The Lord Of The Flies: A Symbolic Analysis

All rationality is lost when the “beastie” comes out at night. In the book Lord of the Flies written by William Golding, a symbol helps portray the destruction and collapse of the boys. This symbol can be called The Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies causes the boys to do unthinkable and irrational things, so unthinkable in fact it can be considered sadistic. The Lord of the Flies acts as, a symbol for the devil, a realization of how strong evil power is, and the representation of fear. The Lord of the Flies symbolically represents the devil in bounteous ways. When one of the littuns said he saw a “beastie” he described it as a snake, just like in Genesis. All was domestic and under control before the “beastie” showed up, but once it did all went to turmoil. This happened …show more content…
Everyone thinks the “beastie” is a snake-like creature that lurks in the woods at night, but the “beastie” that the boys fear, is fear itself. The “beastie” is not a creature, or an animal, it is fear. The Lord of the Flies says “there isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And im the beast… Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? Im part of you?”(Golding 143). This quote, the very last sentence the Lord of the Flies says, this signifies that you cannot really kill him, that he really isn’t a creature or a “beastie.” He will always be a part of you no matter where one is from or what age a person is. Without the fear the Lord of the Flies creates, this book would just be about a group of boys surviving, it would have no meaning, no purpose to it. Instead the fear from the Lord of the Flies causes the boys to think irrationally in vicious and sadistic ways. Without fear the three boys wouldn’t have died, the boys wouldn’t have turned from civil to savage, and their survival on the island would have went efficiently and