What is the significance of the

title of the novel 'Lord of the

Flies' by William Golding?
Literature Classics Questions
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It could be a reference to the Hebrew name for Satan, Beelzebub. It translates to Lord of Flies. It
is obvious that the Lord of Flies in the novel symbolizes the devil, or the evil in every human
being. It seems as though Golding choose this title as a representation of the evil in humans. The
title Lord of the Flies is just a metaphoric way of explaining the plot in a short text.
Some believe that it refers to a line from 'King Lear'. "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods,
- They kill us for their sport".
If you read the end of the chapter, A gift for darkness, its the scene where we see Simon speaking
to the pigs head, who calls himself, the Lord of the flies. In this scene, the Lord of the Flies says,
"There isn't anyone to help you. Only me. And Im the beast." He also says, "Fancy thinking that
the beast was something you could hunt and kill." 
I am well aware that the word Beelezebob, meaning Satan, is the Hebrew word for, the Lord of the
Flies. The beast is obviously Satan, the pigs head, speaking in Simons thoughts. The actual title
however, signifies that the children on the island are the flies, and their lord is Satan, particulary
the ones that Jack converted. The Beast states, "Do you see, you're not wanted. We are going to
have fun on this island. So don't try it or else we shall do you." WE being Satan and his flies, the
FLIES being Jack, Roger Maurice, etc. Satan also stated that Simon would indeed be killed and that
he would meet him down below. This particular scene in the book reminded me of when Jesus was
speaking with Satan in the garden, and how Satan said that Jesus's plan would fail, 'so don't
bother trying it.' Jesus was sacrificed just as Simon was, except Jesus was sacrificed by the will of
god, and Simon was killed by the will of Satan.
So, to put it blantly, the title signifies Satan being in control, because this time, it is not man he
overpowers, which he sometimes does, but it is children that he is in control of. As we well know,
Satan is a deciever. "Im the reason why things are what they are.," said the Lord of the Flies.
Children are represented as flies in this book because children are often easy to decieve and they
are so very well decieved, that they end up going bloodthirsty and Simon dies because of it. The
reason for the line, "Don try to escape, don't you dare try it... or we shall kill you" is that Satan
could not take control over Simon, and he tried to convince him not to escape, he could not
decieve Simon because Simon was good hearted and special. When Ralph intervened with Satans
plan to try and escape, Jack and his tribe, the flies chased after Ralph and attempted to kill him...
until the pilot showed up.
In the original draft the novel it was actually called "The Stranger That Lies Within." This is a clear
reference to the fact that "the beast" is not an external force but is infact a primal force within us
all. This primative "inner beast" lies beneath our thin veneer of civilization ready to leap to the fore
when the right situation arises. Golding links this inner beast with the inate superstitious nature
and unfounded fears of childhood to create an imagined beast. The pig's head on the stick was not
the beast or the devil, it was an offering to the beast. Jack had raised the beast to the status of a
primitive pagan godlike being which needed to be plied with offerings to assuage its anger. Jack
did this for the same reasons that the Soviets used the USA as an enemy, and vice versa, the
threat of the beast served to keep Jack's tribe subservient to his will. Simon's conversation with
the beast is not real it happens within his own imagination, you can't actually hold a conversation
with the dead head of a pig on a stick. Simon is merely arguing with his own "inner beast."
Perhaps Golding used the title "Lord of the Flies," which is a reference to Beelzebub, merely to
point out the link between the imagined primative beast/pagan god of Jack's tribe and the
imagined devils and bogeymen created by adults in our own religious past. Perhaps he meant us
to realise that there are no gods, devils or beast. There is just ourselves and the darkness within
us and we can't or shouldn't blame imagined supernatural forces for the evil which we do all by
ourselves. Did not Ralph weep for the death of his one true friend, Piggy, and the darkness within
men's hearts?