Structure & P.O.V.

This novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, has an allegorical structure. The reason I think this is that the plot and the characters symbolize some truths about mankind. The way that the boys are forced to adapt to life on the island is representative of how people react to seriously scary or challenging situations. The characters symbolize the different kinds of people who exist in the world. There is Ralph and Piggy who are the ones who attempt to establish order like the society they are used to, and then there is Jack and Roger who apparently want to revert to an uncivilized, savage lifestyle. With this violent behavior having taken over Roger, he ends up killing Piggy by pushing a large rock onto him, and Jack’s response is, “That’s what you get…the conch is gone” (163). These two boys are consumed by this evil inside of them and the desire to have power. This is evident because they commit murder without remorse and the idea of the conch being shattered symbolizes Ralph’s loss of power, which satisfies Jack. Also, the point of view in the novel is third person omniscient. Ralph is the main protagonist, but the narrator includes the inner thoughts of the other boys as well.