Simon Lord Of The Flies Character Analysis

Simon is often referred to as the beast during this chapter, showing how the boys are only seeing him as an animal that they must hunt and kill. Found on page 153, Golding writes, “There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” This use of words with a very negative and animalistic connotation brings about a feeling that the boys have changed quite a lot whilst being on the island, and are no longer hunting for meat, but to satisfy an animalistic instinct inside of them, as Golding depicts in

Simon attempts to comfort Ralph by ensuring him that he will eventually return back to home. Apparently, he cannot guarantee such a thing or give a precise date to Ralph, but, as one of the most matured boys on the island, and based on his intelligent to read the signs around him, realizes that Ralph is losing his hope and soon will end up like Jack. Thus, tries to encourage and motivate him, to look forward to the day of rescue. Also, in the novel, Simon, is considering a religious figure, more like an angel, who can predict the future. He is always there for Ralph, supporting him and providing the necessary information he needs in order to keep going with the life on the island.

He was hallucinating that the beast was attacking him. Simon had a blue-white scar on his cheek. “The dark sky was shattered by a blue-white scar. Again the blue-white scar jagged above them and the sulphurous explosion beat down.” (152 Golding) Golding was referring to Simon as the beast. The boys were hurting Simon, emotionally and mentally. They were screaming at him, struck him, bit and tore him. The littluns were screaming because they were scared and they ran away into the forest. Simon said, “There were no words or movements, but tearing of teeth and claws.” (153 Golding) Soon after, Simon died of all the beatings he got, and no one did anything about

Simon always seemed to have an affinity for meditation. He would leave the group of boys and take it upon himself to go into the woods and pray alone or mediate for self soothing. Simon is sensitive towards the boy's’ feelings when situations arise. Simon felt compassion for Ralph when he was uncertain about their return to civilization, “You’ll get back to where you came from… you’ll get back alright. I think so, anyway.

Simon follows Ralph and the boys but eventually goes off on his own. Simon, the purest

Ralph represents order and discipline, while Jack represents an unhealthy drive for power and savagery. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph is voted the leader of the group and attempts to make life on the island disciplined and civilized, like their life in England. However, throughout the novel Jack rivals Ralph’s leadership role, attempting to overthrow him. As the boys’ savage impulses increase, more of them begin to side with Jack instead of going with Ralph. As Ralph loses his hold over the boys, almost all of them begin to act violently and barbaric. An example of this is when the children of the island murder Simon for no justifiable reason. Even Piggy and Ralph partake in the murder, showing that the violent human impulse is in

Jack and his tribe are very persistent with killing the beast and they get their wish when “Jack leapt on to the sand. ‘Do our dance! Come on! Dance!’… a circling movement developed… The circle became a horseshoe… The beast stumbled into the horseshoe ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!’… Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill. ” (Golding 151-152). Jack and his tribe have begun their frenzied dance they see a figure stumbling out from the forest. However, instead of stopping to see what it was the boys immediately think it is the beast, so they let it into the circle and rip it apart with their teeth and “Claws”. One thing they do not know was that was Simon trying to notify them that the beast was a corpse near the top of the mountain. All Simon was trying to announce to everyone that no one has to be afraid as a way to help everyone on the island. Nevertheless, Jack helps the other boys tear Simon apart and does nothing else about it. Jack does not even care that he just killed a boy. In fact, he never talks about Simon for the rest of the

Simon is the first to realize that the beast is “only us” and tries to give voice to “mankind’s essential illness” (Doc F). Later, when Simon finds the dead parachutist, he attempts to tell the others the “Beast is only human.” (Doc E). Rather than listening to his words, Simon is brutally attacked and killed by them: “There were no words and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Doc F). Ironically, Simon, the sensitive boy with the goal to tell of man's violent nature, is instead mistaken for the beast. Therefore he is murdered by the true, human beast: the boys with “teeth and claws.”

Simon is symbolized as things such as depression and loneliness which is very important, in the book because there is one point where someone says to the boys on the beach, which means that he thought about it while the others did not think about it. He thought about the problem and the things that the boys did, he becomes the beast himself. The story states, ”maybe we are the beast” (Golding).

Towards the end of the book Simon wants to see the “real” Beastie, so he decides to climb the top of the mountain. In addition Simon shows bravery when he decides climb to the top of the mountain to see the real Beastie and to see what everyone is scared of. When he realizes that it was just a dead parachuistest he wants to tell the island out of the goodness of his heart. As he was running away going to go tell the island the good news of not having a beastie on the island and having nothing to worry about felt good he felt he accomplished something. In the event that Simon was trying to tell the island that there wasn't a Beastie, Jack and his hunters run after Simon thinking that he is the Beastie they stab him and he dies.

In both of these examples, Simon takes care of the others, in a way that the rest of the boys are not willing to do. In addition, Simon sees the truth in a situation better than the other boys. Simon seems to have a gift for seeing part of the future. He predicts that Ralph “will get back alright” (111). He is also the only boy able to see that the beastie is a part of them: “I’m close,

He talks of a slithering object at night that tries to get him while he is asleep. There are many other accounts of a beast, even a pig’s head and a parachutist who did not make it. The Beast represents the fear that the boys have and everyone. The Beast is altered or changed depending on the boy who speaks of it because they are all scared and afraid of what might be out there or what might come to be. However, after Simon is killed and the parachutist is gone, they believe the beast is gone.

Jack and Simon don’t often cross paths, yet major events come into play when they do. From the first chapter of the book, Simon and Jack are presented as coming from the same school and even the same group of choir boys. The characters are even presented during a disagreement, in which Simon pleads with Jack to let the choir boys sit in the shade, before fainting himself. Jack then proceeds to complain about Simon’s dramatics: “‘He’s always throwing a faint’” (20). In actuality, Simon is the most caring of the boys, fetching fruit for the little ones, helping out with the huts, and encouraging Ralph when he’s unsure about his leadership skills. However, Simon also stands out with his solitary nature and philosophical ideas, causing some resentment between him and Jack. This most possibly began during the discussion of a beast, when Simon tries to explain to everyone that there is a beast that resides within them, but is unable to express these thoughts. Jack, however, has enough of these confusing ideas and believes that Simon has proven himself unworthy of presenting any more opinions: "’what good did Simon do speaking...some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding to the rest of us’" (102). It isn’t until Jack’s tribe establishes that it can be seen how truly different

This reminds Jack and Ralph that there is a chance that the beast is real and there may be reason for all the fear.  It also reveals that Simon's character is very much in touch with reality. He is not trying to push the fact that a beast could be on the island away from him.  He is trying to deal with his fear and show the others that they can and should deal with theirs.

After the younger boys follow Simon on his trek, “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” (Golding 56). This action shows the helpfulness that SImon has that none of the others do, including Ralph. EVen though Ralph’s leadership and building of shelter for the boys is also helpful, he is still building the huts for his own sake and because he thinks that doing that is necessary, even if others disagree. On the other hand, Simon’s actions are purely selfless and demonstrate his helpfulness. The next way Simon is different is his perceptiveness.