Archetypes In Lord Of The Flies

Similar to most literary classics, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies contains allusions to the Christian Bible and character archetypes that establish universal ideas. Golding’s story focuses on a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an island and succumb to their innate savage tendencies. Literary analysts compare aspects of Lord of the Flies to the Christian Bible such as the setting, a lush island in the Pacific Ocean, to the Garden of Eden. Likewise, the characters in the novel are believed to have biblical-inspired names; critics think Simon in Lord of the Flies shares a name with Jesus Christ’s disciple Peter, whose original name was Simon. Other biblical allusions exist throughout the novel, particularly involving
The novel’s title, Lord of the Flies, originates from a mistranslation of Beelzebub, another name for the devil. In the novel, the Lord of the Flies, the sacrificed pig head on a stick, is a symbol for both the devil and evil. Simon’s confrontation with the Lord of the Flies is a result of severe dehydration and an epileptic fit indicated by “a pulse [that] began to beat on the brain” (Golding 138). His experience parallels Christ’s confrontation with the devil during the forty days he went into the wilderness without food or drink. During the vision, Simon is able to understand that “things are what they are” because evil is “part of you [the boys]” (Golding 143). Simon’s enlightenment is like Jesus Christ’s understanding of God. Since Simon’s meeting with the Lord of the Flies occurs during a delusion, it can be considered a prophecy, similar to an oracle’s vision, that foreshadows his own death. The Lord of the Flies ridicules Simon by saying “You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there” (Golding 143) and “You’re not wanted...We are going to have fun on this island [by wreaking havoc]!” (Golding 144) which indicates his upcoming death. The flies that surround the Lord of the Flies’ “pile of guts” made their way to Simon and “tickled under his nostrils and played leapfrog on this thighs” (Golding 178) and foreshadows evil is closing
The deaths of Simon and Jesus both happen after they uncover the truth about humanity. Prior to his death, Simon discovered the beast thought to be on the island was actually the corpse of a fallen parachutist. Oracle figures typically spread messages that change character’s actions and “Simon was crying out something about a dead man on hill” in hopes of preventing further chaos on the island during his brutal murder (Golding 152). However, he fell victim to the anarchy on the island because of the boys’ frenzied mentality. Just as Simon tried to reveal the truth, Jesus Christ attempted to spread the word of God but was dismissed by the masses and put to death. Furthermore, Simon is killed by a mob of his companions and friends on the island just as Jesus Christ was betrayed by his apostles and eventually massacred by a collective group of officials. Finally, oracle figures have a mystic connection to the fundamental elements of nature. The death of Simon suddenly causes “the clouds [to open] and let down the rain like a waterfall” (Golding 153) and another supernatural phenomena of “moonbeam-bodied creatures with fiery eyes” that surround Simon’s corpse and make “a moving patch of light as they gathered at the edge” (Golding 154). This phantasm is similar to the moments after Jesus Christ’s death when according to