ipl-logo

Lord Of The Flies Religion Analysis

1192 Words5 Pages

Religion in Lord of the Flies The Lord of the Flies. During the war, a plane carrying a group of British schoolboys is shot down over the ocean. The boys, range from six to twelve years old, survive the crash and find themselves deserted on an island. Golding shows the theme of religion with the use of Biblical stories. The Biblical stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and Christs death can be revealed by the characters Simon, Ralph, Jack, and the island itself. “The largest and most physically powerful boy on the island’s name is Ralph” (LitChart editors). Ralph is the protagonist in the novel and is the first boy the reader meets on the island and he quickly establishes power by blowing into a conch shell. It does not take long for …show more content…

Just as the boys form a society on the island, just as human nature has come from the Garden of Eden. When the boys burn down half the island they leave a scar, just as Adam and Eve left a scar on the island. The removal of Ralphs clothes along with the other boys to bathe can represent the nakedness of Adam and Eve, along with baptism. Simon is the only boy with a passive outlook on all the negative behavior of the island. This leads us to believe he is the parallel to Adam, who also was passive in the bible. The title of the book Lord of the Flies can translate to Beelzebub, which in Greek means devil. “the beast is seen as something external. Even in the next chapter the dead airman is seen as the beast - a beast from a dying world. But gradually the beast is internalized. It takes quite some time to realize that the beast lies within us. Simon is the first person to realize this” …show more content…

In the biblical story, In the Biblical story Cain kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. Jack 's jealousy for Ralph increases as the novel progresses. It is first sparked when Ralph achieves chief instead of Jack, due to popular vote. Jack eventually gets enough hatred towards Ralph that he tries to kill him. “He ran forward, stooping. ‘I’m Chief.’ Viciously, with full intention, he [Jack] hurled his spear at Ralph" (Golding 180). The attempt to kill Ralph is not complete, even when he becomes chief. This shows that Jack is trying to kill Ralph for interpersonal reasons, rather than an external goal. Just as Cain, Jack does not think clearly, or have valid reasons for their arguments. Even though Ralph was not successfully murdered, other characters in the novel were under Ralphs power. These were completed in full intention just like in the bible. At the end of the book, reality comes to the boys when they are hit with the truth. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man 's heart”(202). Cain cried after murdering his brother. The littluns learn about the darkness within their hearts. The beast inside them corrupt them to sin and lead them to murder their own

Show More
Related
486 Words | 2 Pages

Once they kill Simon it explains deeply about how they kill him and how cruel and brutal it was. They kill him by biting and clawing and acting like savages. Simon says that it's themselves that is the beast and it shows in the part of the story how they act savage and

Read More
920 Words | 4 Pages

Which is about a group of young boys that are marooned on an island for quite some time and have to make their own society. Ralph steps up as the leader of the boys but later on in the book, the position is taken by Jack which turns chaotic. The chaos leads to many problems within the group of boys. In the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, it is shown that individuals make up society, Jack’s tribe shows this by controlling the boys with his beliefs, and making up his own rules that break the initial ones, although, the opposing side may say that society shapes the individuals. Beliefs are important in creating a society because it can organize the members values, however Jack does it tyrannically.

Read More
1474 Words | 6 Pages

Once Piggy dies, Ralph is on the defense and is told to hide. Jack will stop at nothing to get Ralph’s blood and begins to pursue him throughout the jungle. Towards the end of the search, Ralph is spotted, and they try to kill him. The extent of which they try to kill him is shown in the quote: “He swerved as a spear flew past and was silent, running, all at once the lights flickering ahead of him merged together, the roar of the forest rose to a thunder and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped flame”(199). They are willing to burn the island down in order to kill Ralph.

Read More
272 Words | 2 Pages

The boys' failure to recognize this evil within themselves brings them quickly into a state of savagery and violence. They also continue to believe in this "snake-thing" as the "Beast" and also "Lord of the Flies" and " are referred to Satan. Their perception of it becomes more and more unclear, as they end up developing alternative ideas about the Beast. In the book of Genesis Satan also has been read as the evil within human nature, people usually think Satan is an external force. Without actual Satan in the novel, Golding stresses the ways that this Eden a perfect place is already full of evil.

Read More
1122 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More
675 Words | 3 Pages

Oscar Wilde once stated, “This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” Anticipation is what keeps the viewer from knowing the unknown but is also what keeps one interested. “Alma” by Rodvigo Blaas, is a cartoon that shows the story of an adolescent girl who wonders into a mysterious doll shop. In this short film, the director uses several methods to ensure a suspenseful mood.

Read More
902 Words | 4 Pages

Evil is Within Everyone Without thinking, the laws and social rules we abide by every day are actually a fragile barrier keeping the worst of human nature from overtaking modern society. In the allegorical novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a plane full of British school boys is shot down over an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. They are stranded without adult supervision or means to communicate with the outside world. This creates the perfect setting for Golding to explore the best and worst of human nature. It is in this setting that Golding illustrates what can happen when laws and rules vanish and human instinct reigns.

Read More
1187 Words | 5 Pages

The Lord Of The Flies by William Golding takes us to an abandoned island, where there is a fight for leadership among boys. Jack and Ralph were friends but when civilization is tested. Jack turns to savagery. Ralph struggles to survive and bring back order and civilization.

Read More
456 Words | 2 Pages

“The world is made up of two classes -- the hunters and the huntees. ”(p. 27) In the beginning of the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” Rainsford states that there are two classes in the world, the hunter and the huntees, which I agree with. The quote can literally mean a hunter and his prey, but it can also mean a bully and his victim or the rich and the poor.

Read More
1057 Words | 5 Pages

Lord of The Flies: Human Nature Are humans instinctively evil? Savage? In Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, young boys are left to organize themselves into a society to keep balance and peace on the island. When the society crumbles beneath their feet, one must ask these questions. The downfall and overall plot of the book is largely telling of human nature, and may be a smaller analogy for human nature in itself.

Read More
407 Words | 2 Pages

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.

Read More
1702 Words | 7 Pages

Guilt takes over Ralph’s body and he is beginning to think that maybe the boys are taking this dispute slightly too far in line with the quote, “I’m frightened. Of us” (Golding 200). Ralph is foreshadowing that something monstrous is about to happen on the island, and that maybe the boys need to reevaluate the problem and fix this before the dilemma gets out of hand. Unfortunately, that is not the case. At the end of the story, the reader can indicate that Ralph has lost his innocence by the quote, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 261).

Read More
1397 Words | 6 Pages

Everyone has this underlying darkness within them that is hidden away deep inside the nooks and crannies of their hearts. Golding demonstrates this through the use of his major characters, Ralph and Jack. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding utilizes character development to suggest the idea that when individuals are separated from civilization, dark forces will arise and threaten unity and harmony. Golding presents the protagonist, Ralph, who is decently intelligent and completely civilized, to demonstrate how once individuals are pulled away from civilization, the dark forces within them will arise and change how they are for the time being.

Read More
583 Words | 3 Pages

Ralph screamed of fright and anger and desperation. His legs straightened, the screams became continuous and foaming.” ( Golding 221). When Jack has finally had enough of Ralph he decides that the best option is to hunt him and kill him. He gathered his tribe and they make up a plan.

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

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.”

Read More

More about Lord Of The Flies Religion Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document