Christianity In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

Today, most novels have some sense of deeper meaning through the use of symbolism. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is no exception. Golding uses vast amount of symbolism to portray several different ideas and themes throughout his novel. However, he uses a very different and interesting kind of symbolism that distinguishes itself from many other titles. This is the use of religious symbolism. In many ways, Lord of the Flies is a reference to biblical figures, events, and places. While in no way does he say it, he symbolizes Christian beliefs and stories through the actions of the characters of the novel. For example, in many ways Simon represents Jesus Christ and Moses from the Holy Bible. And to complement this symbolism of Christianity, he uses the Lord of the Flies in many ways to represent Satan. Not

The Lord of the Flies is symbolized as the Christian devil. Now, the Lord of the Flies is shown to be the devil and many ways. Perhaps the most unexpected way is through their names. Today, most people refer to the devil as Satan. As it turns out, Lord of the Flies in Hebrew translates to Beelzebub. Beelzebub’s meaning is Satan or a devil. In turn, the Lord of the Flies from the novel is a direct symbolism of Satan. Marike van Vuuren, who wrote how Lord of the Flies is a post-war rewriting of salvation history, also explains that the bible says that “The name “lord of the flies”, first given to the idol Baal-zebub and later to Satan came to mean lord of the filth” (Vuuren 13). She explains how this meaning of the name relates to the head of the pig as an “unclean animal” according to Judaic Law (Vuuren 13). So not only did Golding specifically want the devil’s symbolic character to be named after Satan, but he wanted the pig’s head to directly represent Satan with “lord of the filth.” Moreover, the Lord of the Flies is symbolized as Satan in more ways than just their