What are some religious allegories in chapters 10,11, and 12 of  "Lord of the Flies"?

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reidalot eNotes educator| Certified Educator

First of all, the entire novel can be considered a religious allegory where Golding uses concrete images to represent the abstract. In Chapter 10, The Shell and the Glasses, the reader sees the symbol of power, the conch, and the symbol of intellect, the glasses still somewhat held by Ralph's group, though the glasses have one lens. However, Evil is quickly creeping into this Garden of Eden (the island)as this chapter follows the boys' killing of Simon, the Christ-like figure. As the boys have bitten into the apple of evil, "the air is heavy with unspoken knowledge." In Chap. 11, Castle Rock, Evil takes over, as Roger's savages appear, and Piggy, who represents the allegorical Fall from goodness, literally, falls the over the rock, looking much like the pigs,those who are sacrificed. The conch, the last hope for order and truth, is crushed. Lastly, in Chap. 12, Cry of the Hunters, darkness, Evil, has overcome the Garden of Eden,as Ralph (Man) literally runs for his life. At the end of the novel, Ralph, mankind, can no longer remain in the Garden as an innocent as temptation was too strong to resist. Ralph "wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true..." So, there you have it-mankind's allegorical Fall from Grace! 

particleson | Student

You would also be well off to look into the parallels between Lord of the Flies and Euripedes' Bacchae.  It is known that Golding was not only familiar with this story, but he more or less had it memorized.

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Lord of the Flies

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