LA 201 – Lord of the Flies

Tribe Competition – Final Challenge: The Allegory Challenge

An Allegory of Corrupt Civilization

One view on civilization is that evil is inside every person; human nature is inherently bad. Naturally all people want to hurt, and even kill, one another. Society, or the rules we create to guide ourselves, tries to teach us that such actions are bad. Society wants us to forget that we are naturally evil; however, this evil nature can never be fully ignored. If the order society gives us is lost, we will act like animals, taking care of only ourselves and caring little for other people. Even logical thinking cannot stand up to our evil nature. Religion also tries to prevent people from being evil, but cannot fully stand up to it either (hence, why religion admits that people are sinful). There might be times when people think they have escaped from their evil natures, but the evil nature will always prevail.

An Allegory of the Christian Original Sin Story

Christians believe the Book of Genesis from the Bible details the creation of the

world, including the first humans Adamand Eve, who live in the Garden of Eden,

a natural earthly paradise. The Garden of Eden isuncorrupted and Adam and Eve

live in a state of innocence and grace. God lets Adam and Eve eat the fruit of any

tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil—if they do so, they will

ose their immortality and die. Asnake, actually the Devil in disguise, suggests that

Eve eat some fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Eve resists because she knows it

is forbidden, but the serpent convinces her that she won't die, and so she disobeys

the will of God and eats the fruit, offering some to Adam, who also eats it—this is

known as Original Sin and taints every person ever after.

Christians also believe that generations later the world is overtaken by this

sin. For example, some people turn from God and make a gold idol of the god Ba’al

(Hebrew name transforms to Beelzebub, another title for Satan). Later, the story

goes that God sends Jesus Christ to willinglysacrifice himself so that everyone's sins,

particularly Original Sin, may be forgiven. Jesus has many adventures and

performs many miracles. At one point, Jesus must go to the desert tomeditate and

fast for 40 days. While Jesus is there, Satan appears before him in a ghastly vision

andtempts him with money, power, and food. Jesus resists. Eventually, he returns

from the desert and rejoinshis disciples. Soon after, Jesus' disciple Judas betrays

him, and the Roman soldiers arrest him. The Roman authorities sentence Jesus to

death by crucifixion (being nailed to a cross).

An Allegory of Freudian Psychology

The Id, Ego, and Super-Ego are the three parts of the human psyche, as stated by Freud, that are constantly interacting.

The Id wants to feel good all of the time and does not care about others. The Id lives mainly by animalistic instincts. It wants to eat, act out its sexual nature, and give in to its natural aggressions. The Id is self-centered, has no morals, and is without the concept of time. The Ego is between the Id and the Super-Ego.

The Ego is realistic and understands that other people have needs, but also knows that sometimes being selfish can hurt us in the long-run. It is the ego’s job to meet the needs of the Id, while at the same time keeping the Id “in check.” If the Ego cannot keep the Id happy, the Ego can punish itself with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inferiority.

The Super-Ego directly opposes the Id. The Super-Ego understands that difference between right and wrong. It always acts in a moral way.

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