The Thing on the Stick

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

Let’s be honest; being stranded on an island is a real nightmare. Now, imagine being stranded on an island with a bunch of kids! Though a group of kids may not sound too intimidating, when released from society's constraints and adult supervision, the saying “all’s well that ends well” certainly doesn't apply here. In the heavily famed novel Lord of the Flies written by Nobel Prize of Literature winner William Golding, a group of schoolboys from the age of six to twelve are caught in the midst of the next world war. As they are flying on a plane to escape the dangers on their hometown, they are shot down and crash-land on an island whose population of humans is zero. Once everything gets set in order, the boys begin creating their own society. They even elect a chief and make rules that everyone must follow. Unfortunately, not everything goes as planned, and with hostility rising between the characters as the book progresses, the fragility of human civilization is heavily explored upon in this exhilarating novel.

“They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. 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” (Golding 138). Once an offering to the “beast”, the pig’s head swarming with flies that had been severed by Jack and placed on a stick, manifests into the Lord of the Flies, representing pure evil. Simon, embodying the goodness of man and peace stumbles upon the head. The interaction between Simon and the Lord of the Flies is almost an interpretation between good and evil. The strong symbolism in this book gives a deeper meaning and a definite truth

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

The encounter with the Lord of the Flies supports Simon’s thoughts that the beast that the boys are hunting for is not an actual animal. The Lord of the Flies tries to persuade Simon to let go of his rational thoughts and be taken over by his primal instincts in order to have fun like the other boys. However, when Simon’s silence declares that he refuses to let go of logic and rationality, the Lord of the Flies realizes that Simon knows what the beast really is—the innermost part of the boys. Simon seems to make this connection that the Lord of the Flies is representational to the inner beast within the boys almost instantly. “His gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition”(Golding 139). Simon instantly The Lord of the Flies quickly makes the connection, too. “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” (Golding, 1 ). The Lord of the Flies is symbolic to all the evil that is in humans. As Simon realizes that he was right about the beast, he tries to go back to the other boys to warn them about his discovery, but the Lord of the Flies gets angry. “This is ridiculous. You know perfectly well you’ll only meet me down there—so don’t try to

The tragedies that unfold their civilization occur when they brutally beat Simon to death. After Jack and his hunters place the mother sow’s head in the forest as an offer to the beast they think exists, Simon encounters it and sees that it is covered in flies. Suddenly, the head started to talk to Simon as he feels like he is going to faint. It identifies itself to be the Lord of the Flies. It says, “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” (Golding 158). Simon then realizes that there is no physical beast, but a mental beast in each and every boy on the island. They all went from being joyful to a bunch of savages. Their

Jack, one of the lead characters in the novel, alludes to the biblical figure Judas for his betrayal to the good of the people brought forth by Jesus. Jack is the reason Simon is killed, for he betrayed Ralph’s rules and brought forth the evil within the children’s minds. Jack refuses Ralph’s ideas and regulations in trade for fun and hunting. This shows his betrayal to the good of man and his want to bring evil forth to the island.

In the novel Lord of the Flies the characters such as Piggy, Simon and the beast are blamed for the

A lack of religion will lead to a lack of morality. Christlike figures often appear selfless, enlightened, and are taunted by sin. Simon from Lord of the Flies exhibits kindness to the young children by getting them fruit, while most of the older children disregard the children, and leave them to their own activities. He challenges the older boys ways of thinking, as he often prefers to meditate alone in the jungle. He even outright opposes the group mentality, as he says, “I don’t believe in the beast” (105). When Simon is confronted by the lord of the flies (a thinly-veiled reference to satan), it taunts him. The pig’s head symbolizes of the worst aspect of the group, and it tries to tempt and threaten Simon so that he becomes like the rest of the boys: unorganized, unfocused, and on their way to becoming savages. Eventually the other boys ritualistically murder Simon because they mistake him for the beast. Simon was the only one who knew that the beast was not real. He was enlightened and it isolated him from the rest of the boys. The parallels between Simon and Christ make Simon’s death more impactful, to emphasize the inevitability of downfall in groups who

In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of boys are stranded on an island with no adults whatsoever. It is up to the boys to find food, shelter, and water. On top of that, they also need a leader to prevent chaos. All the kids take a vote and a leader is chosen: Ralph. All though they have a leader, there are still many problems on the island, even some that result in death. The boys are put in some situations that they could handle better than they do, but in the end they are half insane, stranded on an island by themselves. The boys are not to blame for their crimes.

The revelation made by the Lord of the flies expresses loss of innocence in Simon. During a mirage, Simon hallucinates that the sow head on the stick came to life and spoke about innate hatred born in all people. The Lord of the Flies says, “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you” (Goulding 143). This quote shows that sin is a part of us and always will be. Goulding made the point very clear by having the Lord of the Flies divulge such a dark message because he was symbolic of hatred and the devil. The conversation Simon had with the Lord of the

The boys in the novel believed that the “beast” came out at night due to the dead parachuter they found on the island. But Simon tells them, “What I mean is...Maybe it's only in us”(Golding 89). This had made all the boys instantly believe that Simon was the “beast” because, they were not wise enough to think. They thought that Simon was the “beast”, but really it was inside of them. The reader can automatically tell that the boys are the evil ones. They have rebelliously killed Simon, the most pleasant boy on the island. The Lord of the Flies also states that, ”...You didn't know? Im part of you? Close, close, close…” (Golding 143). Since the boys feel so free in an island where there are no rules, they lost their logic of what's good and bad. The more savage they became, the more they believed in the “beast.” All humans have the capability of acting negative. Piggy was wise enough in the beginning of the novel, but he was in denial about the death of Simon. He keeps on denying their evil behaviour and blames everything, except Ralph and himself. Piggy has been surrounded in a place where he can't even be truthful to himself

(Golding 182). When the Lord of the Flies refers Simon as his child, it can be seen that evil created part of Simon. “... do you think you know better than I do” clearly indicates that the Lord of the Flies is within every boy on the island. They

Imagine sitting on an airplane, then all of a sudden you wake up and find yourself stranded on an uncharted island. Your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms heavy. When all the adults have died and you are the only person alive with a group of boys on the break of adolescence… Without an adult how will one survive? In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies there are many characters that are perceived as savages. When an airplane crashes on an undiscovered island, the only survivors are young boys. Throughout the novel, the boys fight for their survival, but many fear that there is a beast who may be lurking on the island. As the boys were once moral, their innocence slowly disintegrates away and they turn into their true form, a bloodthirsty savage. Perhaps the beast is within themselves.

The teachings of Jesus Christ promote goodness in man and society, but are often opposed by the profound concept that human nature is rooted in evil. In modern literature there are often suggestive cues that allude to a parallel between Jesus Christ and complex characters that embody a certain innate goodness. Simon is the epitome of a Christ figure in The Lord of the Flies, in his actions, realizations, and later his death, thus complicating the symmetry that the characters of Jack and Ralph create amid civilization and savagery, and the evil possible on both ends of the spectrum.