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 …show more content…
All in all, Simon prefers to be alone when trying to harmonize with nature and understand the island. 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
William Golding, is showing that he believes everyone has some savage in them. Golding believes that as people are put into bad situations, the savage starts to come out. He shows this in the boys, the boys are very “normal” as they first arrive at the island, but the longer they stay the more savage they become. Simon isn’t becoming savage no matter how long he has been on the island because he is a Christ-like figure and the author wants to show that the boys become savage, but Christ would not. Golding is showing that he thinks all people are inherently
Jack and his chosen group of hunters all follow Jack and fail to follow Ralph’s command to keep civilization under control. Simon and his natural behaviors contrast with Jack as he sees the positive interests and goodness in civilization. Simon’s actions reveal his shy, yet kind, and non confrontational attitude which makes the importance of his character hard to notice. Simon is the mediator on the island, as he will never decline a request from the little children for food, an order from Ralph to help build shelters, and tries to keep the peace between the hunters and the civilized boys. Simon can be seen as the most compassionate character on the island as displayed in this quote: “Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it. The twins giggled and Simon lowered his face in shame” (Golding 74). Jack, on the other hand, is most malicious towards Piggy as he eventually becomes consumed by evil and and will attempt to destroy all points of civilization and innocence left on the island. Innocence is bestowed upon nearly all the boys trying to keep civilization alive on the island and is despised by Jack and his highly influenced choir boys turned hunters.
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
(Golding 117). This single quote Simon says describes him in many ways. From this quote Simon is shy, kind and thoughtful, solitary, sensitive and understanding, and Christlike. First thing mentioned was Simon being shy. Simon shows this by not speaking out loud to some of the boys.
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.
Unlike most the other boys Simon retains civil. Simon displays his maturity through the sacrifices he makes Golding writes, “Someone's got to go across the island and tell Piggy we'll be back after dark." Bill spoke, unbelieving. "Through the forest by himself? Now?" "We can't spare more than one." Simon pushed his way to Ralph's elbow." "I'll go if you like. I don't mind, honestly” (Golding 117). Furthermore, Simon’s death displays the groups true maturity Golding writes, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!” (Golding 152). This scene depicts the group killing Simon out of fear, this displays the island reveals their low maturity because they ignore reason and act in fear. Clearly the Goldings novel displays the island reveals maturity through
Lord of the Flies is often claimed to be an allegory of modern society. While this is true, Golding’s intentions in writing this novel are much deeper. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies provides an enlightening insight into the true nature of human beings; along with why people refrain from acting upon the evil that resides within them. He presents these ideas through symbolism within the novel and it proves effective in many ways. Through symbolism, Golding can unfold the excellent plot of his novel, while subsequently sharing his ideas on the relationship of mankind and society. Golding uses the beast, the conch shell, and Piggy’s glasses to symbolize the human impulse towards ‘savagery’ and the social constructs put in place to prevent it.
Simon is a character who is a major significance in Lord of the Flies. Simon is one of the boys stranded on the island after his plane crashed. Additionally, Simon is a member of the choir. As part of the choir, he is under the leadership of Jack. Simon is described as “...a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse.” (24) He is also prone to fainting. For instance, shortly after the plane crashes, Simon faints in front of all of the other boys. Simon is an important character in the novel.
The mysteries of the island also had a huge impact on the actions of the boys. Because The tropical island, and England are two totally different environments there was not much know to the boys about the unfamiliar surrounding possessed by the island. The vines that hung from the trees caused the "littluns" to have nightmares because they reminded them of snakes, or "beasties". What was unknown to the boys caused great fear. This fear of the unknown caused differences amongst the boys which lead to their destruction. Since Simon knew that there was no such things as "beasties" He tried to dispel the mysteries of the mountain top, he is brutally murdered, due to the fear rooted in the mysteries of the island.
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
group, did not allow Piggy to eat as he did not hunt with them. We
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
He is always helping the Littluns when they are struggling and many other boys that are vulnerable such as Piggy. "Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to piggy, who grabbed it" (Golding 74). This quote interprets an example of Simon showing his whole heartedness by giving Piggy food when Jack did not want to feed him because he did not hunt. "The vast majority of people reside prominently in civilized society, and they dismiss their instinct for aggression and dominance" (Wood, Bryan). This quote shows that people like Simon are always more civilized than those who begin to change into savages, Simon is the last piece of civilization on the island. "What I mean is...maybe it's only us" (Golding 89). Simon, himself, proposes to the rest of the boys that perhaps the beast is not only an external force, but an internal force within themselves. Simon is the only character to reveal Golding's point that innate human evil exists.
Also, his estrangement with his parents may make him reluctant to form close relationships with other people, resulting in his unique dependency on the affections from his dog. At the beginning of the film, Simon seemed to have a bustling business, hosting art parties, and painting frequently. Then he was brutally attacked and his whole life changed. His lost his passion for arts and secluded himself from the world. While at first I considered Simon to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, after reviewing the diagnostic criteria, I believe him to have primarily unipolar depression symptoms.
Simon uses several phrases to demonstrate the protection built to separate oneself from humanity. For example, “I’ve built walls, a fortress deep and mighty that none my peneratre.” A person can choose to build a fortress where they can be safe from attack, safe from pain, and hence never need to shed any tears. The room that is cozy as a womb becomes a tomb. The heart, given enough time, will become hard and incapable of any feeling. Simon uses an individual who is hurt, to showcase the retreat to safety. This is okay for a certain extent of time, but sadly, some stay inside. They hide in their fortress, like a turtle drawn into its armored shell. John Donne contrasts this idea using the line “A part of the main,” and implies everyone is together and how living in solitude is not living, but only existing.