Preview

Lord of the Flies Research Paper Essay Example

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1279 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lord of the Flies Research Paper Essay Example
Rakwalia Wilson
Mrs. Keel
G Period
3 March 2011
Lord of the Flies Research Paper According to Webster’s Ninth new Collegiate Dictionary an allegory is defined as a figurative mode of representation conveying a meaning other than the literal. Allegory teaches a lesson through symbolism. In the book, almost every statement or action symbolizes a moral standard either being upheld or neglected. Most readers would assume that the plot is just the adventures of young boys who have been plane wrecked on an island. When indeed it is an incredibly unique way of revealing what happens to society when all means of a civilization is no longer. The famous novel Lord of the Flies is much greater than just a book; it is an incredible moral allegory because every event that occurs in the books conveys a meaning other than the literal. The first example of how the book is a moral allegory comes when they mention the beastie. “You couldn’t have a beastie, a snake- thing, on an island that size,” Ralph explained kindly.”You only get them in big countries, like Africa, or India.”(Golding 36) It was at this moment the “beastie” was introduced in the book. There indeed was a beast present on the island, only it was not a snake-like creature, or even just a figment of the young boys’ imagination. It did not only exist in large countries, nor did it discriminate. The beast that actually did the most harm on the island was the underlining evil in every single person’s heart. Evil in this context does not mean that the boys had a secret passion to mix potions, or to chant spells. I say evil meaning the boys had covert desire to act in a morally objective behavior. This was not only a secret to the readers, but to the boys as well. When first arriving in the island the boys were determined to display the morals that had been instilled in them while still living in a civilized environment.
It is very important that it is stated that the young men plane wrecked on the island were

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Through out the entire story the conch shell and the glasses have been important metaphors. The conch represents civilization and power. Whenever someone blows on the conch, the boys run toward the sound and show respect to the owner. Eventually, the power and civilization drop as the boys become more savage like. Therefore the conch loses its power. The glasses represent the key to life. They started the fire, and fire brings heat to help them survive and continue their hopes of being rescued. When they are stolen by Jack, Ralph and Piggy have nothing left to help them survive.…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    This genre can be described as an extended metaphor, where different objects in the book are symbolic representations of different ideas that are mainly focused on criticism of society. This novel can be also described as an adventure; the boys in the island have an adventure by exploring different parts of the island. However, this adventure that the boys experience has a deeper or subtle meaning, which ties into the fact that this novel is also an…

    • 4230 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. After Simon is killed, the next paragraph begins, "The clouds open and let the rain down like a waterfall…" When the boys kill Simon they not only kill him and spirituality, but what they perceive to be the beast. Because the beast was created by them and embodied all of their evils, one of its interpretations can be as mankind's sin. Simon is very similar to Jesus in this book. The Roman's ruled the world during Jesus' life, and now a similar bloodthirsty society rules the island during Simon's life. Both are killed by such a society, and both sacrifice themselves so that mankind's sin can be forgiven. When Simon dies, the rain washes away not only spirituality, but also the beast and all of the sins that accompany it. Golding writes that the water bounded from the mountaintop. Because the mountain top represented the peak of society, this could be interpreted to state that all of society carries sin, even the glorious moments of it, and that Simon's sacrifice was extended to the boys' entire stay on the island and the sin that was committed during that period of time. This is also similar to Jesus' sacrifice that was for all of mankind's sins, not just the sins of the Roman society that killed him. After Simon has been killed, the figures stagger away. By referring to the boys as figures, they are no longer individuals, but the nameless men who are the vehicle that society uses to carry out its evil deeds. It is no longer of relevance who did what because it was the entire society that killed Simon. This can be related to other societies, such as Nazi Germany. Today Hitler is credited with most of the responsibility for World War II. We do not like to blame German society for it because that would mean that we are also capable of this if we had to endure the circumstances of 1940's Germany. We cannot blame the German race for these problems, as they are a characteristic of humanity. We fought World War II against the forces of racism, but we ourselves treated…

    • 2202 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Thesis: LOTF and the platoon both portray the physiological breakdown in man bringing forth the inner savagery within all man through the characters similar behavior, as well as symbolism.…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In its broadest sense, allegory is an extended metaphor. In a deeper sense, allegory is a figure of speech in which philosophical principles and ideas are portrayed in terms of events, figures, and characters. Allegory seems similar to symbolism. Even though allegory uses symbols, both are quite distinct. An allegory is a finished narrative which implicates numerous characters, and events that stand for a conceptual idea. On the other hand, symbol, is only an object that stands for another one, giving it a particular meaning. Lord of the Flies is an allegory, different from Ralph, who is only a symbol. The objective for allegory is to teach a moral lesson, and also allows writers to put forth their moral and political point of views. A diffident…

    • 159 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    {Title} {block:Description}{/block:Description} ::-webkit-scrollbar {width: 3px; height:auto; background:{color:background}} ::-webkit-scrollbar-corner {padding:2px;background:{color:background}} ::-webkit-scrollbar-button:vertical {height:5px; display: block; background:{color:scrollbar}} ::-webkit-scrollbar-button:horizontal {width: 3px; height: 5px; display: block; background:{color:scrollbar}} ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:vertical {background:{color:scrollbar};} ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb:horizontal {background: {color:background};} ::-webkit-scrollbar-thumb {background: {color:scrollbar};} body { background:{color:background}; font-family:arial; font-size:9px; letter-spacing:0px; color:{color:text}; line-height:120%;} a:link, a:active, a:visited{color: {color:link};} a:hover{color:{color:link}; text-decoration:underline;} a { color:{color:link}; text-decoration:none; -moz-transition-duration:0.4s; -webkit-transition-duration:0.4s; -o-transition-duration:0.4s; } a:hover { color:{color:link}; text-decoration:underline; -moz-transition-duration:0.4s; -webkit-transition-duration:0.4s; -o-transition-duration:0.4s; } #container { background-color:{color:background}; width:700px; margin: 0 auto -12px auto; text-align: center; } .links { margin-top:5px; word-spacing:1px; text-align:center; } .links a{ padding:5px; letter-spacing:0px; color:{color:link}; text-decoration:none; -moz-transition-duration:0.4s; -webkit-transition-duration:0.4s; -o-transition-duration:0.4s; } .links a:hover{ color:{color:link}; text-decoration:underline; -moz-transition-duration:0.4s; -webkit-transition-duration:0.4s; -o-transition-duration:0.4s; }…

    • 814 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lord of the Flies can be visualized as a biblical or a political allegory, however, the most accurate allegory is biblical. The biblical allegory represents the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This is indicated in the book by how Simon and the Lord of the Flies are intertwined, how Jack and the other boys are tempted by the beast, and how Ralph joins in with Jack and the others.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    You can be the mighty snake slithering along its own path to hunt for food or you can be in a pack of wolfs hunting with your brothers and sisters. This is the great battle between working as an individual or as a community. In William Golding’s book Lord of the Flies he expresses this battle of Individual vs. Community through his three major characters Piggy, Jack, and Ralph. Piggy is a boy who is always concerned about himself and his well being, Jack is a boy who only cares for himself and views hunting above all else, and Ralph who is a boy who thinks about the good of the group of boys and does his best for their well being.…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Evil is done without effort, naturally, it is the working of fate.”- Charles Baudelaire In the book The Lord of The Flies by William Golding, many young boys land on an island after a plane crash during World War II causing the evil in each other to come out and separate the kids into two different tribes eventually causing a war between themselves. Jack demonstrates the evil of a powerful and hungry dictator. Jack’s vicious characteristics cause him to make his own tribe, kidnap and torture samneric, and also rallying his tribe to kill Simon. When Jack is not elected chief he decides to make his own tribe.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    group of adolescent boys. The boys are forced to learn how to live on the land…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fear In Lord Of The Flies

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The group of boys who, once had innocent and pure lives turned into a group of monsters who wreaked havoc against anyone who opposed them. Fear led the boys to make illogical choices and the overall thirst for power and dominance caused them to act uncivilized to one another. After being on the island for so long, the boys became aware that it wasn’t crashing on an island that drove them to savagery, but that it was having to deal with each other that led them to the lifestyle they lived. The deterioration of morality among the boys caused them to act in ways they wouldn’t have if they hadn’t crashed on the island. As a group, the boys were not able to live in peace with each other due to their fear and greediness for control and that soon led to the downfall of their…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the flies symbols

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The fire - The fire is the most important thing on the island. It is a possibilty to be rescued, and therefore a medium to communicate, and represents at the same time the origin of mankind. The fire is even a tool to…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages

    For an author to clasp on its reader, he or she must use figurative language to captivate…

    • 781 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies Essay

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages

    What does it take for a group of civilized boys to be turned into inhumane, bloodthirsty savages? In William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, Jack is able to exploit the innermost evil in others through the means of psychological manipulation. With these tactics, he gains the support of his newfound tribe, and chaos breaks out on the island as a result. Jack manipulates the boys and turns them into a supportive tribe of savages by defying the conch, giving them the thrill of hunting, and using their fear of the beast against them.…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Inborn Evil of Mankind

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages

    In the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding’s pessimistic view that evil is an inborn trait of mankind is valid. Firstly, what seems like a little vacation for the boys is quickly erased by the brutal savage-like behavior that many of the boys on the island possess. Secondly, the death of Simon or goodness on the island shows that evil has completely taken over the boys’ minds. Lastly, the fact that the beast lies within mankind symbolizes the evil that is present in humanity. Therefore, the boys on the island express the innate evil in mankind that can possibly be released when there is no structure and very little means of survival.…

    • 1678 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays