Allegory In Lord Of The Flies

Over the years and across the world, there have been hundreds of different governments that have both succeeded and failed. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the boys are abandoned on an island and left to figure out how to govern and structure themselves. As the book progresses, we see organization and civilization fall apart. Golding uses Lord of the Flies as an allegory to show how humans regress to savagery without society’s rules, yet Golding’s minuscule test population makes the novel fail to actually demonstrate much of this. In reality, Golding’s novel is an allegory that displays the inherent flaws of government, showing that it’s nothing more than a group of children fighting amongst each other for control, all the while damaging …show more content…
In the cessation of Golding’s narrative, the boys are rescued by a naval officer, who, despite the officer finding out multiple children have perished, addresses all of the children in a cheery joking tone, and compares their serious condition to fiction: “I know. Jolly good show. Like the Coral Island.” (202). The naval officer, an adult, and protector of the country completely disregards the shown problem with the boys and shows no worry for them whatsoever. The officer ignores the somber state of the boys and sees their condition almost as entertainment or pleasure for him, even going as far to compare their situation to a television show about three boys stranded on a island living happily and who go on many adventures together. The officer compares their state to a “show” as if their grim predicament is all pretend and fake, so it needs not be addressed. He chooses to make a joke of their situation because it’s easier than dealing with the suffering and feeble mental state of the boys and how this came to be. Golding’s choice to use a naval officer shows how those who protect and lead us deflect and ignore issues of difficulty and controversy to avoid venturing into dangerous territory and possibly losing