The Lord Of The Flies: Allegory

Daria Rycewicz

Charles

The Lord of the Flies: Allegory

The definition of an allegory is a symbolical narrative, and that describes the novel, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding perfectly. The story is about a group of young boys who get stranded on an island and they more have to survive themselves than any other real obstacle. This novel can be viewed as an allegory in three different senses, first as a political allegory, next as a psychological allegory and finally as a religious allegory.

The Lord of the Flies can first be viewed as a political allegory. To understand this you need to look at the state of the world at the end of World War II. During this period of time the world was divided into parts; the free world and the Soviet Union. In this novel it’s just like how the island divided into two groups; Jack’s group and Ralph’s group. Plus, after the Cold War, the population was in fear of total atomic destruction of the world. In The Lord of the Flies the world is also on the verge of total destruction. This novel could also be seen as a warning to the leaders of the world.

Second, this novel is a psychological allegory, more specifically a Freudian psychological allegory. Different characters were used to represent the different parts of the human psyche. Jack is used to represent the id, Piggy the superego and Ralph is the ego. As the id, Jack works to gratify his own impulses. While Piggy, representing the superego, tries to control Jacks impulsive behavior. Throughout the story, Piggy tries to keep peace between the two.

Lastly, The Lord of the Flies, can be viewed as a religious allegory representing the Garden of Eden. The was a perfectly hospitable island; it had good food, good weather and good water. The snake