Download Lord of the Flies

Lord of the
Flies
An Allegorical Tale
ALLEGORY
Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which
objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are
equated with the meanings that lie outside the
narrative itself. The underlying meaning has
moral, social, religious, or political significance,
and characters are often personifications of
abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy. Thus an
allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal
meaning and a symbolic meaning.
Four Allegorical Meanings
•
•
•
•
Moral Allegory
Social Allegory
Religious Allegory
Psychological Allegory
Morality refers to the concept of human
ethics which pertains to matters of right and wrong
("good and evil“) on three levels:
1. individual conscience;
2. systems of principles and judgments — sometimes
called moral values —shared within a cultural,
religious, secular or philosophical community;
3. codes of moral behavior or conduct
Moral allegorical stories also try to
teach us a lesson about life.
Like the ant and the grasshopper fable…
or the tortoise and the hare…
Which moral way of thinking do
you believe each of our characters
(Ralph, Jack, Simon & Piggy) is guided by?
We have…
Emotion
Common Sense
Intellect
Soul
Complete the Sentence with a
Partner (write it first then turn to a neighbor)…
I believe __________ (character) represents
________(moral) because___________ (your
rationale).
Emotion
Common Sense
Intellect
Soul
The characters in Lord of the Flies have very different ways
of approaching problems and are guided by different moral
ways of thinking:
Ralph is lead by Common Sense and judges morality on
what makes the most sense for the group.
Jack is lead by raw Emotion and makes moral judgments on
the whim and will of his every emotion.
Piggy is lead by Intellect and scientifically calculates his
moral decisions and judgments.
Simon is lead by the Soul and looks inward for a sense of
moral purpose and direction.
The term “social” implies relations and
interactions between peoples, and
membership or belonging to a group.
Social organization is also heavily
related political rule.
Which political/social organization do you
believe each of our characters is guided
by? We have…
*Socialism or humanism, political
affiliations aimed at working fairly and
honestly
*Technology and intellectual rule
*Fair and democratic government
*Dictatorship
Complete the Sentence with a
Partner (write it first then turn to a neighbor)…
I believe __________ (character) represents
________(social) because___________ (your
rationale).
*Socialism or humanism, political
affiliations aimed at working fairly and
honestly
*Technology and intellectual rule
*Fair and democratic government
*Dictatorship
Ralph represents fair and democratic government. He tries
to achieve unity between the boys on the Island and tries to
find balance between the opposing forces of the boys.
Jack represents a dictatorship full of one individual’s
tyrannical wants. He has the desire to get power and hunt .
He puts his own needs above the needs of other people.
Piggy represents technology and intellectual rule.
Simon represents socialism or humanism, political
affiliations aimed at working fairly and honestly for all
people.
Psychological Allegory
Psychologist Sigmund
Freud theorized that
humans are controlled by:
ID – emotional, instinctual
needs and wants
SUPEREGO – moral
conscience, tells us right
from wrong
EGO – considers reality and
balances the needs of the id
and superego
Let’s look at 3 of our characters:
Ralph, Piggy and Jack…
Which one of them could represent
the id, ego and the superego?
Complete the Sentence with a
Partner (write it first then turn to a neighbor)…
I believe __________ (character) represents
________(psychological) because___________
(your rationale).
ID – emotional, instinctual
needs and wants
SUPEREGO – moral
conscience, tells us right
from wrong
EGO – considers reality and
balances the needs of the id
and superego
Psychological Allegory
– Jack represents the id. This is the part of the unconscious mind
that works always to gratify its own impulse. Jack is always
working on his instinctual immediate wants and needs.
– Piggy represents the superego. This is the part of the mind that
seeks to control the impulsive behavior of the id. Piggy always
reminds Ralph and the others of their responsibilities.
– Ralph represents the ego. He is the conscious mind that mediates
between the id's demand for pleasure and gratification and the
social pressures brought to bear by the superego. Ralph plays a
careful balancing game.
Religious Allegory
Lord of the Flies is also a religious allegory of the Garden
of Eden.
The island is very much like Eden – a seeming utopia.
The beastie represents the snake (the devil) that tempts
Adam and Eve. That temptation – original sin – is evidence
of the innate evil within humans.
The boys exist in a state of frequent nakedness – a state
that Adam and Eve shared in the Garden of Eden.
Some say Ralph and Jack are symbolic of Adam and Eve’s sons Cain
and Abel.
Which ways could our characters
represent different aspects of a
religious allegory?
We have…
Deep spirituality and faith
Pure intellectual
Everyday man
Evil corruption
Complete the Sentence with a
Partner (write it first then turn to a neighbor)…
I believe __________ (character) represents
________(religious) because___________ (your
rationale).
• Deep spirituality and faith
• Pure intellect
• Everyday man
• Evil corruption
Religious Allegory
Ralph represents everyday man who is searching for
hope and salvation in a confusing and wicked world.
Jack represents the evil corruption within society. He
does not think beyond himself.
Piggy represents the pure intellectual who does not
understand spirituality and therefore cannot have faith
in his own salvation.
Simon represents a deep spirituality and faith in
humanity.