Early 1

Catching Flies: Religious Allegory in Lord of the Flies William Goldings novel Lord of the Flies is a literary classic, a work of art painted with a heavy hand and a brush dipped in symbolism. Because of this, there are many different allegories to study within the pages of the book. This essay will examine the idea that the religious allegory present in the novel is one representative of the spiritual turmoil within an individual when faced with the prospect of choosing between living for the world and living for Christ. In order to do this and establish a clear understanding of the allegorical intent of the novel, we must first study aspects such as the differing viewpoints on religion in society, the parallels between characters and characteristics in Goldings work and in the faith vs. disbelief debate, and the prevalent religious symbolism in the novel. Spiritual turmoil is something that many of us can relate to, whether youre now a saved Christian who was once troubled by the calling of worldly temptations or someone who rejects organized religion as a whole. Christianity, like all religions, is not something that is agreed upon by society as a whole. There are those who willingly open their hearts when they believe they feel the pull of the Holy Spirit in their lives and there are those who do not believe that such an entity as this spirit even exists. Its a matter of faith on both sides; that is, faith in God and faith in Gods nonexistence, respectively. Oftentimes, this leads to a spiritual tug-of-war in many individuals, a battle between logic and trust in what cannot be proven. Lord of the Flies is an allegory that represents this warring of two different viewpoints within an individual. To develop this idea, it is important to compare the conflicting feelings on religion, namely Christianity, within society.

Early 2 There are at least two sides to every argument. When dealing with religious arguments as they tie into this essay, the most straightforward way of classifying the two main arguing sides is those who feel religion, more specifically Christianity, is a crucial part of life, and those who do not. Both sides here have many valid points, an aspect that has kept this dispute alive for so long. In the Christianity vs. atheism debate, a big point often brought up is the subject of proof. Christians and atheists alike call for valid evidence from the opposing side when regarding why or why not they should believe something. Providing basis for all beliefs, Ross W. Sanderson, author of Unapologetic Christianity says, The faith needs no defense (Sanderson 34). After all, is it really possible to prove or disprove the existence of a deity? Another important aspect when dealing with societys view on religion is the way we are affected by human nature. Christians view human nature as what makes us want to sin. They believe that it is because of human nature that man is born to sin, so it is important to our eternal souls that we turn away from the world. On the other hand, many atheists, among others, may believe that human nature was what drove man to invent organized religion in the first place. Just as its in mans nature to want for selfish things, it is also in mans nature to seek knowledge and confirmation. There are many who believe that organized religion was brought around as an answer to all of lifes unanswerable questions, providing a solution to mans having to worry and wonder. The next thing that must be looked at when examining this allegory are the parallels made between characters and characteristics in Lord of the Flies and in the faith vs. disbelief debate. The four main characters of the novel each represent something different in respect to spiritual turmoil. Ralph, the chief of the tribe the boys establish, is the sufferer of the turmoil who must make a choice regarding what to believe; Jack, the choir leader, is representative of

Early 3 temptation, mans predisposition to sin, and all things evil; and Simon, a lanky choir member, symbolizes Christ and truth. The last main character, Piggy, a plump, asthmatic boy, can be interpreted as not only science and reason in society, but also, in a way, sacrifice. First, lets study Ralph, the sufferer of the turmoil. Reaffirming the allegory of an individual faced with religious choice, Jerome Martin states in his article Symbol Hunting Goldings Lord of the Flies, that there is only one total character in the novel, Ralph (Martin 409).This helps convey the idea that perhaps the drama present on the island is existent only to Ralph, the individual, the other boys being only symbolic pawns of the conflicted mind. Adding to this, at the very beginning of Lord of the Flies, he is voted leader of the group of boys, and as such, he is the one in charge of making the rules and choices regarding their stay on the island. Much like the choice of what to believe in, none of the other boys can make these choices for him. Through the course of the novel, his convictions waver and he changes who he sides with quite a bit. For example, at the start of the book Ralph finds Piggy to be boring. He tried to be offhand and not to obviously uninterested, but the fat boy hurried after him (Golding 8). Then, just a couple pages later, he becomes curious about Piggy when the subject of learning his (Piggys) nickname arises, just as someone may become interested in science upon learning of an exciting new development. At a later point in the novel, Ralph goes off alone with Simon, the Christ figure, and Jack, the representative of temptation. Piggy, here the symbol of science and reason, wants to go with them, but Ralph tells him to stay behind. This is essentially Ralph distancing himself from the world for a short time in order to contemplate his spirituality. In going off with the two boys, he almost instantly takes a liking to Jack and the two become friends. Once more, amid the breeze, the shouting, the slanting sunlight on the high mountain, was shed that glamour, that strange

Early 4 invisible light of friendship, adventure, and content (39). This friendship does not last long, however, and Ralph sees that Jack actually loathes him because of the control that Ralph has over the boys on the island. In seeing Jacks true nature, Ralph is exposed to Simons true nature as well. That is, when Jack goes off to pursue frivolity, Simon stays behind and is the only one who helps Ralph in his endeavors. Though Ralph was drawn to Jack in the beginning as all humans are drawn to sin, he finds Simon to be better company in the long run. Jack, the choir leader, is the symbol of temptation and mans predisposition to sin in Lord of the Flies. Taking on the characteristics of what he symbolizes, Jack is very charismatic and charming. He sends the message of What happens in the long run doesnt matter as long as you enjoy yourself here and now. This is represented by his obsession with hunting, which can be taken as the symbol of the act of sinning in the novel; like sinning is to society, it is hunting which is the cause of both the downfall of the island and many of the other problems which the characters face. As the book goes on, he gets more and more of the boys on the island to join him in the hunt, and he is not happy unless he is out doing so. He consistently leads the boys in reenactments of the hunts, starting chants such as Kill the pig! Cut her throat! Bash her in! (75). Jack is very deceiving in the way that he portrays sin and is easily able to lead people from the path of righteousness. In Symbol Hunting, Martin points out that Even Ralph is tempted to give up the idea of rescue and go hunting (Sanderson 411), successfully illustrating just how enticing a life of sin, and giving in to Jack, really is. As the serpent in Eden led Eve astray, Jack is able to tempt the boys from Ralphs tribe into joining his own with promises of fun and food. Tonight were having a feast. Weve killed a pig and weve got meat. You can come and eat with us if you like. (Golding 140). Curious, even Ralph and Piggy briefly

Early 5 join in the festivities put on by Jack. The last parallel between Jack and the temptation of sin is Jacks insane need for control. Sin, in the Christian sense, is all consuming. If you give in to the temptation and provide it with power, it will overtake you. In Lord of the Flies, Jack tries to take over leadership of the tribe from Ralph and is at first unsuccessful. When he finally does gain a following, he is the cause of the death of two, almost three, people, eliminating the boys who are representative of truth and logic (Simon and Piggy, respectively). The next character that will be examined is Simon, the tentative choir member representative of truth, and as an extension, Jesus Christ, a similarity picked up on by L.L. Dickson, author of The Modern Allegories of William Golding. He states that Simon'sactions solidify the Christ parallel (Dickson 14). The first similarity between the two is Simons willingness to help others. A specific example is Simon picking fruit from the trees to give to the hungry children on the island. 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 (Golding 56). It is possible to view this scene as being akin to Jesus feeding of the multitudes in the Bible, in which five thousand were fed with only five loaves of bread and two fish. In the same way that Jesus fed those many people with limited resources, Simon fed many of the hungry children on the island with food sources that they originally had not possessed. Of course, its important to note a key difference here, being the fact that, unlike the extra bread and fish in the Bible, the fruit in the novel actually existed beforehand, the children just could not reach it. Another likeness of Simon to Christ is his death. Jesus Christ, crucified for proclaiming himself to be the Son of God and King of the Jews, was put to death while spreading what Christians accept to be truth. Christ taught his followers and brought many people to accept his

Early 6 word as good, though in the end, that was what ultimately condemned him. Like this, Simon is murdered by the boys on the island (albeit, mistakenly) after returning from his trip into the jungle in which he hallucinated a conversation with the lord of the flies. During this conversation, Simon concluded that the Beast on the island was not a physical entity, but was instead just human nature and savagery within each of the boys themselves. He is torn apart savagely as he returns with this knowledge and like Christ, he is the only boy who possesses a true vision of the nature of evil (Dickson 16). Next, lets look at Piggy. As previously stated, one thing Piggy is representative of is science and reason in Lord of the Flies, though whether this is meant to be positive or negative is open to interpretation. According to James R. Baker, author of the essay Golding and Huxley: The Fables of Demonic Possession, Golding once stated in an interview that Piggy isn't wise. Piggy is short-sighted. He is rationalist. My great curse, you understand, rationalism-and, well he's that. He's naive, short-sighted and rationalist, like most scientists (Baker 319). While this quote does illustrate the cons and shortcomings of science, we cannot overlook Piggys positive aspects as well. While many of the boys do not take him seriously, it is clear that Piggy is a critical element in their stay on the island. Not only does he provide the adult voice of reason on the island and try to prevent chaos, the presence of his glasses is entirely necessary to the boys survival and rescue. Without them, there would be no way for the boys to create fire. On the other hand, after Piggys death, Jack and his tribe use the fire created by the glasses to try and murder Ralph. This creates an important contrast between the pros and cons of relying solely on science. Tangential to Piggys representing science and reason is the present symbolism of sacrifice. Piggys name is, in itself, symbolic of this as, throughout the novel, Jacks obsession

Early 7 with the pig-hunt is an ever present theme. Goldings decision to give this unfortunate character the namesake of the main prey on the island provides foreshadowing of the characters ill-fated demise as well. Piggy will become identified with a hunted pig, and eventually will be killed too, as the boys' savage hunt turns to human rather than animal victims (Dickson 13). This, of course, ties into the biblical element of sacrifice present before Jesus was crucified. The final point that must be examined is the prevalent religious symbolism found in the novel. When writing about a topic as controversial as religious aspects in literature, it is essential to provide evidence that those religious parallels are indeed present. After all, a surgeon can hardly operate without justifiable reason to do so. In the same way, it is very complicated to analyze something in literature when you have nothing to go on. It is therefore necessary that time be taken to note the biblical parallels which may otherwise go unnoticed by those not specifically looking for them. One example of these parallels is the island on which the boys find themselves stranded. It is symbolic of a sort of Garden of Eden, from the book of Genesis in the Bible. In Lord of the Flies, the island originally provides the boys an idyllic home. All of the boys basic needs are provided for and they are content to remain on the island for the time being. The main character tells the other boys But this is a good island. WeJack, Simon, and mewe climbed the mountain. Its wizard. Theres food and drink (Golding 34). In the same way, all of the needs of Adam and Eve are provided for by God. Just as for Adam and Eve in Eden, the hunger of the boys is originally sated with fruit. In Eden, Eve tells the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden (King James Bible, Gen. 1.3). In Lord of the Flies, the consumption of fruit is a constant factor of survival.

Early 8 In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve are not clothed. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen. 2.25). It is not until after the Original Sin that it even occurs to them to feel bothered by their apparel, or lack thereof. I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself (Gen. 3.10). In Lord of the Flies, one of the first things Ralph does is strip himself of his clothing, symbolizing a return to the time before human nature existed within all humans, the time before the Original Sin (examined further below). The novel states that he became conscious of the weight of the clothes (Golding 10), perhaps symbolizing the burden of the awareness gained from eating from the Tree-of-Knowledge. Following the biblical example of the Garden of Eden is the temptation by Satan and the Original Sin. While the Original Sin in the Bible is the eating of the fruit from the Tree-ofKnowledge, it is represented in Lord of the Flies by the killing and more so, the eating of a pig. Just as Adam and Eves hope of paradise is taken from them after eating from the tree, the boys hope of rescue is diminished when their rescue fire (symbolic of prayer and salvation) goes out because Jack and his choir were out hunting the pig. Upon the hunters return, Ralph is upset. When Jack later offers him some pig, he originally intends to resist the temptation, but he cannot fight it. Ralphs mouth watered. He meant to refuse meat, but his past diet of fruit and nuts, with an odd crab or fish, gave him too little resistance. He accepted a piece of half-raw meat and gnawed it like a wolf (Golding 73). This greatly parallels Adams temptation to eat from the tree by Eve in the Garden. This, the Original Sin, is the turning point for both human-kind in the Bible and the boys in Lord of the Flies. From the Original Sin resulted the Fall of Man. After disobeying God, Adam and Eve are cast from the Garden and the condition in which man must live is made worse. Man is made to work to survive and woman is made to give birth in pain and be subservient to her husband. The

Early 9 symbolism of the island in Lord of the Flies evolves to fit this parallel. The island goes from being a paradise for the boys to something filled with human-created evil, even eventually turning to something like Hell on earth. Cruelty and greed on the island slowly take over as the boys give in to human nature, which was the result of eating from the Tree-of-Knowledge. With the Fall of Man and the loss of paradise, the boys themselves change. They were used now to stomachaches and a sort of chronic diarrhea. They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort (59). This quote from the novel indicates the change of the human body and mind and how it is no longer equipped for a life in Eden. Our bodies are no longer meant to be sustained on a diet of just fruit. It also signifies the addition of the emotion of fear, something that was not known in Eden. Falling is stressed heavily in the novel, helping to create the image of the Fall of Man. The recurring pattern of falls emphasizes the fall of humankind motif (Dickson 14). The image of falling is used in numerous places, perhaps the most important of which being the arrival of the dead parachutist on the island. There was a speck above the island, a figure dropping swiftly beneath a parachute, a figure that hung with dangling limbs The figure fell and crumpled among the blue flowers of the mountainside (Golding 95). Furthermore, the parachutist becomes the physical manifestation of the Beast on the island, allowing his fall to be literally and appropriately interpreted as Lucifers fall from the heavens as mentioned by Jesus in the book of Luke. Continuing with this idea of the Beast inhabiting the island is the symbolic nature of the sows head the boys placed on a stick to act as a sacrifice. The sows head is literally meant to symbolize Baalzevuv (Hebrew for lord of the flies), a name probably better recognized as the Greek Beelzebub. Beelzebub is a name many associate with the Devil in Christianity, the

Early 10 term lord of the flies even turning up in some translations of the Bible. Adding to the symbolism of the sows head as Satan is Simon, the Christ figures hallucinatory confrontation with the head. While wandering through the jungle by himself Simon stumbles upon the head and imagines it speaking to him. It reveals to him the true nature of the Beast. You knew, didnt you? Im part of you? Close, close, close! Im the reason why its no go? Why things are what they are? (Golding 144). This quote is representative of the boys failure to be saved, both in the literal and therefore allegorical sense, resulting from the human predisposition to sin. It goes on to say Dyou see? Youre not wanted. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island. Understand? We are going to have fun on this island! (144). This reinforces the idea that because of human nature, the boys, representing society as a whole, are only interested in enjoying themselves in the physical world, not worrying about avoiding sin and gaining salvation. The last example of religious symbolism that is going to be examined is that of the signal fire. The importance of the signal fire is greatly stressed by Ralph, the main character of the novel. The fire itself is the boys means of getting rescued and so it makes sense say that it can symbolize prayer and by extension, salvation. Theres another thing. We can help them to find us. If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire (38). God does not grant salvation to those who so not ask for it so the signal fire here represents the prayer for salvation. In addition in this, Ralph insists that they must keep the fire going or they will never be rescued, just as if you long for salvation, your spiritual fire must remain strong. Jack, who symbolizes Satan and therefore mans carnal need to sin, tempts the others on the island with hunting (sinning), and lets the fire go out just as a chance of rescue goes past. This shows the contrast between Ralph, whos willing to work for

Early 11 salvation, and Jack, who would rather have instant gratification and hope for the best in the long run. As far as religious allegories are concerned, Goldings Lord of the Flies is certainly not the most obvious; however, there is no denying that the symbolism is present. Many people may not look at this novel and at first see an allegory for religious choice, but further studying will reveal its presenceif you know what to look for. After bringing forth the parallels that were covered in this essay, it will hopefully allow a better insight into the use of symbolism in the book and allow others to think more critically about other pieces of literature as well. Its always critical to remember that when reading, there may be more than meets the eye.

Early 12 Works Cited Al-Saidi, Afaf Ahmed Hasan. "Savagery and the heart of darkness in William Golding's Lord of the Flies." Studies in Literature and Language 4.1 (2012): 129+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. Baker, James R. Golding and Huxley: The Fables of Demonic Possession Twentieth Century Literature , Vol. 46, No. 3 (Autumn, 2000), pp. 311-327. JSTOR. Web. 25 Apr. 2012. Dickson, L. L. "Lord of the Flies." The Modern Allegories of William Golding. Tampa, Fl.: University of South Florida, 1990. 12-26. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Tom Burns. Vol. 130. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resource Center. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. 1954. New York: Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2006. Print. King James Bible. Tennessee: National Publishing Company, 1978. Print. Levitt, Leon. Trust the Tale: A Second Reading of "Lord of the Flies" The English Journal , Vol. 58, No. 4 (Apr., 1969), pp. 521-522+533. JSTOR. Web. 26 Apr. 2012 Martin, Jerome. Symbol Hunting Golding's "Lord of the Flies" The English Journal , Vol. 58, No. 3 (Mar., 1969), pp. 408-413. JSTOR. Web. 27 Apr. 2012. Sanderson, Ross W. Unapologetic Christianity. The Biblical World , Vol. 46, No. 1 (Jul., 1915), pp. 33-41. JSTOR. Web. 30 Apr. 2012 Townsend, R. C. "Lord of the Flies': Fool's Gold." The Journal of General Education. Vol. 16. University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1964. 153-160. Rpt. in

Early 13 Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Roger Matuz and Cathy Falk. Vol. 58. Detroit: Gale Research, 1990. Literature Resource Center. Web. 28 Apr. 2012.