The appearance of Simon in the novel The Lord of the Flies is of great significance and is substantial for the development of the story because he made lots of points in the story. First of all, it is important to state that he sent simple, yet deep messages throughout the novel, with morals behind them. Religiously speaking, Simon can be identified as the Christ-figure in the story. Simon also had a very specific role in the novel in being the character in contact with nature. Simon's significance in the story is obvious, and one way to deduce this is by identifying his messages.
Throughout the story, Simon gave a variety of advice that did not seem important at the moment, but turned out to be substantial as time went by. Simon
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Beelzebub also tempted Simon and gave him a forecast of what would happen. Like Jesus, Simon knows he has to die to allow the tribe to subsist. The facts that everybody was guilty, and that no one did anything to bring him back to life link him to Christ in a greater proportion. After Simon's death, the tribe started to believe in him, especially Ralph, noticing Simon was right and he tried to tell them the truth about the Beast remembering that it was inside all of them; similar to what occurred with Jesus and his apostles. An even more compelling similarity between Jesus and Simon is that "Jesus then leads three of his disciples to a very high mountain, where he undergoes the Transfiguration from Jesus to the Christ figure, the true Son of God. He then comes down from the mountain and begins his priestly ministry" (Racicot). Like Jesus, Simon goes out to the woods and meditates, coming back with more clear answers and perspective of things. On one occasion, Simon went up to the mountain and talked with the Lord of the Flies, having a similar situation to the one Jesus had when he was in the desert meditating. Simon's relation to religion is evident, and his role was even clearer.
Simon had a specific mission in the novel: the opportunity to talk to the beast and receive answers, very similar to revelations. His role was to help the boys notice what the Beast really was, and not
One reason Simon is called the Christ figure in Lord of the Flies is that he always seems to commit to many selfless acts just like the Christ did. Simon, he chooses to stay and help Ralph build huts then to go play with the other boys. Ralph gave Simon a compliment by saying "Simon. He Helps. All the rest rushed off. He's done as much as I have". The author also shows that Simon is caring when "Simon pulled off the choicest from the endless, outstretched hands". Jesus Christ was very well known to have been very caring and kind with children. Simon's carness and unselfishness showed that Simon was being a Christ figure.
Jesus is a holy man. He doesn’t hesitate to help others, even if it makes him unpopular. Simon displays this quality by helping and standing up for Piggy, a boy few respect. Jesus is a carpenter. By helping Ralph build shelters, Simon is also serving as a carpenter. Jesus, in addition, develops a friendship with children like Simon who helps the children collect fruit from trees which they cannot reach. “...Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands.” (56) Both Simon and Jesus possess a gift for prophecy. Both realize that they would be killed for the lives of others. Jesus is tempted by the devil for forty days to disobey God. Likewise, Simon is tempted by the Lord of the Flies. “The Lord of the Flies tells Simon, ‘You’d better run on and play with the others. They think you’re batty.’”(143) Jesus and Simon encounter numerous of the same experiences and display the same virtues.
In the novel Lord of The Flies, William Golding portrayed Simon as a Christ-figure. Simon and Jesus led parallel lives. Simon’s appearance seemed to resemble that of Jesus Christ’s. Simon picked fruit from the tree to feed the littluns. He also practiced deep meditation away from the other children. Simon received messages from the Lord of The Flies while meditating. Simon also tried to illuminate the children about the myth of “the beast” and dies a horrific death at the hands of the people he loved. He received an almost angelic burial. His death marks the completion of the destruction of the island’s civilization. All of these events allude to Jesus’s life events, according to the scriptures in the Bible.
The Bible contains various memorable events, and selected events are referenced in book plots. One book that references biblical events is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The beginning of the book of Genesis operates frequently as a reference to the plot in Lord of the Flies. Additional events of the Bible are used as the source of an analogy to the plot of Lord of the Flies. Finally, Simon represents a Christ-like figure due to his actions that corresponds to Jesus’ actions in the Bible.
In a world that demands individuals to conduct themselves according to the values and morals imposed by the society, it is often difficult to find those that exhibit an innate sense of compassion. Simon is a character that proves to be ‘one with nature’ and shows an immediate liking to his new environment. Therefore, when the others resorted to savagery, he still had not lost his gentleness and compassion. His encounter with the Lord of the Flies exposes the truth about the beast and as a result, causes his consciousness to evolve. This reveals his true nature as a kindhearted and an honest person. As promised, the Lord of the Flies did have fun with him, ultimately causing his death in attempts of spreading the truth amongst the other boys. The ‘Lord of the Flies’ states: “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!”
Simon tries to state the truth: there is a beast, but that "it's only us" (page #). When he makes this revelation, he is ridiculed. This is an uncanny parallel to the misunderstanding that Christ had to deal with throughout his life. Later in the story, the savage hunters are chasing a pig. Once they kill the pig, they put its head on a stick and Simon experiences an epiphany in which the Beast tells Simon: "Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn't you? I'm part of all of you " (143). As Simon rushes to the campfire to tell the boys of his discovery, he is hit in the side with a spear, his prophecy rejected and the word he wished to spread ignored.
In addition to his actions, Simon’s encounter with evil further characterizes him as a Christ figure and an oracle archetype. The novel’s title, Lord of the Flies, originates from a mistranslation of Beelzebub, another name for the devil. The sacrificed sow head on a spear, called the Lord of the Flies, symbolizes the devil. Since Simon’s confrontation with the Lord of the Flies occurs in the midst of a delusion, it can be considered a prophecy similar to an oracle’s vision. Both Christ and Simon meet with the devil while in altered physical states. Simon’s confrontation with the Lord of the Flies is a result of severe dehydration and an epileptic fit indicated by “a pulse [that] began to beat on the brain” which parallels Christ’s meeting with the devil during the forty days he went into the wilderness without food or drink (Golding 138). In his vision, Simon realizes that “things are what they are” because
Simon shows his individuality and cravings for tranquility and cognizance also through his participation with others. One instance when he truly displays this is when he was picking fruit from the “littluns”. The “littluns” and “lugged them towards the trees” and “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach” (Golding,56). He feeds them alone and “when he had satisfied them”he “turned away from them and went where the just perceptible path led him” (Golding,56). This shows how through his clarity with nature and himself, he helps others and continues to portray that he prefers to think, act, and help others by himself. He also shows his individualism when he reacted to the death of the pig. With the chaos going around him, Simon isolates himself and “lowered his head, carefully keeping his eyes shut, then sheltered them with his hands” next to the pile of guts Jack and Roger left after penetrating the pig’s head with a stick (Golding,138). He ignores everything around him and tries his best to hide away from the monstrous actions the other boys are committing. This also supports the idea that he favors time alone in his own thoughts in peace rather than facing his fear. In
This shows that Simon has thought about it and is thinking about it more as he moves forward and ends up putting on the pig to show everyone how he feels but ends up getting killed. Simon shut people out because he was torn between doing the right thing and not doing the right thing. He understands that if he just goes away that he won’t have to be torn. Which shows that he would rather step back and think and look then to just jump to conclusions. Simon is mature for doing what he did. This is very important because it shows that people that you say you can trust you can’t and they stab you in the back. Simon is a very important person in the book and always will
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Simon represents the innate morality of humans, acting as a Christ-like figure, while Roger embodies the all present cruelty and inherent sadism of individuals. Throughout the novel, Simon remains unchanged in terms of morality, as others slowly turn to savagery and hunting, as can be seen when Jack’s group become, “demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green.” Instead Simon finds a quiet spot “in a little cabin screened off from the open space by a few leaves.” By “holding his breath, he [cocks] a critical ear at the sounds of the island,” using his secret cabin to meditate. Coupled with his deep connection to nature, Simon is revealed to be a Christ figure. When left alone with the
Simon, one of the major characters in the story, is set as the allusion of Jesus. Christ always had an affinity with children; in Ch. 4, he shows his way with the ‘littluns’ by picking fruit for them. This shows his goodness by nature. Also, like Christ, he saw the atavistic problem of the hunters and tried to bring them back to good. As in the bible, Simon, like Christ, dies
The clouds were sitting on the land; they squeezed, produced moment by moment this tormenting heat. There were no shadows under the trees but everywhere a pearly stillness, so that what was real seemed illusive and without definition. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood – and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition.” Simon describes the clouds sitting on the land and the great bulging towers, it seems he is trying to describe heaven unintentionally and Simon also refers to “tormenting heat” and Lord of the Flies means Beelzbub which is a demon or satan. Simon is a christ figure but in my opinion I think he should be looked at as a disciple such as peter; Simon starts to have a conversation with the dead carces, rather than being disgusted by the action it shows his kindness and gratitude towards gods creation he expresses his sympathy, “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt or kill! … You knew, didn't you? I'm part of
The character of Simon in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has often been viewed as the Christ figure of the novel. If you were to examine the actions of both Simon and Jesus, you would find a number of incidents that parallel each other.
In Lord of the Flies, Simon shows to be an important role in the story as he uncovers the mystery of the beastie. He is seen to be shy and to himself but soon shows his full brain capability and what he can offer to the group but it goes unnoticed. His personality is unique and shows much potential, as does mine. Both me and Simon are independent, sensitive, and introverted as this presents an idealistic nature.
Simon is shown by Golding as a martyr who died for the truth. He gave