The Religion of Man“Religion is not something separate and apart from ordinary life. This is life – life in all its forms, considered from the point of view of meaning and purpose: life lived in full awareness of its human quality and spiritual significance. (A. Powell Davies). At the very heart of man there is religion; it lies in our morals, our actions, and in our very minds and desires. The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a very symbolically heavy piece. The book can be interpreted in several ways. The most common allegories associated with this novel are: political, Freudian psychological and religious. I believe that of the three, Lord of the Flies may be best read as a religious allegory, due to its biblical parallels and symbols. In order to establish a religious allegory, a piece must have at least two of these three concepts: a sacred figure, a demonic figure, or a theme that reflects a biblical story. Lord of the Flies contains these three key concepts. The first and most important of these is the holy or Christ-like figure in the book. Simon is an altruistic boy considered strange and peculiar. Of all the boys on the island, Simon is the only one who really seems to care about the “little ones”. “Simon [finds] fruits for them which they could not attain” (Golding 72). And, instead of going to play, he spends his time “[working] all day with [Ralph]” in shelters for the smallest boys on the island. (61). Not only is Simon compassionate like Jesus, but he also has a very similar and symbolic death. In the novel, Simon has a very peaceful place similar to a garden where he goes to be alone; However, this place is poisoned by trevally offering to the "Beast", a sow's head on a stake which is labeled...... middle of paper ...... tick to that of Cain and Abel. And their stories are very similar. The congruence between them provides us with our biblical parallel solidifying our religious allegory. When we take into consideration the satanic and holy figures and the biblical parallel in Lord of the Flies, we can come to the conclusion that Lord of the Flies can be better read. like a religious allegory. The symbolism of the serpent and the sow's head on a stake, and the Garden of Eden-like island, combined with the Christ-like character represented by Simon, added to the Cain and Abel relationship between Jack and Ralph, Lord of the Flies is perfectly a perfect example of religious allegory. Although if we look hard enough we can find religion in every story; Religion is life. If we choose to view life with purpose and meaning, we will soon be able to see religion in all aspects of life..