Allusions In Lord Of The Flies Essay

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Christine’s Lord of the Flies Comprehension Questions #1
1) Golding makes a few references to the bible throughout the novel, however the ones referring to Eden are mostly in the first few chapters. The most obvious allusion the to The Garden of Eden is when Ralph sees the beautiful island and immediately takes his clothes off, much like Adam in the Book of Genesis. However, this is a situational comparison. The island itself appears to be a place of innocence and freedom from the constraints of adult life, not to mention the abundant amount of fruit and freshwater. Similarly, The Garden of Eden is a place of innocence and full of as much fruit as Adam and Eve wanted to eat. Both are initially described as a “paradise”. Moreover, in “Lord of the Flies”, the boys mention a serpent-beast, which makes an appearance in Eden representing the devil. …show more content…

This foreshadows a presence of evil on the island. Although there is some foreshadowing of evil in the story of Adam and Eve, there was no fire in The Garden of Eden. Furthermore, from the very beginning there is conflict within the group of boys in “Lord of the Flies”. This was not prominent in the Garden of Eden.
Despite the Garden of Eden’s reputation of purity and freedom, it is the setting of the ultimate act of evil. This is true in “The Lord of the Flies”, with the acts of killing and savage tendencies the boys demonstrate. At what first appears to be a paradise, the conclusion of both stories is unfortunate.
2) At the beginning of “Lord of the Flies”, the boys make decisions based on order and civilization. These rules and symbols become less important to some of the boys as the novel

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