William Golding's "The Lord of the Flies"

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that William Golding's "The Lord of the Flies", which recounts the survival instincts of a group of school boys deserted on an uninhabited tropical island, depicts what could happen if man lived without laws, moral codes, ethics, and established religion. The author points out that Golding believed that, because morals come directly from one's environment, without the presence of civilization in this environment, man is doomed to lose any moral values. The paper discusses Golding's use of allegories, themes, symbols and metaphoric language to convey his morality tale. The paper includes some long quotations.

Table of Contents
The Sinful Nature of Man
The Descent into Savagery
A Telling Tale

From the Paper:

"The island itself is represented by a microcosm that portrays the world; while the "scar" is the mark of man's sin, depicting the capacity of man's 'destructive forces'. Ralph and the conch, both symbolized democracy and justice; Jack represented savagery and anarchy. Roger, the second-in-command of the hunters, depicted pure evil and Satanist tendencies; Piggy's glasses portrayed power. In the character of Simon, we see an image of the Christ; whereas, sinfulness and the dark nature of man is depicted through the Beast. And, the Lord of the Flies is Satan himself."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Golding, W. Lord of the Flies, ch.4, p. 64, 65, 1959 ISBN-13: 978-0399501487 Perigee Trade
• Gradesaver: Classic Note, Online Article, 2007 www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/lordflies/
• Green Paint: Mysteries of William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Online Article, 2007 www.greatwarfiction.wordpress.com/green-paint-mysteries-of-william-goldings-lord-of-the-flies/
• Lord of the Flies: 1990: Homework Online, 2007 www.homework-online.com/lotf/index.asp
• Lord of the Flies Summary, Online Article, 2007. Page downloaded, 05/03/2007 www.rit.edu/~sjg2490/lotf/analysis.html

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