegory In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
159 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Allegory In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies
In its broadest sense, allegory is an extended metaphor. In a deeper sense, allegory is a figure of speech in which philosophical principles and ideas are portrayed in terms of events, figures, and characters. Allegory seems similar to symbolism. Even though allegory uses symbols, both are quite distinct. An allegory is a finished narrative which implicates numerous characters, and events that stand for a conceptual idea. On the other hand, symbol, is only an object that stands for another one, giving it a particular meaning. Lord of the Flies is an allegory, different from Ralph, who is only a symbol. The objective for allegory is to teach a moral lesson, and also allows writers to put forth their moral and political point of views. A diffident

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “Language fits over experience like a straight-jacket” William Golding believes. In Golding’s book Lord of the Flies language and communication is the key to survival for the boys that crash land on a deserted island. At the beginning several English boys crash land on a deserted island, then with a central symbol found, the conch, they elect a leader for the group. Jack and Ralph want different things so the group splits into two later, in the novel. Jacks group hunts while Ralph’s group is hunted. Several boys die, and when Ralph is the last good-hearted one on the island a navy ship comes and reluctantly rescues the boys. Lord of the Flies depicts savagery and destruction of marooned British boys. Golding wrote this book as a post-war humanistic, allegorical book with analogy to the Bible. Through biblical references in settings, symbolism, and overall meaning, Lord of the Flies becomes a religious allegory.…

    • 997 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies by William Golding tells the story about a group of English boys who are stranded on an island after a plane that they were on was shot down. On this island the boys have the freedom of living without adults. They must find a way to set up a society that is livable in and that maintains order. However as time passes the characters see that those tasks are easier said than done. In Lord of the Flies, there are many different characters that show development and growth. Characters like Piggy, Ralph, and Jack all show signs of maturing and growth near the end of the book. Some of the characters were humane and try to maintain order, but other characters fall into the savagery that is within everyone. This statement is best depicted…

    • 689 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As you read the lord of flies there are a lot of allegory and symbol to backup the allegory. In his lord of the flies, allegory William golding attempts to argue that kids on the island have a darkness by show it by the beast.The beast is the kid’s on the island.During the story, first kid to find out about the beast was a littlun who name was Phil.The person who was really affected by the beast was Simon.Lord of the file tries to prove him that the beast was their self.…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Secondly, conflict is a big factor in the process of one losing innocence, for it causes not only physical damage, but psychological damage as well. The conflict between Ralph and Jack is clear from the beginning of the novel. Jack is clearly jealous when Ralph is chosen to be chief instead of him, but he still tries to gain power by becoming the head of the hunters. The readers see the struggle of Jack keeping himself in check during meetings. He always takes the conch away from the other boys and speaks without the conch. Jack is the centre of most of the conflict in the book. He is the one who feels like he is a better leader than Ralph and makes a whole new tribe to prove the statement. He constantly bashes on Ralph’s leading styles and…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The fire continuously causes conflict creating a survival of the fittest over power between egocentrism and responsibility where civility is all that keeps them from ravaging each other. The Author tells you,“They were savages, it was true, but they were human.”, showing how the situation and need for power drove everyone over the edge of society.(Pg.185, William Golding) Part of the reason things got so out of control so fast was Jack having the backing of roger who being the sadistic boy he is decided to make sure everyone was kept in line and if they didn’t stay in line he tortured them. There is also the fact that the island is covered with ignorance except for a singular place of knowledge which is completely destroyed by Jack and his tribe showing how egocentrism and sadism make a very dangerous combination. Ralph boldly says,"You voted me for chief. Now you do what I say.", even though this may seem egotistical he only says this trying to maintain a sense of…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies William Golding uses allegories to illustrate the human psyche. Different characters are used to represent different parts of an individual 's mental structure: the impulses of the Id, the rationality of the Ego, and the moral understanding of the Superego. Golding carefully describes each character 's actions to coincide with each part of the psyche. Jack, Piggy, Simon, and Ralph are characters in the story that represent the psyche.…

    • 1014 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A symbol is a thing, person, or place that is presented as a representation of a larger mean. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, as the story unravels, the objects which the boys encounter are decoded to provide a deeper meaning. Golding uses symbolism to expose that an item is more powerful than it first seems.…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    English 102 Midterm/Final

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Allegory- a narrative in verse or prose in which the literature events (person, place, or thing) consistently point to a parallel sequence of symbolic ideas. The narrative is used to dramatize abstract ideas, historical events, religious system, or political issues.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Henry Thoreau once said, "The savage in man is never quite eradicated" ("Savagery Quotes"). There is savagery in every person, even a group of british grade-school boys, and is never really destroyed. The Lord of the Flies is the story of a plane crash, boys stranded on an island, and the transition from civilized humans to cold blooded savages. William Golding 's The Lord of the Flies uses imagery and symbolism to create an image in the reader 's mind and to convey the idea of society through a child 's eyes.…

    • 787 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the Lord of the Flies by the author William Golding, he creates an allegorical novel based on stranded children abandoned on an island. In order to create an allegory, it's a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures and events(Allegory). The novel Lord of the Flies it begins with a group of children that were stranded on an remote island without adult supervision. They start to develop their own civilization but however as they continue to work together they also start to develop their inner savage. Toward near the end, their inner savage starts to controls them and ends with a disturbing and tragic ending. Although they’ve built a civilization, Golding’s has used symbolism and the literal meaning of being civil and human nature. In the Lord of the Flies, Golding uses this allegory structure and uses symbolism to describe the human nature with a conch, fire, and the beast.…

    • 760 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1OAkanji TMAllegory

    • 707 Words
    • 7 Pages

    An allegory is a story in which characters, events, and settings symbolize abstract or moral…

    • 707 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What would you do if your plane crashed on a deserted tropical island surrounded by the isolation of the ocean and strangers whom you’ve never met? In William Goldings Lord of the Flies, a group of boys, the oldest of them being twelve, crash among an inhabited, untamed island where they're forced to adapt, survive, and make life altering choices. During the course of the story the author uses symbolism to express hidden emotions within the characters themselves, and emotions that could draw the reader in and really experience what is happening to these young boys, including a conch, glasses, and an evil beast.…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is an allegory some might ask? An allegory is a story with figurative meaning or one that has two meanings. Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, examples of allegory are evident through the characters. In the beginning of the novel, a group of British boys are deserted after a plane crash on a paradise like island, one which is seemingly similar to the Garden of Eden. With no help from an adult or parental figure, the boys learn for themselves, order is necessary to survive. However, because of their own imperfections and inability to control their savagery, they lose their creation of a society. They do not listen to Christ-figure Simon, who tries to warn them about their destructiveness and the truth. Instead, they murder Simon that…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling" (Golding, 54). William Golding depicts a scene of utter rejoice and of foul behavior. A group of boys stranded on an island, are forced to leave the arbitrary laws that dictate modern society. Lost in a place without rules, without a government, or adults to run it, the young boys manifest a society of their own. Struggling between the need for civilization and the thrill of savagery, two young boys are revealed as the social outcasts, of a society without function.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An allegory is a story, poem or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one. Arthur Miller’s novel, the Crucible is a fictional play that centers around the Salem Witch Trials. The novel can also be classified as an example of an allegory. The allegorical meaning of the Crucible is that it can be a representation of the Red Scare, the HUAC, and McCarthyism.…

    • 789 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays