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Lord Of The Flies Religious Allegory

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William Golding’s novel “Lord of The Flies”, employs religious allegory to explore the theme of inherent evil. The character Simon represents a Christ-like figure, the island represents the Garden of Eden, and the pig’s head symbolizes the devil or Beelzebub. Through these allegorical elements, Golding suggests that human nature is inherently flawed and that the potential for evil exists within all people. Throughout the novel, Simon is portrayed as a Christ-like figure who symbolizes hope and goodness. When the other boys become increasingly violent and savage, Simon remains a peaceful and introspective character. As Golding writes, "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed …show more content…

As one source notes, "The pig's head symbolizes the evil within humanity, and it is used by Golding to represent the devil or Satan" (CliffsNotes). The boys' fear of the "Lord of the Flies" is rooted in their fear of evil and the unknown. The pig's head is covered in flies, which represent decay and corruption, and this symbolizes the corruption of the boys' souls as they give in to their primal desires. As one source notes, "The pig's head speaks to Simon and tempts him with the promise of power and knowledge, much like the devil tempted Jesus in the Bible" (SparkNotes). In addition to its connection to the devil, the pig's head also serves to illustrate the boys' descent into darkness and savagery. As one source notes, "The pig's head represents the boys' growing willingness to embrace violence and brutality. They become obsessed with hunting and killing, and this obsession ultimately leads to the destruction of their sense of humanity" (Shmoop). The pig's head is a powerful symbol that illustrates the boys' descent into darkness and their eventual loss of humanity. Overall, the pig's head in "Lord of the Flies" is a symbol that connects to the devil and illustrates the boys' descent into darkness and savagery. It is a powerful symbol that highlights the themes of evil and corruption in the

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In Lord of the Flies the pig’s head on the stick represents the savagery and evil found on the island, and the pig’s head is the reason, “Why things are what they are” (Golding 143). Similarly, in Mean Girls the plastics have a Burn Book that they use to spread pernicious gossip about their classmates, and later in the movie The Burn Book causes several fights to break out among the girls. In short, the Burn Book and pig’s head cause several fights to break out among characters and represent the evil within people in both of the stories. Also, in Lord of the Flies Jack and his group breaks away from the rest of the boys because he did not want, “‘to be part of Ralph’s lot’” (Golding 127).

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The Lord of the Flies, a pig’s head skewered by a stake that severed the ground, summarized the power of evil. From the time the boys first arrived on the island to when they encountered the Naval officer, savagery turned everything upside down. The sow’s head summoned the presence of evil; as well as the face paint they used to hide who they really had become. The head counted as an offering to the “beast”. Simon found the Lord of the Flies and began to discuss his feelings with the head.

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Conclusively, this allows the reader to better understand the tension building up in the air, as well as the growing savagery of the boys and the events leading up to the brutal moments of Simon’s death. Furthermore, the detail Golding utilizes portrays the message that the moments leading up to Simon’s death grew more and more savage. Throughout the storm, the boys had become so wild it had driven them mad. Just moments before their interactions with the beast, they had become so reckless they could no longer contain themselves. Detail was expressed when Golding said that the boys were very eager to participate in the horrific events before Simon’s death: “...Under the threat of the sky, [they] found themselves eager to take a place in this demented…society”.

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The boys used this pig’s head as a symbol of religion and they begin to worship it. Like the devil, the Lord of the Flies was able to deceive and ruin the children’s innocence. It made the children believe that “There [wasn’t] anyone to help [them]. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . .

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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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The pig’s head signifies the Lord of the Flies by the way the boys hunted and brutally killed the pig. They slaughtered the pig by sticking a spear into its butt. Jack and his hunters believe that the pig’s head is an offering, so they can be safe from the beast; however, they are never safe from the beast. In the beginning, the island was a peaceful and comfortable place for the

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J.R.R. Tolkien: The Influence of Catholicism and Religious Symbolism in The Lord of the Rings When examining literary works, especially more popular literature, there tends to be story that surrounds the author and their intended purpose for writing the book. Tolkien’s writings may have been so widely received due to the saga’s fantastical and magical attributes. As a result, Tolkien’s audience enjoyed the emotional connection they could make to escape their own mundane world into a world which is familiar yet fundamentally different in respect to the mythical creatures which mingle with the human world. Tolkien’s fantasy creates a nation through mythology. Mystical creatures are flesh and blood; thriving in their foreign lands.

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This book represents evil in many ways, for the pig’s head of the first pig they had killed was put on a stick and put in the center of their home area and is the actual Lord of the Flies. As there was another voice in the crowd that said “Which is better –to be a pack of painted Indians like you are, or to be sensible like Ralph is?”, who is the everyman in ‘Lord of the Flies’ and thinks of the signal fire, which could be told as the hope of rescue. If you were wondering who I am talking about, it is Piggy. Who is Piggy? He is the the voice of reason and the one who everyone should’ve listen to, instead of bullying and/or hurting him.

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There are also flies flying around the upper half of the pigs head during this shot. The flies symbolize life and activity within the Lord of the Flies’ mind, giving the illusion that the dead pig is a sentient, thinking being. Simon’s facial expression and the lighting are both used in the third frame to add significance to the dialogue and actions of the scene.

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796 Words | 4 Pages

The conch and the sow’s head both wield a specific type of power over the juvenile boys in Lord of the Flies. The conch, used to call assemblies, represents progress and civilization while the sow’s head represents terror, barbarity, and malevolence and is partly to blame for Simon’s demise. Lord of the Flies is a novel about power because throughout the book Jack and Ralph quarrel over who should be the chieftain of the children and the novel uses the conch and the sow’s head to represent divergent forms of power and authority. Also, the book shows the reader the power of symbols such as the conch and the pig’s head and even the island that the children remain inevitably imprisoned on until their liberation at the conclusion of the novel. Just about everything within this novel is a representation of something that is considerably greater.

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1073 Words | 5 Pages

Why things are what they are?” (Golding 130) It is revealed that the pig head, also referred to as Lord of the Flies, symbolized the evil within all the boys. The pig head was responsible for what drove Jack’s tribe to go savage. Especially in society, fear can consume people to do tragic and harmful things, which is imitated in Lord of the Flies.

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In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, there are many symbolic concepts within the novel such as the beast, and the pigs head. Golding uses these concepts to portray to the reader his idea that when humans are left without rules or organisation they will break from a civilised manner and become savages allowing evil to over take them. One of the most important symbols used to help the reader understand Golding's idea is the beast. Many of the boys believe their is a beast on the island and become fearful.

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1490 Words | 6 Pages

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

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685 Words | 3 Pages

Simon’s psychological decline causes him to see the Lord of the Flies, a pig head that is staked into the ground. The Lord of the Flies tells Simon, “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!... I’m part of you? Close, close, close!...I’m the reason why things are the way they are?’” (Golding, 143).

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In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the head of the pig becomes an ongoing and important symbol. When Jack goes hunting, he is able to kill a mother pig. He cuts off its head, places it on a stick and the pig's head becomes an offering for the beast. The pig's head represents the evil and violence that lies within the boys, it also shows a loss of innocence in the boys and it represents the title of the novel, ‘Lord of the Flies’.

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