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The Garden of Eden; for centuries mankind has been fascinated and influenced by it. The world of literature has been influence especially. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is one example. The island the British school boys are trapped on symbolizes a lost Garden of Eden. Some similarities between Eden and the island are that the island mirrors the garden, civilization, and the savage and murderous nature of humans.
The island in Lord of the Flies that the boys are stranded on has a mirror image of the Garden of Eden. When the boys first arrive on the island, it is untouched. But as time progresses the destruction the boys are causing becomes evident. “All around him the long scar smashed into the jungle…” (1954, p.7) Also, the longer the boys were on the island the more destruction there was. At the end there is nothing left. The fire set by Jack Merridew leaves nothing untouched by the flame’s destruction. “Behind him, the whole island was shuddering in flame.” (1954, p. 222) In the bible, before God created man, Eden was absolute perfection. As Adam and Eve’s lives progress, Eden has a gradual destruction. Eden is no longer on Earth because mankind has destroyed it and we are also currently destroying the rest of the world as well. The island and Eden are both devastated in the end and the fates if both are identical.