Is LOTF an Allegory?
Most humans like it when their lives are going predictably. No one wants something frightening to come out of the blue. Normally, when humans are afraid their body will take over and keep them safe. The human body will do this in three ways, freezing, fleeing, or fighting. So what happens when humans discover a fear they can’t fight or flee from? Perhaps they fear something that keeps them from feeling safe or having a sense of normal? Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is an allegory illustrating what happens when fear interrupts our sense of normalcy.
In Lord of the Flies, twenty to thirty boys are stranded on an island without adults, and as soon as they all gathered together, the boys began to try to make their lives similar to the ones they had at home. They did this by picking leaders, making shelters, and even forming a society. Then, the littluns started to have dreams of a beast on the island. Eventually the oldest ones are even convinced that the beast is real. This beast that the boys are afraid of changes forms throughout the book, and eventually leads to death and chaos all over the island.
Before the death and chaos on the island, there was order thanks to Ralph and Piggy. Ralph was the leader that the boys appointed at their first meeting. Golding used Ralph to symbolise civilization and good …show more content…
In Chapter five, Ralph called a meeting to address the problem of the beast. And this is what Jack said about the beast, “The thing is--fear can’t hurt you anymore than a dream. There aren’t any beasts to be afraid of on this island... Serve you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies! But there is no animal--” (Golding, 82 - 83) With that statement, Jack totally denies the beast’s existence. The reason we deny the existence of something we fear, is so that we can preserve our sense of safety, and that is exactly why Jack did
Most humans like it when their lives are going predictably. No one wants something frightening to come out of the blue. Normally, when humans are afraid their body will take over and keep them safe. The human body will do this in three ways, freezing, fleeing, or fighting. So what happens when humans discover a fear they can’t fight or flee from? Perhaps they fear something that keeps them from feeling safe or having a sense of normal? Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is an allegory illustrating what happens when fear interrupts our sense of normalcy.
In Lord of the Flies, twenty to thirty boys are stranded on an island without adults, and as soon as they all gathered together, the boys began to try to make their lives similar to the ones they had at home. They did this by picking leaders, making shelters, and even forming a society. Then, the littluns started to have dreams of a beast on the island. Eventually the oldest ones are even convinced that the beast is real. This beast that the boys are afraid of changes forms throughout the book, and eventually leads to death and chaos all over the island.
Before the death and chaos on the island, there was order thanks to Ralph and Piggy. Ralph was the leader that the boys appointed at their first meeting. Golding used Ralph to symbolise civilization and good …show more content…
In Chapter five, Ralph called a meeting to address the problem of the beast. And this is what Jack said about the beast, “The thing is--fear can’t hurt you anymore than a dream. There aren’t any beasts to be afraid of on this island... Serve you right if something did get you, you useless lot of cry-babies! But there is no animal--” (Golding, 82 - 83) With that statement, Jack totally denies the beast’s existence. The reason we deny the existence of something we fear, is so that we can preserve our sense of safety, and that is exactly why Jack did