The Lord Of The Flies: Allegory Analysis

The Lord of the Flies in and of itself is an allegory. Symbolism is on the forefront of this novel and changes throughout. Simple details in beyond surface level reading are used to “reveal humanity.” From the conch, to the beastie, to the face paint, symbolism shapes the Lord of the Flies into so much more. The conch was first mentioned in chapter one. Piggy, the character with reason and ideas, encourages Ralph to blow into it and call everyone else to them. Quickly, it’s adopted as a symbol of power, order, authority, and civilization. Likely because of the conch, Ralph is the boy chosen to be the chief. One of the first rules they make is that during meetings, only the person holding the conch may speak. Unfortunately, the conch dwindles
Representing fear, angst, the unknown, and inner demons, the idea of it was not entertained at first and was described as being a snake like thing. Ralph, from the beginning, denies that there is a beast. “‘But there isn’t a beast!’ Something he had not known was there rose in him and compelled him to make the point, loudly and again. ‘But I tell you there isn’t a beast!’” (37). Later, it develops into something else entirely. In the chapter “Beast from Air,” Sam ‘n Eric see the “beastie.” It was actually a dead parachuter from the war happening in the air above them that night. The parachute and wind caused the body to move, and in the dark, Sam ‘n Eric were unable to tell the difference. They wake up Ralph. In a later chapter, Simon, known for passing out, goes into his clearing to find a rotten pig head on a stick sharpened at both ends. “The pile of guts was a black blob of flies that buzzed like a saw” (138). The dead pig eventually “talks” to Simon describing the ignorance of the boys. “‘Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill! … You knew, didn’t you? I’m a part of you?’” (143). The beast changes many times, but eventually it’s pretty safe to say that the beast resided inside of the boys