Lord of the Flies Allegory

Allegory A narrative (fables, parables, poems, stories, novels, etc.) that serves as an extended metaphor in which persons, abstract ideas, or events represent not only themselves on the literal level, but also stand for something else on the symbolic level.

Allegory vs. Symbol An allegory is a complete narrative that conveys abstract ideas to get a point across. A symbol is a representation of an idea or concept that can have a different meaning throughout a literary work.

Lord of the Flies It is an allegory on three levels: political, religious, and psychological. On its most basic level, it is an allegory of human society. The novel’s primary implication is that “what we have come to call civilization is at best skin deep” (The New York Times Book Review).

LOTF as a Political Allegory It is an allegory of the political state of the world in the post war period. World was divided into two camps – the free world / the Soviet Union. (Ralph and Jack) Postwar Cold War Era suffered from fears of atomic destruction. (LOTF shows the world at the brink of atomic destruction.) Novel serves as a warning to world leaders.

LOTF as Psychological Allegory As Freudian psychological allegory, the characters in the novel personify the different aspects of the human psyche: the id, the superego, and the ego. Jack represents the id. This is the part of the unconscious mind that works always to gratify its own impulse. Piggy is the superego. This is the part of the mind that seeks to control the impulsive behavior of the id. Piggy always reminds Ralph and the others of their responsibilities. Ralph is the ego. He is the conscious mind that mediates between the id’s demand for pleasure and the social pressures brought to bear by the superego.

Boys represent components of psyche under extreme stress. Jack Passion Ralph Reason Piggy Intellect Simon Mysticism (Spiritualism) Sam-n-Eric Conformity Roger Depravity

LOTF as Religious Allegory LOTF is a religious allegory of the Garden of Eden. It was a perfect island with good food, good weather, and good water. Fall of man represented by Piggy and the parachutist. Simon is a Christ figure. (He is different from the other boys, cares about the small and vulnerable, loves nature, prophet – knows Ralph will return to civilization, killed while bringing saving news to the others) Title is a translation of the Greek word “Beelzebub” which refers to the devil.

Writers use allegory to illustrate abstract meanings by using concrete images. Often characters personify some abstract quality.