Preview

English

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
485 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
English
Why did William Golding choose the title "Lord of the Flies"?
It does not have to be the actual reason why he chose it, it could just be a personal opinion. It is a difficult question so I'll appreciate any answers. Thanks! * 6 years ago * Report Abuse blunderb... Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
The name is a Biblical reference. From what I remember, Christ comes upon a man possessed by the devil, and Jesus asks the man his name. The devil, inside the man, speaks through his voice, "My name is Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies," and when Jesus asks, "How many are you?", the demon replies, "I am legion" -- there are hundreds of demons in here.

That's all what I remember from high school.

<<
The Lord of the Flies is the bloody, severed sow’s head that Jack impales on a stake in the forest glade as an offering to the beast. This complicated symbol becomes the most important image in the novel when Simon confronts the sow’s head in the glade and it seems to speak to him, telling him that evil lies within every human heart and promising to have some “fun” with him. ... the Lord of the Flies recalls the devil, just as Simon recalls Jesus. In fact, the name “Lord of the Flies” is a literal translation of the name of the biblical name Beelzebub, a powerful demon in hell sometimes thought to be the devil himself.
>>

From Wiki:
<<The title is said to be a reference to the Hebrew name Beelzebub (בעל זבוב, Ba'al-zvuv, "god of the fly", "host of the fly" or literally "Lord of Flies"), a name sometimes used as a synonym for Satan. It may also be a reference to a line from King Lear - "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods, — They kill us for their sport". (King Lear Act IV, Scene 1)>>
TITLE OF THE NOVEL
Lord of the Flies refers to Beelzebub, another name for the devil. He is also called the Lord of Filth and Dung. Throughout the novel, the children grow dirtier and dirtier, an outward reflection of their inner state. As their
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    English
    • 1799 Words
    • 8 Pages

    English

    In “Things fall apart” by Chinua Achebe. The main character Okonkwo is portrayed as a tragic hero. A tragic hero is a central or main character who is usually of high noble birth and demonstrates a “fatal flaw”. A fatal flaw is a characteristic that prompts him or her to take an action or make a decision that ultimately leads to his downfall or death. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero has four parts in order to be in order to determine if okonkwo is one he has to set examples to show that he is one. As of chapter twenty, part 3 okonkwo does seem like a tragic hero.…

    • 1799 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Essay on Lord of the Flies-Piggy
    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay on Lord of the Flies-Piggy

    Reilly, Patrick. "Lord of the Flies: Beelzebub’s Boys." Infotrac.Galegroup.com. Literature Resource Center, 1990. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.…

    • 1240 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lord of the Flies - Allusions to the Bible
    • 362 Words
    • 1 Page

    Lord of the Flies - Allusions to the Bible

    The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is full of allusions to the bible and other religious figures. The title of the book itself has a very strong religious undertone. "Lord of the Flies" is another name for the Devil, or Unholy One. The devil is the lord of the flies, signifying death, decay, and destruction. This is the first allusion of many that you see throughout the novel. It doesn't, however, make much sense to the reader at the beginning of the book. As the novel develops, the allusion becomes clearer and easier to understand.…

    • 362 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allusions In Lord Of The Flies Essay
    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Allusions In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    When Simon encounters the Lord of the Flies, it tells him that he is the cause for the way things are on the island. After Simon insults the Lord, it says,“ I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are the way they are?”, (Golding 143). Furthermore, the Lord of the Flies is translate to Beelzebub which is the name for the devil, and the devil is known for causing death and destruction. The current state on the island when Simon spoke with it wasn’t good, people were splitting up, everyone was afraid, the island was in chaos. The devil is know for spreading fear and in turn creating chaos and destruction enhancing the fact that the Lord of the Flies spreads fear and destruction because the Lord of the Flies is symbolic of the devil. Given these points, by choosing to name a character after the devil Golding effectively enhances the main theme of…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Kurtz's Open Mouth Analysis
    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Kurtz's Open Mouth Analysis

    Lord of the Flies has been called an allegory about society’s failings because the boys try to force order on their irrationality and become evil because of it (Fitzgerald and Kayser 78). Piggy is consistently told “you shut up” when he presents the group with a piece of wisdom about the possibility of them having evil inside (Thapliyal and Kunwar 87). Jack uses his mask and dance to hide from the fear of his own actions; “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 64, Oldsey and Weintraub 94). The dead parachutist is named The Beast and therefore becomes a symbol for the fear that the boys have of something obviously evil lurking among them (Fitzgerald and Kayser 79). Simon, the messenger bringing the wisdom that can save the group, is brutally murdered. His death shows that the boys are not accepting of truth; Piggy is killed because the boys are not accepting of reason; Ralph is hunted because the boys are not accepting of his values of consent and democracy (Spitz 25-7). Heart of Darkness shows the Russian trying to justify Kurtz’s fence of staked heads (Lipka 28). “Restraint” (restraint from the irrationality within) is a common motif in the novel. However, no characters hold on to the restraints they give themselves (Oldsey and Weintraub 97). The cannibals are praised for their restraint, but if they truly exercised that restraint they would not be cannibals at all. Throughout both books characters fight to preserve the hope that there is no evil in…

    • 1739 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Power In Lord Of The Flies
    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Power In Lord Of The Flies

    The next time Simon came back to his secret place, flies took over the pig’s head, then earning the name Lord of the Flies. Golding creates a descriptive appearance of what the bugs resemble, writing “The pile of guts was a black blob of flies that buzzed like a saw… they were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned” (138). Simon, who suffers from fainting spells, imagines that the head talks to him. Threatening, the pig says If he told the boys the only beast was them, Simon would die. Nevertheless, the whole thing plays out exactly as the Lord of the Flies had said. Running, Simon was on his way to tell the boys the truth when he is killed by the hunters himself. Therefore, pig represents the worst of us, the evil voice on the side of our shoulder. In translation, Lord of the Flies can also mean Beelzebub, which is one of the names for the devil. Putting the pieces together, Simon represents kind, nurturing Christ and the pig’s head can represent the evil, persuasive…

    • 969 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Lord Of The Flies Beast Quotes
    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lord Of The Flies Beast Quotes

    The beast is non-existent, yet it cannot be tamed. It is a figment of the human imagination, but it still causes fear. Sometimes, it only takes thought to produce fear, even in the bravest of minds. Thoughts have the ability to produce images, which leads the mind to believe that the beast is real. The author uses various techniques to portray the beast’s significance in “Lord of the Flies”. In this story, this “beast” is shown to be a symbol of hatred, causing the children to fear and despise it. Some of these techniques include symbolism, irony, and character behaviour.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Comparing Simon And Jesus In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding
    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Comparing Simon And Jesus In Lord Of The Flies By William Golding

    First, there are many biblical parallels in the allegory, “Lord of the Flies” written by William Golding. The confrontation with Simon and the Lord of the…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    English
    • 3709 Words
    • 15 Pages

    English

    “Since more than a million dollars are needed to staff a properly run cruise in the Caribbean, it must be that every employee on board makes more than a million dollars on each cruise!” commits the fallacy of…

    • 3709 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Censorship of Lord of the Flies
    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Censorship of Lord of the Flies

    Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is a novel about a group of school boys, whose ages range from six to twelve years old. The boys’ plane crashes on a nameless, uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean. At first the boys struggle to get along, but after they choose a leader the boys begin get along. The leader, Ralph, is chosen because he found a conch shell which he blew into and all of the boys followed the sound of the conch and are reunited. Jack is another main character in the book. He is the antagonist to Ralph in the way that Jack disagrees with Ralph a lot. Jack and Ralph fight throughout much of the book, however they do agree on the need for food and a fire. The fire was Ralph’s idea and he wants someone to tend the fire all the times; Jack volunteers himself and the rest of his choir. But, Jack also volunteers to be the hunting group. Jack spends all of his time hunting and the fire goes out. Ralph is livid with Jack. Jack tells Ralph that he will catch a wild boar, and then he won’t be so mad. When Jack finally does catch the boar, everyone goes mad with excitement, for all of the boys are starving. The book describes the boys as becoming savages at the sight of the cooking pig. Also, Jack spears the boar’s head and puts it on a stake. This is what the lord of the flies is. This is a direct connection to the title by which is means that the “monster” that had been scaring them was really inside of them the whole time. Jack later mistakes Simon for the beast and he (Jack) and many of the other boys chase down Simon and kill him. Over, the next few days Ralph is opposed to Jack because Jack wants to be leader of the group. Jack orders hi¬¬¬¬¬¬¬-s “men” to kill Ralph. Ralph flees through the woods and lands on the beach and looks up into the face of a coastguardsman. Ralph is the protagonist and a major character. However, Jack is a major character and the antagonist in the book. The theme…

    • 1147 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Lord of the Flies
    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Lord of the Flies

    Similarly, the Lord of the Flies was another symbol presented in the novel which illustrated evil. In Hebrew, another word for the devil is Beelzebub and when translated to English, means the Lord of The Flies. On the other hand, Golding tried to represent Simon as Christ. When Simon confronts the pig’s head, he begins to communicate with it. The pig’s head tells Simon that evil lies within every human. The children were given a choice of taking a side, the devil on one shoulder and Christ on the other. The bloodthirsty children murdered Simon and Piggy. Yet, they were reluctant to feel guilty because evil had prospered within their hearts. The Lord of the Flies itself, was just a representation of the power of evil and it is shown when the Lord of the Flies says, “Fancy…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Butterfly Revolution/ Lord of the Flies
    • 4230 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Butterfly Revolution/ Lord of the Flies

    Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group, 1954. 208. Print.…

    • 4230 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Does The Conch Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies
    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What Does The Conch Symbolize In Lord Of The Flies

    The Beast is an important symbol in the Lord of the Flies. It represents fear and the need for savagery. In the novel Lord of the Flies, the Beast is a god-like figure in Jack 's savage society. Since the Beast is more prominent in the savage society it suggests a symbolic link. Also, the least savage characters Piggy, Ralph and especially Simon are the least affected by the Beast. Simon the symbol of purity and innocence, knows that the Beast is just the collective imagination of the boys. When he finds the truth he tries to bring it to the others but is killed by an act of savagery and the Beast … acts of savagery continue to thrive. In the world savagery thrives in the absence of truth, innocence, and purity and in the novel the…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Is Simon A Christ-Like Figure In Lord Of The Flies
    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Is Simon A Christ-Like Figure In Lord Of The Flies

    The Lord of the Flies can be visualized as a biblical or a political allegory, however, the most accurate allegory is biblical. The biblical allegory represents the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This is indicated in the book by how Simon and the Lord of the Flies are intertwined, how Jack and the other boys are tempted by the beast, and how Ralph joins in with Jack and the others.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Does Golding Present Simon in Lord of the Flies-What Is His Role?
    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Does Golding Present Simon in Lord of the Flies-What Is His Role?

    One of the reasons Simon is often thought of as a biblical parallel to Jesus Christ is because of his encounter with "The beast", which shows a strong resemblance to Jesus' 40 days in the desert, in which he encountered the Devil and was tempted by him to leave his mission. In "Lord of the Flies", Simon meets the beast during an epileptic fit. His mind, or the Beast tells him "We are going to have fun on this island...so don't try it on...". Simon is being told that he must not tell the others what he knows, that they must have fun and Simon must not interfere, but he must just "run off and play". The name "Lord of the Flies" is a translation of a word thought to mean a powerful demon, or the devil himself. This shows that Simon may have represented Jesus in the novel.…

    • 1413 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics