Lord Of The Flies Political Allegory

Allegorical Story:How Golding’s Novel Depicts The Aspects of a Political Allegory

A plane full of boys crashes into an island killing everyone on board except approximately 20 of them. When they all come together in the middle of the island, they determine that they are the only survivors of the plane crash, and there are no adults with them. All the boys right away choose a leader, Ralph, who later becomes a protagonist in the story. He chooses to lead the island and the people in a democratic setting, letting everyone have a say in what goes on. However, as the story progresses, the antagonist, Jack, challenges the rules of the society, becomes leader by force, and leads the people in an autocratic setting. That is why, William Golding’s,

Lord of the Flies, can be expressed as a political allegory, as shown through characterization along with symbolism. This can first be seen in the characterization of the main characters in the novel.

In order of knowing if the book can be considered a political allegory, you must first look at the characteristics of the main characters. According to author Diane Andrews Henningfeld, “Ralph for example stands for the good hearted but not entirely effective leader of a democratic state, a ruler who wants to rule by law derived from the common consent” (Henningfeld). This quote characterizes the protagonist in the story Ralph. He is a good person, who wants to lead by a good example when he got voted in by the other boys on the island. Needless to say, he wants everyone to be at an equal status, so that everyone has a say in what goes in the decisions made on the island. On the other side of the scale we have Jack. Also according to Diane Andrews Henningfeld, “Jack, on the other hand, represents a totalitarian dictator, a ruler who appeals to the emotional responses of his followers. He rules by charisma and hysteria” (Henningfeld). The quote characterizes Jack, the antagonist, at it’s finest. While Ralph wants everyone to have a say in what happens, Jack wants total power over everyone. He forcefully takes power from Ralph, and draws all of his followers to his side, leaving only two. Jack makes all of the boys think that Ralph is the bad one, and by this it he is easily able to manipulate people into coming into his side, so they can take down Ralph. Nevertheless, both of their “governments” will not be successful without a trusty second in command.

Even in current times, political leaders are only successful, due to the help and commitment of their advisors. According to Diane Andrews Henningfeld, “Piggy is his advisor, someone who is unable to rule because of his own social and physical shortcomings, but who is able to offer sound advice to the democratic leader” (Henningfeld). This quote describes the characteristics of Piggy. He might not be able to be in charge of the operations, but he can help advise them, and put in his own inputs. He also agrees with Ralph, in that a democratic setting is the best thing for what the situation on the island is now. But not everyone agrees, with Ralph and Piggy, along with Jack, comes his henchman Rodger. Diane Andrews Henningfeld said, “Roger, the boy who takes the most joy in the slaughter of the pigs and who hurls the rock that kills Piggy, represents the henchman necessary for such a totalitarian ruler to stay in power” (Henningfeld). This quote describes the type of person Roger is. He is a ruthless, uncaring individually, that will do anything for Jack to obtain power. A sample of this would be when he threw a rock and killed Piggy, for not having the same beliefs as himself. These types of people can be seen in real life, as the people that the political leaders hire, to do their dirty work for them. Another impactful part of the story, are the symbols, and the meaning they have to the progression of the novel.

Along with the characterization in the story, another impactful part is the level of symbols placed in the novel, and the deeper meaning they all have.

In the book, Violence In Lord of the Flies, author Dedria Bryfonski said “The most important symbol is the conch. Since it carries the right to be heard, the mandate to speak even for a littlun if he holds it, it implies that the rule of law still exists” (Bryfonski 140). This quote shows us, that at the beginning of the book the boys tried to rule democratically. By letting everyone have a say, and that everyone has to listen to the person who has the conch. But, as the story progresses, Jack destroys the conch to end the rule of Ralph, and start his rule as the dictator. The next quote is from a college professor from Yemen, Afaf Ahmed Hassan Al-Saidi, and he quoted the book, saying “The fire is the most important thing on the island. How can we ever been rescued except by luck, if we don’t keep a fire going? Is a fire too much for us to make?” (“Savagery and the Heart of Darkness in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies”). This quote shows us the importance of fire in the story. It is the symbol of life, and being rescued. Although, the boys thought of the idea to make a fire to alert near by ships, it doesn’t help out if someone does not keep it lit. It also at the end of the story symbolizes destruction, as Jack burns down the forest to try and hunt down Ralph. The next quote is from the book itself, and it says “The mask was a thing on it’s own. Behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness”. (Golding 64). This is a quote that Ralph states, to describe the face paint that Jack puts on. He uses it to put on a false face so that all of the other boys do not know the real plans he has in store. And this action of putting on a false face can be seen in the real world. An example of this could be Presidents or Dictators promoting something that sounds helpful, but the people don't know the

real effects of the product. That example relates to my next point of information, how some of the actions of the characters can be seen in the world today.

The characters in the book can closely relate to some famous leaders in the world. In a quote in the book, Violence in Lord of the Flies, there is a quote that states “Despite a preference for the universal aspects of Golding’s fiction, Leighton Hodson suggests Piggy might represent the ‘democrat and intellectual,’ Jack ‘Hitler’ and Roger a ‘potential concentration camp guard’”(Bryfonski 115). This quote breaks down, who the characters in the book relate to in the real world. Piggy represents a, democratic and intellectual figure, this means he probably acts like a president of a democratic country or an advisor to one. Jack is compared to Hitler, which means he rules with no rules, and he will not listen to anyone. Last, we have Roger, who is compared to a concentration camp guard, he does all the dirty work for the leader he supports, no matter how awful and bad it is, and never looks at the consequences of his actions, because he thinks they will never come back to hurt him. As a result, these characters are considered allegories.