Religious Persecution, an Underlying Theme in "Lord of the Flies" by Golding

Like many excellent works, William Golding's novel, The Lord of the Flies can be read on many different levels. It is possible to read the book literally, as a mere story about boys marooned on an island. It is also possible to read the book as an indictment of the nature of man - as being pure evil without society's boundaries. A further analysis of The Lord of The Flies reveals something else - the novel has many references to religious persecution throughout history. Golding uses many religious elements along with metaphors representing the death of Jesus, the torture of Jews in the Holocaust, and the ascent and reign of Hitler in Nazi Germany to present an underlying theme of religious persecution that proves his grim outlook on the nature of man.…