Lord of the Flies Essay
The Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding and is used in teaching in many different schools. This novel is used for teaching because it is chalked full of symbolism and allegory. Different people and different objects represent different things. The beast in the novel is representing all of the children's fear in the form of an object. Simon shows allegory by representing a Jesus figure. Finally the whole island itself symbolizes the children reverting back into the way of savagery. The novel is full of colorful symbolism, which can be used to teach the readers many lessons to use in life.
The Lord of the Flies represents many different things including fear in a materialistic form of a creature. The beast is what all of the children on the island fear the most. As the story progresses the kids worry more about getting killed and actually killing the beast than they care about getting rescued. The beast of the island symbolizes all of the children's fear in a form of a creature. Eventually the thought of concurring and killing the beast wraps and brainwashes their minds into that of a beast that they fear so much. The thought gets so in their head that they act out killing the beast and yelling, "kill the monster" and brutally murder Simon. Simon is the kid who discovered that the beast was just the evil in us all. It turns out that the beast was nothing to fear after all.
Simon is the quiet, shy boy in the group. being a visionary, he often goes into the forest by himself to contemplate nature of life. As a result of his different behavior, he is isolated from others. but because he is a loner, he finds the truth. her realizes that the "lord of the flies" is the real beast (the evil in us all) while the beast on the mountain is nothing to fear, just death itself. in the novel, Simon becomes a Christ figure who tries to bring truth (salvation) to the boys: but they refuse to hear him and kill him instead. The boys kill Simon because they have transformed from being innocent little English boys into wild animals.
Almost everything William Golding writes is about shows some sort of symbolism in relation of what is happening or what is going to happen. He also shows it using the whole setting for this novel. The whole island itself is a symbol and foreshadows what will happen to the boys stranded on the island. The whole island is shaped like a big ship. The current in the water is moving with the direction that the front of the boat is pointing in. This gives the effect that the boat is moving backwards. the author shows the boat reversing to symbolize its inhabitants reversing as well. They are reversing back to the ages when you survived by being a savage. William Golding is foreshadowing how the boys will forget what they have learned about rules and order in their society, an return to the days when people had to do whatever it takes to just stay alive. The island also symbolizes the GADEN and EDEN, but after the boys come it represents the corrupt nature of mankind.
Therefore this novel is used in teaching curriculum because it is full of colorful symbolism and shows many mistakes made by people in life and what the power mankind has over mother nature. By showing the fear of the boys as a creature, is displaying how fragile a young mind is and how it can be corrupted. It shows the island as a way of power that man has over nature. Finally the novel uses allegory to show Simon as a Christ type figure who wants nothing but peace and saw the island more of a paradise that an imprisonment. Overall The Lord of the Flies is a great novel for teaching and will be used in all schools for years to come.
Already have an account? Log In Now
4371