The Religion of Man“Religion is not something separate and apart from ordinary life. It is life – life of all kinds seen from the point of view of meaning and purpose: life lived in the fullest awareness of its human quality and its spiritual meaning.” (A. Powell Davies). In the very heart of man there is religion; it is found in our morals, in our actions, in our own minds and in our desires. William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies is a very symbolically heavy piece. The book can be interpreted in many 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 can best be read as a religious allegory, due to its biblical parallels and symbols. To establish a religious allegory a work 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 appears to contain all three of these key concepts. The first and most important of these is the sacred or Christ-like figure in the book. Simon is an altruistic boy considered strange and peculiar. Of all the kids on the island, Simon is the only one who seems to genuinely care about the "little ones." “Simon [finds] for them fruits that they could not reach” (Golding 72). And, instead of going to play, he spends his time “[working] all day with [Ralph]” in shelters for younger kids on the island. (61). Simon is not only compassionate like Jesus, but he also has a very similar and symbolic death. Within the novel Simon has a very peaceful garden where he goes alone; However, this place is poisoned by the foot soldiers who offer the “Beast”, a sow's head on a pole which is labeled...... in the center of the card...... similar to that of Cain and Abel. And their stories are very similar. The congruence between them provides us with our biblical parallel and solidifies 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 is best read as a religious allegory. The symbolism of the serpent and sow's head on a pole, and the Garden of Eden-like island, combined with the Christ-like character played by Simon, adds to the Cain and Abel relationship between Jack and Ralph, the lord of flies. perfectly a perfect example of religious allegory. Although if we look hard enough we can find religion in all the stories; Religion is life. If we choose to see life with purpose and meaning, we will soon be able to see religion in all aspects of life.