Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

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In Lord of the Flies, William Golding weaves in Biblical ties through characters, actions, and intentional symbolism to better explore mankind. Biblical figures were shown throughout the book with the use of different characters and their actions. Simon, a shy independent boy represents the Messiah Jesus. As told in the Bible, Jesus dies while spreading knowledge to others. Similarly, Simon dies while trying to tell the other boys about the man on the hill. Both were sent down from above. Jesus from God in heaven, and Simon from the Lord of the Flies on the hill. “‘Come now,’ said the Lord of the Flies.‘Get back to the others and we’ll forget the whole thing’” (Golding 128). The Devil is the personification of evil. As we find out in chapter …show more content…

The symbolism of fruit and sin has been shown in both Lord of the Flies, and the Bible. The fruit is the pure state of evil. At Ralph's and Piggy’s first interaction, Piggy’s stomach begins to hurt. “Them fruit” (3). It is implied that the fruit is the reason Piggy is feeling this pain. Although it is bringing the boys discomfort, they continue to eat the fruit. “They ate most of the day, picking fruit where they could reach it and not particular about ripeness and quality. They were used now to stomachaches and a sort of chronic diarrhoea” (49). The Bible tells us that sin causes death, yet people still continue to sin. The island the story takes place on represents the Garden of Eden. Similar to the island shown in the novel, the Garden of Eden was a pure sanctuary that was ruined by mankind. At the beginning of the story, the island was a beautiful place, uninhabited by man. Yet after being scarred by the plane, the beauty dies out quickly. The boys set fire to the island, and make it a dirty place. “Now people seem to use anywhere. Even near the shelters and the platform. You littluns, when you’re getting fruit; if you’re taken short… you keep away from the fruit. That's dirty!” (69). Through the parallels to the Bible made by Golding, it is shown how Mankind is bound to destroy