Lord of the Flies

1. Lord of the Flies …as an allegory

2. What is an allegory? • A story in which characters, setting, objects, and plot stand for a meaning outside of the story itself. • Allegory illustrates an abstract meaning by the use of concrete images • Two levels of the story: • 1) surface plot • 2) underlying meaning

3. Movies and Allegories… Values of American Society Christ figure Populism in the Gilded Age Marginalization of Minorities Atomic Bombs / WWII

4. Political Allegory • Ralph = good-hearted but not entirely effective leader of a democratic state (Churchill, FDR) • Piggy = the adviser, someone who is unable to rule because of his own social and physical shortcomings, but who is able to offer sound advice • Jack = a totalitarian dictator, a ruler who appeals to the emotional responses of his followers. He rules by charisma and hysteria (Hitler, Mussolini) • Roger = henchmen necessary for the totalitarian dictator to stay in power -Golding felt changed by WWII: “When I was young, before the war, I did have some airy-fairy views about man…But I went through the war and that changed me. The war taught me different and a lot of others like me…” -each character in the Lord of the Flies represents some abstract idea of government -at the time the novel was written, the world appeared to be teetering on the brink of total nuclear annihilation…it’s a cautionary tale

5. Human Psychology Allegory • Id = Jack’s impulse to hunt and kill…never considers anything but his own pleasure • Super ego = Piggy constantly reminds Ralph of their need to keep the fire burning and to be responsible. He urges Ralph to control Jack and realizes Jack hates him. • Ego = Ralph attempts to control Jack and engage his energy for the tending of the fire. He puts off the pleasure to hunt in order to secure rescue. • Without the reinforcement of social norms, the id will control the psyche Id= unconscious mind, works always to gratify its own impulses…seek to provide pleasure without regard to cost Super ego = part of the mind that seeks to control the impulsive behavior of the id – an internal censor Ego = conscious mind whose role it is to mediate between the id’s demand for pleasure and the social pressures brought to bear by the super-ego Sigmund Freud

6. Religious Allegory • Tropical Island = symbol of the Garden of Eden • Beastie = the snake who tempted Eve • Jack vs. Ralph = Cain vs. Abel • Jack = paganism/hedonism • Fear of the beast becomes a religion for the boys • Pagan traditions (i.e. the “sacrifice” of the pig’s head) • Simon = Christ figure • Kind and comforting to all • The one boy who has the true knowledge which can save them (about the parachuter) • Killed and martyred by those who did not want to follow his ways -Lord of the Flies is the translation of the greek word “Beezlebub,” which means “devil.” -allegory shows the fight between God and the Devil and Christian vs. Pagan religions -Christians believe that evil is in all humans….without morals and God, it will eventually come out

7. Decide…which allegory do you think fits the best?