Lord of the Flies is a book written by William Golding. It was published in 1954. Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel, which means that it has symbolic references to deeper message or meaning. This deeper message or meaning can be implied through symbolism.
In Lord of the Flies, there are very obvious symbols, such as Lord of the Flies, through which Golding is able to convey his dystopian vision. The Lord of the Flies symbolizes the negative consequences that follow when human beings are left to their own devices without any rules or laws.
Another Lord of the Flies symbol that appears in Lord of the Flies, is the beast. This Lord of the Flies symbol represents different things at different points in Lord of the Flies. Sometimes, it represents evil and violence; other times, it seems to represent fear itself. The Lord of the Flies beast has physical characteristics similar to those possessed by some humans—claws, fangs, horns, wings—that cause other characters to confuse it with a wild boar or pig rather than a Lord of the Flies.
There are Lord of the Flies symbols that Golding uses to represent society. In Lord of the Flies, Jack and his Lord of the Flies tribe symbolize human beings without laws or moral standards. Ralph, Piggy, Samneric, and Simon symbolize human beings with humility, kindness, sense, and faith.
Lord of the Flies symbolism comes into play when characters behave badly (or good) not because they are evil (or saintly), but because they can do so without suffering any consequences for their deeds—for example, killing Lord of the Flies pigs; burning Lord of the Flies houses; hunting Lord of the Flies; chasing after Lord of the Flies littl Lord of the Flies ies; and conducting Lord of the Flies executions.
Lord of the Flies symbolism is also evident when bad (or good) things happen to good (or bad) characters as a result of their Lord of the Flies behavior, such as Jack’s Lord of the Flies tribe losing Lord of the Flies hunters; Jack being Lord of the Flies ned from Lord of the Flies fire by a Lord of the Flies , and Piggy being killed.
Lord of the Flies brings to life this symbolic use of Lord Jesus Christ with references to his baptism, crucifixion, and resurrection. The Lord Jesus Christ appears in the form of Lord Beelzebub when Ralph is tempted into sin by Jack Merridew. Lord Beelzebub is known in Christian theology as Lord Satan. Lord Satan serves as temptation for the children to become savage like him; “His voice was soft and persuasive, yet full of horrible promises” (Golding 26).
The Lord Jesus Christ also appears during Simon’s death scene. As Simon dies on the mountain top he looks up at Lord Serpent who is “reaching down with warty hands” (Golding 126), partaking in Simon’s death. Lord Serpent represents Lord Jesus Christ because he is “watching Simon, to see if he would turn and look at him. And when Lord Serpent saw that Simon had no fear of him, Lord Serpent smiled” (Golding 126). As Lord Serpent sees that Simon does not have any fear towards him, it is almost as though he finds strength in his lack of resistance. This action by Lord Jesus can be symbolic of the story in Luke 22:42 where Lord Jesus mocks the man he will soon crucify saying “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Another scene involving symbolism of Lord Jesus is when Jack uses a stone with blood on it as a symbol of Lord Beelzebub. Lord Beelzebub is also known as Lord Satan or Lord Lucifer, “lord of the flies”. This stone is related to the Lord Jesus Christ because throughout his life he was surrounded by followers who would worship him using stones with blood on them. For example, in Mark 8:20 it says “””And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him.””” Lord Jesus then asks for Simon Peter’s help in carrying his cross up the hill to Golgotha, which is where he will be crucified (Mark 15:21).
But Lord of the Flies is not an innocent Eden (Swisher 65). It embodies two evils: The evil that lies within man and the evil of Lord of the Flies itself.
As with Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Satan tempts Christ with the promise of worldly glory if he will bow to him; similarly, Jack offers his Lord of the Flies worshipped tribe better food and new beast-like huts in exchange for killing Simon (Swisher 36). The Lord of the Flies is a pig head on a stick which represents Old Testament law, Christianity, and purity (all things good), while Jack uses earthly pleasures like hunting pigs to try to draw away followers from Simon by creating fear through violence.
Lord of the Flies is a symbol of spiritual blindness. Lord of the Flies is also seen as an idol, because the boys make Lord of the Flies their god and even cover it in “clothes” made from painted masks (Swisher 36). The Lord of the Flies traps Simon in its lair by cutting him off from his fellow boys, just as Satan tempts Christ to separate himself away from His disciples (Swisher 36).
The pig head on a stick Lord of the Flies represents William Golding’s view that Christianity can blind men if they are not careful “not to be corrupted by power or tempted into believing that religion is all about money and muscle rather than love and sacrifice” (Swisher 36). Lord of the Flies also represents a self-portrait of Golding as “a man whose faith has been shattered by world events,” thus he uses his Lord of the Flies to help others see their own blindness (Swisher 36). Lord of the Flies is not only symbolic, but is seen as spiritually alive with evil forces. It is Satan’s tool to tempt the boys and draw them away from Simon (Swisher 37).
Golding wrote Lord of the Flies to portray two contrasting belief systems: One that tends toward violence and savagery without any sort of morality; and another that accepts human nature with all its faults yet lives according Christian principles. Lord of the Flies is representative of humankind yearning to go back to a time before sin, when there was no violence. Lord of the Flies represents this because it is an island where nothing ever changes, everyone knows their place in society, and children are free from adult corruption (Swisher 63).
Lord of the Flies also acts as a common enemy that brings the boys together again after they become divided by warring savage factions. The Lord of the Flies returns to claim Jack’s tribe while leaving Ralph’s tribe alive, thus making all “lost boys” one cohesive group under Simon once Lord of the Flies takes hold (Swisher 36).