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Christian Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

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The other way the Lord of the Flies symbolizes Satan is the fact that he speaks to Simon alone. In the novel, the Lord of the Flies only speaks to Simon and Simon alone. The Lord of the Flies confirms this solitude by saying “There is not anyone here to help you. Only me. And I am the beast” (Golding 143). The reason that the Lord of the Flies speaking to Simon alone represents Christianity is because of Jesus. If Simon is really symbolized as Jesus Christ, and if the Lord of the Flies represents Satan then this is a huge deal. In the Christian bible, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast for forty days and forty nights. In those forty days and nights, Jesus is tempted by the devil. (King James Bible, Matt. 4.1-11). The entire scene of the Lord of the …show more content…

Both stories they are spoken to alone and vulnerable by Satan. The only difference between of Jesus’ story and Simon’s is that Simon falls for Satan’s temptations. The Lord of the Flies tempts Simon to go back to his friends by saying “you had better run off and play with the others” (Golding 143). This encouragement and temptation by the devil lead Simon to his ultimate demise. He returned to his friends to find them encircling and killing him; blinded by the ruthless and savage sin the Lord of the Flies had bestowed upon the island. Yet, this brings up another symbolism to Christianity; the island.
The island symbolizes the Garden of Eden from the time of Adam and Eve. Before the boys arrived, the island was an untouched, prefect paradise, much like the Garden of Eden. Golding descriptively tells the reader about the island. He paints

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After a while these flies found Simon. Gorged, they alighted by his runnels of sweat and drank. They ticked under his nostrils and played leapfrog on his thighs. They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned." (138) Lord of the Flies Lord of the Flies represents evil.

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Simon was always an outsider and their is lots of evidence that hints Simon is a Christ like figure. He helped those in need, and was killed by his own community. He even grew his hair out longer than the other boys. The author writes, “Here the littluns who had run after him caught up with him… Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands.”(pg.56).

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974 Words | 4 Pages

Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a book about a group of boys stuck on a deserted island who try to organize their own society which results in a series of events and disasters. This book portrays many different personalities and characters that are important parts of the book. One of the protagonists, Simon, has a plethora of fine qualities such as kindness, intuition, thoughtfulness, and virtue. These qualities shape Simon into a Christ-like figure. Simon is shown to be an image of Christ through his tender-hearted nature, prophetic-like qualities, and understanding of the beast within the boys.

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For example, Simon is a character with many Christ figure qualities. Simon proves he is good with children when he assists the younger children by grabbing hard to reach fruit for them. Also, Simon is empathetic toward Ralph and reassures him that he will get off the island. Not only does Simon display Christ-like characteristics, but he also has many interactions that can be seen as biblical allusions. For example, Simon is tempted by the Lord of the Flies in the jungle, just like when Jesus was tempted by Satan when he goes into the desert for forty days.

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1479 Words | 6 Pages

IMAGERY The novel begins with a bunch of young boys who are trapped on an island after a plane crash. Throughout the novel William Golding includes various types of imagery to accurately describe each significant place on the island the boys are stranded on. An example would be calling the place where the airplane sliced through the brush “the scar”. The most realistic use of imagery is the description of the patch of the island where the boys would burn what they intended to be a "small fire."

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The use of symbolism is often used by authors to show a deeper meaning to an object within a story. These enhancements to the meaning of objects gives readers insight to what is really being represented. Although they may seem vague, they create a path to better understanding of characters and scenarios within a story. A proper use of this technique can be witnessed in Lord of the Flies. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, symbolism is used to depict a greater meaning within the objects that appear throughout the novel.

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This quote shows how the Lord of the Flies represents the boys' inner demons and their descent into savagery. The fact that Simon talks to the Lord of the Flies shows how he is grappling with his own inner darkness and how the Lord of the Flies is a symbol of the boys' collective fear and guilt. Later in the novel, when the boys are hunting Ralph, they chant, "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!"

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At this time the boys did not know that it was Simon, they simply beat him because they were afraid and they assumed it was a monster. The godly figure that the boys fear in “The Lord of the Flies” is shadow on the mountain. The boys begin to fear the shadow. The boys begin to fear this shadow, and treat it almost as a God, they even begin to leave it offerings. In the chrysalids this figure is their God.

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Abandoning one’s Christianity leads to a loss of morals, as seen in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies through the allusions to Jesus, imagery of regression, and personification of the sea. Golding uses the characterization of Simon to allude to the life of Jesus Christ by contrasting his disposition with that of the other boys, highlighting their distance from their faith and its destructive effect. One example of such disparity is when "Simon knelt on all fours and

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The quote “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head.” (Golding 164) expresses that the Lord of the Flies is divulging to Simon that the evil is not something that can be hunted or killed but is within the boys. Simon also learns that the beast of evilness was in the boys all along. The theme Inherent Evil of Man is displayed through Simon learning that evil is within the boys and that this was the beast. This shows how the evil action appears as a beast and the understanding of evilness by

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In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the Lord of the Flies signifies the power of evil and violence within people. When Simon imagines the pig’s head speaking to him, the pig’s head implies, “I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are? ” (143). The Lord of the Flies symbolizes chaos and corruption that’s caused by the boys on the island.

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Simon later encounters the Lord of the Flies (a pig’s head on a stick that Jack left as a sacrifice for the beast) who “speaks” to Simon while he is having a brain clot. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that it is the beast, that it’s inside of everyone. “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!” (Page 143) it tells him, reminding Simon that to defeat the “beast”, or evil, within a person is impossible to physically accomplish. It’s as if everyone has a ticking time bomb of malevolence that is kept in check by our moral values and societal standards.

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Although these people become free, only few stay on the straight and narrow, meaning they realize why he dies and keep following his teachings. The story of Jesus' death relates closely to Simon in the novel. Simon came out of the woods after talking to the Lord of the Flies, the devil, who confirmed Simon's belief that the boys were innately becoming beasts. Since this truth was revealed, Simon went up to the top of the mountain to uncover the fake beast. He found the dead parachuter and went to tell the boys.

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Lord Of The Flies Jaedyn Clavelle Per 3 Lit comp 1. Imagine you're on an Island stranded, filled with fear trying to survive. Do you feel you could stay calm and handle it in way an “adult” would or could the fear bring out the inner beast which hides deep down inside all of us. The novella Lord of The Flies by George Orwell, tells a story about a group of british boys who crash a plane on an inhabited island. These kids have to work together with the help of a leader to govern themselves yet they find the results to be disastrous.

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During Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies, Golding reveals the central issue concerning human nature. Simon reaches the realization that they fear the beast because it exists within each of them. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon that the beast is inside each boy and cannot be killed. The boys go from behaving like civilized young men to brutal savages. “What I mean is…maybe it’s only us.”

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