4 of 10

Write now Article Tools

Symbolism: Focus on Fall

Fall. The myth of the fall, part of the myth of creation is the same in all three monotheistic religions. God created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Eden, which could have been an everlasting paradise. He asked them not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, but they were tricked into eating by a serpent, representing Satan (Lucifer, The Devil etc.).

In Lord of the Flies allusions are made to this creation myth. On the island that the children are stranded on, some of the little ones ("littluns") see a snake thing' or beastie thing'. Could these creatures (real or imaginary) make the children follow them, for example to a place where they would receive more knowledge about the island, knowledge of goods and evils of the island? If not, why would W. Golding make any reference to the Garden of Eden? If the snake-things' would just attack the children, then the connection would be lost, as the serpent in the Garden of Eden story is not violent, brutal or impulsive, but is quite the opposite, devious, intelligent and deceptive.

So then which would be the moment of the fall for the children? It doesn't seem to have happened in the 1st four chapters; however, if we look back to the end of chapter four, Simon is in the jungle, in a little opening between the trees, his comfort spot'. What brought him here, and how did he find this place? It must somehow lead to the fall. Maybe that is where the beast' hides, or where an illusion will be created.

But is this single element going to lead to this presumed fall, or are there more elements, which combined, will create a catastrophe? (As in Noah's Ark, where the continuity and excess of human sins brought a flood upon the whole world).
The only difference would be the scale and the fact that this would actually happen, the downfall of the children, the downfall of their civilization. Because Noah's Ark and other such stories are presumably, just that, stories (as Joseph Campbell argues fiercely in his article in The Viking Press, 1972). Joseph Campbell says that "Today we know and know right well that there was never anything of the kind: no Garden of Eden anywhere on this earth, no time when the serpent could talk, no prehistoric "Fall", no exclusion from the garden, no Universal Flood, no Noah's Ark.".
He says that these stories, which have been taken for granted by people for thousands of years, are an anthology of fictions. They show us how to live and how not to live but are not representations

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Literary analysis: Symbolism in Lord of the Flies, by William Golding?
We want to hear your view. Write now!