Download Psychological Allegory

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
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•
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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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ralph and Jack are symbolic of Adam and Eve’s sons Cain
and Abel.
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
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.
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Watching!!