How Does Golding Present Simon in Lord of the Flies-What Is His Role?

Similar to most literary classics, William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies contains allusions to the Christian Bible and character archetypes that convey universal ideas. Golding’s story focuses on a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an island and ultimately succumb to their innate savage tendencies. Literary analysts often compare components of Lord of the Flies to various aspects in the Christian Bible. For instance, the setting in Lord of the Flies is often linked to the Garden of Eden, and some characters are thought to have religious-inspired names. Critics believe Simon’s name originates from Jesus Christ’s disciple, Peter, whose name was originally Simon. Biblical allusions exist throughout the novel associated with

Simon has a heightened perception, even more so than Piggy. Simon is unique because he can actually hear the voice of the beast. He realizes that the beast is not something one can kill because it 's inside the boys. Simon is seen as a Christ figure. He gives up his own life in an attempt to tell the rest of the boys about the beast. Jack wants to take control over the whole society. Jack is the leading support of anarchy on the island. Jack is the leader of the savage tribe which hunts the pigs. Opposed to Ralph and Piggy on almost all matters, Jack represents the identification of one 's personality— he supports the notion that one 's desires are most important and should be followed, regardless of reason or morals. Jack is the kind of person that is believed everyone would eventually become if left alone to set one 's own standards and live the way one naturally wanted. In this novel it is believed that the natural state of humans is disordered and that man is inherently evil. When reason is abandoned, only the strong survive. Jack personifies this idea perfectly.

Simon, for instance, battles with himself about the 'beast'. When the discussion about the beast goes on in chapter five, Simon is hesitant on explaining about the beast. From his line “maybe there is a beast” (pg. 89), he struggles to explain to everyone what he thought the beast really is. Simon knows that the beast is not corporeal, but rather an evil within humankind. His conflict within himself regarding the beast's identity moves the story when he ventures out to search for the beast. In result, he stumbles into the Lord of the Flies, who confirms his knowledge about the beast – that it is actually the evil within the boys. It also ends up in his death, when he wants to tell the boys about the 'real' beast. As for Piggy, he tries very hard to gain everyone's approval, especially Ralph's. His desire for approval is apparent since the first chapter, when he asked for Ralph's name and expects Ralph to ask his in return (pg. 11). But it is more apparent in the fourth chapter, when Piggy suggests to Ralph that they build a sundial (pg. 64). Ralph's reaction towards Piggy's idea was out of pity, but Piggy misinterpreted it as “friendliness” and “rejoiced” at Ralph's smile. Piggy, however, did not seek Jack's approval, as he always retaliated Jack's abusive behaviour towards him. Jack kept on bullying Piggy physically – punching him and broke his glasses in the fourth chapter – and verbally –

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.

Human’s innate behavior after the constraints and expectations of society disappear is the recurring theme centering the characters. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies uses the righteous Simon to highlight Jack and his evil role throughout the novel of savagery and civilization. The foil characters in Lord of the Flies exhibit the contrasting ideals and characteristics, the dissimilar symbolism of both characters, and the circumstances which lead both characters to follow one’s natural tendencies. To emphasize the message of Lord of the Flies, two young innocent boys will gradually begin to show their individualism.

Simon is the one boy who never participates in destructive behaviors and always contributes to the well being of the boys. He continues to work even after everyone stops, gives Piggy food when no one else will, and speaks his mind about the beast. He is also the only one to realize that the true beast is inside the boys. Simon’s moral compass, much like the superego, allows him to see the evil of mankind. Simon is whole-heartedly good. The superego attempts to lead a person to the morally right pathway, much like Simon aims to show Ralph how he can do what’s best for the tribe. The primitive nature of the others overpowers Simon’s internal good nature. Even after his death, Simon’s moral nature lives on through the boys similar to how the superego can continue to shine after a person follows the desires of the id.

Throughout the time the boys were stranded on the island, Simon, in particular, displays his longing for peace and understanding. He not only desires those things but also desires to be alone in nature or alone when trying to understand. Golding first introduces this quality of Simon when Simon excluded himself from the “littluns” and goes into a secluded place in the forest where he seems to have found peace by communing with nature. He held “his breath...cocked a critical ear at the sounds of the islands” and brings himself into a meditative state (Golding,57). His actions of listening carefully to the “sounds of the bright fantastic birds, the bee-sounds, even the crying of the gulls” expresses his love of peace which he finds in nature

In the novel, Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, there is an allusion that predominates in the work. Simon portrays this allusion to the Bible in the novel and sustains this

The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.

group, did not allow Piggy to eat as he did not hunt with them. We

Even though Golding had an enormous amount of symbols throughout his novel, Simon is the first to recognize the complication posed by the beast and the “Lord of the Flies” that is, that the monster on the island is not a real, physical beast, but rather a savagery that lurks within each and every human being. As a final point, the loss of social structure within civilization can lead to the demise of the boys on the island whether it's between Ralph vs Jack, the boys vs the island, or even Simon vs

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 gets fruit for the littluns who can’t reach it by themselves, another kind act only meant to help another. “He [Piggy] went crouching and feeling over the rocks but Simon, who got there first, found them for him” (71). When Jack hits Piggy and he loses his glasses, Simon is the one that picks them up for him. Simon knows that Piggy gets picked on and is disliked among most of the members of the tribe, but he helps him out anyways. Simon’s angelic nature is topped off with the fact that he has seizures.

While all the other children in the novel succom to corruption by the presence of evil Simon perseveres through it all. Simon proves himself to be a godly character by feeding the young children, trying to warn the others of the real danger, treating others the way he would want to be treated, caring for others before caring for himself, and many more qualites Jesus Christ would have. Simons similarity to Jesus also shows how he is different from the other characters in the novel. Simons death, his actions, and his mindset show how he is not affected by the evil that corrupts all of the other children. The other children on the island start beating Simon to death almost the instant Simon comes from out of the forest.

Although Golding doesn’t make any direct biblical parallels, he certainly uses them as penetrating motifs throughout the novel. Lord of the Flies opens in the Garden of Eden. On an island filled with ripe fruits, fresh, flowing water, has a luscious climate, and the boys are free to live as they want. They’re free from sexual longing and deprivation. Like Adam and Eve, the boys are innocent. Golding describes Simon as the “Jesus” figure in the story. Simon happens to be on of Jesus’ twelve disciples. Jesus later renamed Simon to Peter, which means “rock.” Simon and Jesus share the same experience of mourning and mental suffering the night before their death. Simon, with his experience talking with the pig head and Jesus in his time in the Garden of Gethsemane. Unlike Jesus, Simon’s death did not bring salvation to the island. It brought the boys deeper into savagery and guilt. After the boys were building the signal fire, it started to burn everything. That is the beginning of hell. The small boy with