The Enticing Paradox In Paul Simon's The Sound Of Silence

The idealist is often trying to help others, as well as the world, enhancing it in any way they can, as stated by the personality test. Simon displays this need to help others through many of his actions within the book, “as Simon thought this…the beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible. He started down the mountain and his legs give beneath him (Lowry 147).” In this passage, Simon is hurt yet he wants to help resume order amongst the boys, by eliminating the fear that controls them, which show he has a vision for a better world. "Then, amid the roar of bees in the afternoon sunlight, 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 (Lowry 56).” Similarly, Simon also is the only one that

Chirst figure represents all that are innately good as a subtle, yet suggestive figure which parallels to Jesus Chirst. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Simon is intended to be a Chirst-like figure who demonstrates generosity, omniscience, and benevolence. Although Simon is not directly described as the Chirst himself, in these two passages from chapters three and nine, literal figures of Simon are given to compare him to the Christ through: his generosity towards the outcasts, being the only one to confront the truth, and denial of revealing the truth by the boys. Initially, the biblical parallel of Chirst and Simon’s benevolene is represented in the earlier passage through the description of Simon’s physical appearance.

Both Simon’s brother and father act on their anger and Simon pays attention to how they deal with their anger.

“It is quite possible to reach God. In fact it is very easy, because it is the most natural thing in the world” (Spiritual Quotes to live by.com). Simon personifies this quote because he is on a different spectrum than the rest of the boys in the book Lord of the Flies. Simon is innately good unlike the other boys who need to be ashamed into being good. The author of the book, William Golding shows through Simon’s actions, words, thoughts, and what others think of him to convey how he is important to the moral health of the boy’s society but on the other hand he is an outcast.

Regrettably, he thought aloud to himself, “Shame I was unable to grab a servant before I fell.” The knock to his head had cleared his mind of the alcohol and he thought clearly now about what he needed to do to survive. He knew that he had no survival skills and he in nature would almost be like asking a baby to write a symphony, he knows not what tools he needs or the means to use them. The one sensible thought that did race through Simon’s head, however, was to get to high ground and survey the land he found himself in for more of a bird’s eye view. So he began to walk and as he began moving it occurred to him that this field was faster than he would have originally imagined. He felt as though he had walked for an eternity, but had only covered half of the field. His lack of the dinner had caught up to him and he felt quite faint but he knew this journey could be life or death so he pressed on despite his discomforts. Eventually he reached the bottom of the great green hill and rested for awhile thinking what indeed he would do when he reached the top of this Olympus in front of him. Eventually he gathered himself and began his climb up to the hill. For his own sake however the hill was not very steep and he was able to climb it without much more difficulty than he had crossing through the field he arrived on. The leather dress shoes he wore began to dig holes in his feet and Simon was close to giving up, but after this long climb he reached the top of the hill. When he looked out over the vista laid out in front of him, he did not see many things to calm his anxieties. It was continually more and more open space with nothing that resembled civilization contained upon it. Simon was close to completely giving up hope and resigning himself to his own macabre fate when he saw a large group of trees. At the base of the trees he could see what looked like a

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

“Even if he [Simon] shut his eyes the sow’s head stilled remained like an after-image. The half-shut eyes dim with infinite cynicism of adult life.” (137).

The unempathetic murder of Simon displays the new found heartlessness of Jack and how he is willing to kill to prove a point. Simon has “the sight” and was aware of the inner evil and corruption in the boys. Simon’s knowledge was displayed through the discussion of the beast and as to whether it was real or not, he says “Maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Jack is aware of Simon’s knowledge so he kept him from talking. Jack officially shuts down outside opinions when he says, “It’s time people knew they’ve got to keep quiet and leave the deciding to the rest of us”(Golding 102). The brutal

Simon’s second most important feature is his kindness. On page 78, he shows his concern for the wellbeing of everyone else when he braves the hot sun and the bees to pick fruit. He does so to give it to the littluns, and takes the time

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

Simon’s main difference to his peers is compounded by the fact that he was unable to speak English which restricts the chances of him interacting with anyone. This is evident when he asked, ‘’If I couldn’t express myself, then who was myself?’’ The rhetorical question demonstrates that Simon lacks the verbal knowledge to defend himself, which results into him feeling lonely and puzzled. Through the lack of knowledge of language skills, he gets treated “like a little kid or baby’’, the simile highlighting that Simon feels displeased when the students used simple words to mock and interact with him as they are assuming he is stupid and

1. The animals who gather to hear Major’s speech each mirror a single human trait. What is revealed in Clover? Boxer? Benjamin?

In addition, Simons specific deed in giving fruit to others alludes to the fruit in the Garden of Eden, further perpetuating his saint-like qualities and his extraordinary goodness to others. However, Simon is also quite different from the other boys. He is first introduced in the story as the boy who faints, and is described as “a small, skinny boy, his chin pointed, and his eyes so bright they had deceived Ralph into thinking of him as delightfully gay and wicked” (22). Ralph’s description of Simon portrays him as quite small and weak, combined with his physical condition, as he is always fainting, feeling hungry, or even throwing up, further perpetuates his overall

Simon, though he did not tell the other boys of his vision, was incapable of forgetting. He was the observant character, the quiet philosopher. He was often alone, sometimes by his own choice, and he liked to wander into the peaceful jungle. He sincerely cared about the other boys, sometimes helping the young ones to fetch fruit, yet "Simon turned away from them and went where the just perceptible path led him. Soon high jungle closed in" (56). He loved solitude and yet felt loneliness; he was alien to the other boys. The boys did not think anyone would be stupid enough to go into the jungle by night: "The assembly grinned at the thought of going out into the darkness. Then Simon stood up and Ralph looked at him in astonishment" (85). Many of the boys even thought he was "batty" because he left the group to spend time alone.  He did not fear the jungle, and he did not fear the Beast. "'Maybe,' he said hesitantly, 'maybe there is a beast. . . . maybe it's only us'" (89).

The meaning of life is defined by a measure of excitement and enlightenment. Music is way of finding this enlightenment which is translated to vibrations causing a flowing of body movements. Later, these body movements cause us to dance, forgetting of the environment around us and putting us in our own little world where we can find purpose. This is the purpose we can decide to choose. In the poem Atrophy written by Julia Copus, the author shows the veracity of individuals who constrict themselves, leading their capability of find a meaningful life dissipated. Julia depicts this effect when we “sit alone” “at the edge of the open floor,”. Without any aspiration, individuals will fall in the “open floor” which will progressively lead our internal demise. Individuals have the power to devise a meaningful life, if such individuals do not take into consideration of what makes them purposeful, they will be disconnected in their own sense of life.