The Lord of the Flies: Golding's Use of Allegory

Originally published in 1954, William Golding's Lord of the Flies has become one of the classics of contemporary literature. Golding's style is crisp and never burdened with flowery prose. The seriousness of his style lends to the deep issues that his work presents. Through Lord of the Flies, Golding successfully explores issues of religion, innocence, morality, and society using the allegory as his method.

What is An Allegory?

In literature, writers often use different methods, including allegory, to convey their ideas. An allegory, from the Greek words meaning "other" and "to speak", is a literary device which conveys meaning through symbols, actions, and even characters. In the Lord of the Flies , the setting, the characters, and even some of the symbols serve to convey feelings about leadership, order, civilization, control, and culture.

Allegoric Elements in Lord of the Flies

Lord of the Flies is more than just a story of privileged young English boys being stranded on an island. In his book, the island actually represents how people view society. Through his pages, Golding offers the boys as the well-mannered representatives of their world. Without the influence of adults, the young men attempt to model their world after the adult world beyond the waters. The order that exists in the outside world soon decays and is replaced by the chaos that destroys ordered and civilized cultures.

A related allegorical element is the device of order itself. The island as the place, order as the true issue in society. Situations manifest which tempt the boys desire for order. While logic and manners rules in the beginning, the boys soon realize that logic does not feed stomachs. Structure and civility are replaced by savagery and ruthlessness. The voice of reason is replaced by primal fears and needs.

The characters are also allegoric in nature. Ralph, the central character, serves as the moral and social compass of the book. He is caring and seeks to mimic the world in which all the boys originated. Roger, one of the older boys, represents the fringe elements that are easily controlled by more primal needs of hunger, control and brutality. As Simon represents innocence and goodness, Piggy represents pure intellect. These characters mimic the crucial elements- security, leadership, morality and scientific discovery, in our own civilized culture. Each of the elements offers a check and balance to the other, but if anyone if lost, the entire system decays into anarchy.

Lord of the Flies are rich with allegoric symbols as well. The conch shell, which is found on the beach, stands as a symbol of civilization and democratic process. It is used to call the young castaways to order. Once the conch is disregarded, the boys slipped into a world of savagery, dictatorship, and murder. Piggy's Glasses are also a symbol of science and intellect. They are a source for the creation of fire for the whole community, but they are the possession of one member. That one member requires that glasses for sight and essentially the ability to be able to maneuver in society. Once the glasses are taken, Piggy's vulnerability is clear. The signal fire also is a key allegoric symbol. It represents the boys initial need to feel connected to their home culture and society. The maintenance of the fire proves the boys desire toe remain a part of the traditional society. As the young boys become more savage, their desire to remain connected wanes.

The Lord of the Flies is a story rich with allegoric elements and themes. While it may seem to be a narrative telling of young boys being marooned on an island, it is more of a caution to society. Golding cleverly shows how individuals can be swayed by order and eventually corrupted by power, in the absence of order. Lord of the Flies is an incredible novel which cautions us with allegory and allegoric elements. Using this style, Golding effectively tells his tale and causes us pause.