What Is Lord Of The Flies An Allegory

To say that William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies is a dystopian novel with a double-meaning would be an understatement. In this work of fiction, it is not difficult to see that it could be an allegory. An allegory is a narrative, typically a novel, containing symbolism or another story within it. Moving on to the story itself, its main plot consists of a group of boys that have been trapped on an island after a plane crash, and must figure out how to survive with one another. Behind the scenes of this developing society, there are many consistent symbols that reveal much more depth than one would first think. The symbols are clearly intended, and they all have connections within each other that make the novel become an allegory. These symbols that clearly show their allegorical connection include the island itself, the scar formed in the island, and the actual Lord of the Flies, the “beast” and one of the true antagonists in the story.

Shortly after the boys

crash-landed on the island, it was not too difficult to unravel that the island represented something more than just a sandy beach and palm trees. Of course it became the whole setting in which the novel takes place in, but what else could it be? After close analyzation, it’s not difficult to discover that it does, in fact, have another meaning to it. This meaning is that the island represents paradise, a perfect setting where the boys can create either a wonderful society, or one that crumbles beneath them. It is made even more evident here, “(Ralph) picked his way to the seaward edge of the platform and stood looking down into the water. It was clear to the bottom and bright with the efflorescence of tropical weed and coral. A school of tiny, glittering fish flicked hither and thither,” (Golding 14). Water also has literary symbolism meaning pureness and life, which would go along with the islands meaning of paradise. The purity of the island was untainted and gave to the reader that it truly was a perfect place, and a fresh start for man that resides there. Connecting back to the allegory of the novel, this meaning and representation of the island does give a surface underneath the story itself, showing that the island can even go as far as representing a Garden of Eden.
Although the island did represent purity and opportunity, all good things must come to an end. Some before they even begin, as this was the case for the island. Upon the boys arriving on the island by plane crash, the crash itself caused a large mess within the island, deemed “the scar” by the boys. The scar’s symbolism pairs up with the islands. While the island’s representation was perfection, the scar’s symbol means something a bit darker. It can easily be interpreted as man being able to destroy this perfect world just by being there. Golding made this subtle connection here, “Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar,” (10). The darkness was purposefully put by Golding to represent the darkness of the scar itself. The scar can be matched with man’s savage nature, just as easily as it can be matched with the island’s meaning and further showing how much of an allegory this novel truly is.
Easily the most important symbol in the story would be The Lord of the Flies himself.

First presenting himself to Simon, the conversation that took place between the two would be vital to the storyline. The Lord of the Flies represents evil, specifically the evil capabilities and thoughts within each person. This is made undoubtedly obvious with the first encounter, “‘Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!’...For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?’” (Golding 206). The Lord of the Flies himself says that the real beast was not anything that could be hunted, or killed, implying that the beast was really the one within Simon as well as the other boys. This is only further confirmed by The Lord of the Flies also saying “I’m part of you”. The strongest piece of evidence is this massive symbolic figure, but it also is together with the other symbols presented in the

novel.
Although the novel The Lord of the Flies can be perceived to tell only one story, it’s undeniable that there is another hidden underneath the main plot. The novel is an allegory because of it’s numerous connections to symbols throughout the plot. They are repeated again and again purposefully to enforce that they this allegorical side does, in fact, exist. It’s present in numerous ways, but there are three main symbols that outline the novel’s allegorical meaning. These three ways are that the island itself represents purity and new life, that the scar within the island is meant to show how man can taint perfection simply by entering it, and that The Lord of the Flies represents human evil and desires. Without these symbols, the novel couldn’t be considered an allegory at all. However, Golding purposefully snuck in all of these allegorical clues, and were clearly meant to form a strong connection to the reader and to the main plot.