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If you want to understand William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, read the Bible. OK, we’re joking. Sort of. Because while we’re not inside William Golding’s head, there are definitely some similarities between what happens in Lord of the Flies and what happens in, say, the book of Genesis in the Bible. Jenny has the scoop on the Biblical action—just press play.

Video Transcription:

If you’re not Bible-savvy, here’s the five-second recap: The Bible chronicles the struggle between good and evil with good eventually triumphing.

So now you get the Biblical motif in Lord of the Flies, right? Don’t worry. I’ll explain—just stay with me.

Think about that buzzy little island for a second. It’s overrun with boys—except for an unspoiled glade where Simon escapes to think.

Biblical reference number one! The glade echoes the Garden of Eden, first, because it’s pristine, and, second, because it’s invaded by evil in the form of a pig’s head on a stake.

Biblical reference number two! The pig’s head is the devil. Why?

Let’s start with the fact that the phrase “Lord of the Flies”—the name the author gives to the pig’s head—is a literal translation of the name Beelzebub, a Biblical name for Satan.

Then there’s this. In the Bible, a talking snake (the devil in disguise) gets Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden of Eden. In Lord of the Flies, a talking pig’s head spouts evil—which, in turn, drives Simon out of his perfect little glade.

So here’s where Golding was going with all this Biblical stuff. The glade and the pig’s head—and the other references that I’ll let you dig up—help Golding’s theme about good and evil go POP!

Which is, if you’ll remember, exactly what a motif is supposed to do.