Oakridge International School

Lord of the Flies. (C2013) Essay Question Why is the Lord of the Flies considered a religious allegorical novel? What are the important symbols related to this allegory? Fully explain their symbolism in terms of the overall themes from the novel. Consider some of the following:

Grade 11

The island itself / Eden (Paradise) The Fall of Man / The plane crash (scar) bringing human (and therefore sin and the "beast") to the island The Beast / Serpent (Devil), temptation to sin, man's inner dark side Simon / Religious figure (sees the truth) Pig's Head / Devil, inner human darkness Ralph and Jack / Cain and Abel (think about the sacrifice that these boys offer to the beast) Fire / once civilization, now savagery (think Hell and also Greek mythology) Conch / (broken?) symbol of authority (can you make a religious connection?) Light and Darkness / Heaven and Hell / Good and Evil

Advice for writing the essay:

Thesis = Big Idea (theme) + topic (allegory) Rest of introduction = general overview (not specific) of topics to be discussed (like symbols and the parallel between the Genesis story and the novel) Body Paragraphs (minimum of three) should be both specific and analytical. When using quotations from the text remember this formula: Introduce idea + quotation + analysis (explanation). Never include a quotation without explaining why it is important. Go deep. Fully explain and show the importance with specific references to the text. Do NOT summarize the book.

A Note on Allegory

The religious allegory is basically a parallel story within the novel.

The allegory uses a series of symbols that represent ideas beyond the context of the novel. The allegory adds a deeper meaning to the novel. For instance: o The Bible story of Genesis depicts the Fall of Man. o William Golding's novel The Lord of the Flies depicts the crumbling of society because of man's weakness. o The Bible story begins with a paradise, the Garden of Eden. o William Golding's novel begins with a perfect, pristine, green island. o The Garden of Eden is corrupted by the Devil who arrives disguised as a serpent. This serpent encourages Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Eve encourages Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam eats the fruit and sin is born. The serpent does not commit the sin, man does. It is man's inner flaw that corrupts paradise. o The island is perfect, it has good weather, good water, and plenty of food. The boys "scar" the island, first by crashing into it (literally in the plane), and then by behaving badly on the island. The boys blame their fear and savagery on the beast, but the beast is really the flaw within human nature. o The serpent is the catalyst to the fall of man. o The beast is the catalyst which brings about the savageness within the boys.

A Note about Theme

The fragile nature of society / civilization o Paradise / Eden is destroyed just by the whisper of temptation o What destroys the organization of society on the island with the boys? Is it Jack and desire for power? Is it fear of the beast? Is it human nature itself? Human Nature's Tragic Flaw (the beast within) o Adam and Eve were flawed. They gave into temptation, went against God's wishes, and sinned. o What are the flaws we see on the island? Is it greed? Is it jealousy? Is it fear? Is it cruelty? The destructiveness of war / violence o The fallen angel Lucifer (the Devil) wars with God and therefore plots against God by tempting Eve to sin. o The rift between Cain and Abel that leads to the first murder of man. o Consider the historic time period when this novel was published (just after World War II and the Holocaust) o Consider the destructiveness of violence within the novel

Cruelty to Piggy Cruelty to Robert / Violence that even Ralph gives into The rift between Jack and Ralph that creates two rival factions on the island The violence to the pig (Roger actually enjoys torturing the animal), a mother sow who is nursing her young piglets The violence to the littluns (destroying castle, throwing rocks) The destruction of intellect (cruelty to Piggy and breaking his glasses)

Extra Credit Poster Project The Id, the Ego, and the Superego A Psychological Allegory Create a poster that explains and analyzes how Lord of the Flies works on a psychological allegorical level. Your poster should be both visually appealing and informative. ALL INFORMATION MUST BE WRITTEN IN YOUR OWN WORDS EXCEPT FOR DIRECT QUOTATIONS TAKEN FROM THE NOVEL AND CREDITED TO WILLIAM GOLDING. I do not want to know what the internet has to say about this subject; I want to know what YOU have to say about this subject. Content to include: Information on the id, ego, and superego. Which characters are represented by each of these aspects of the human psyche. Why/How each of those characters works as an allegorical representation as part of the human psyche. Quotations from the novel which support your interpretation of which characters represent which aspects of the psyche (Minimum three quotations per character; nine quotationsbe sure that they are relevant). Visuals to include: Visual representations of each character and/or aspect of the psyche Make it pretty/appealing to the eye. Grading Rubric: Meaning & Development: Effectively demonstrates a thorough understanding of the both the psychological allegory and its application to the novel the Lord of the Flies. Textual Evidence: Effectively uses quotations from the text to demonstrate how and why the characters allegorically represent the id, ego, and superego. Visual Appeal: Visually neat, appealing to the eye, and relevant to the topic.

Spelling/ Punctuation/ Grammar: Effectively demonstrates mastery of the English language and grammar conventions. Overall Grade out of 20 points. Due: Thursday, September 29, 2011

Hema Chennupaty.