The Rise of Simon’s Spirituality
Using the character of Simon, author William Golding in the Lord of the Flies weaves the concept of religion, morals, and good and evil throughout. At first glance, the novel may appear to be only about a group of young schoolboys stranded on an island, but it goes far deeper than that concept. Instead, the core of the book is about the presence of evil within all of mankind, no matter what the age. Simon helps to bring together all of society. In the end, society begins to crumble without him. William Golding utilizes the character of Simon to portray spirituality and religion through Simon’s desire to know the truth of the beast, which is the evil in all humans.
In the book Lord of the Flies, Simon symbolizes
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religion by his possession of deep knowledge and prophetic wisdom. This idea of profound knowledge is displayed when Simon reasons that the beast is not an animal but ‘“maybe it’s only us”’ (Golding 89). This quote shows how Simon thinks deeply about the truth of the beast. He desires to know if there is truly something to fear or if it is only the evil inside of humans that is dangerous to the group. The only beast to fear is the beast inside of every man. In addition, a particular conversation between Simon and Ralph supports the idea of Simon having prophetic wisdom. In this exchange, Simon expresses to Ralph that he senses that Ralph will return to his home (Golding 111). This statement is comparable to a prophecy which is given by a religious figure or biblical prophet. The conclusion of the book results in Ralph being able to return to his homeland of England, which shows that there is truth to Simon’s intuition. Just as knowledge and wisdom tie Simon’s character to spirituality, there are further examples in the book to support this truth. The spiritual realm has always consisted of good and evil forces.
These forces are present and very at work in The Lord of the Flies. Sensing this reality, Simon knows that the only thing left to do is to find and face the things that cause the most fear. Simon displays wisdom and courage when he continually tells the boys that there is nothing else to do but to face their fears. When Simon awakens after fainting due to his conversation with the Lord of the Flies, he knows that he must go to the mountain top because ‘”what else is there to do?’” (Golding 145). He is eager to know what is to be so feared after it being revealed, by the Lord of the Flies, that there is evil is inside of them all. This character trait is affirmed in Simon when he has a discussion with the Lord of the Flies himself. Simon learns at this time that the evil that has caused the fall of society was through the Lord of the Flies in all of the boys (Golding 143-144). This encounter can be associated with an occurrence that takes place in the Bible in which Jesus has a conversation with the devil. Connecting these two instances makes it seem as if Simon represents a spiritual figure. Simon does not fear the evil of the Lord of the Flies, but instead faces him, the beast that causes ample amount of fear to the group of boys on the island. Moreover, Simon’s audacity to face the most dreaded evil leads to him being capable to find out the reality of the wickedness on the
island. Simon’s foremost goal is to find the reality of the beast. This determination to discover the truth is shown when Simon first sees the dead parachutist, which the boys think is the beast. When Simon reaches the mountaintop where the dead parachutist lay, the journey is difficult but “He…toiled on” (Golding 146). Not caring what the other boys believe about the beast, Simon knows that the only way to uncover the truth is to go find the beast himself. Thus, Simon goes to the mountain top to understand the beast of the island. One of the additional key instances in which Simon is a representation of spirituality is through his significant death. After Simon is killed by the boys and they have fled in chaos, his figure is surrounded by glowing creatures that make Simon’s face to appear radiant, like an angelic being. A second illustration of how Simon’s death signifies his personality of a spiritual figure is when his lifeless body drifts out into the sea; the way in which the water reflects the sky makes it appear as if Simon himself is floating upwards and returning to the heavens comparable to a Christ- like figure (Golding 154). In essence, Simon’s longing for the actuality of the beast causes his death for obtaining the information due to its threat and truth that it holds. Simon desires nothing more than to know the actuality of the evil on the island. Through his ambition to acquire this knowledge, Simon grasps the concept of the affliction that is in humans. Because of the danger that this understanding holds, Simon is killed before the wisdom he has attained can ever reach the other boys. Simon shows great courage through his search for the source of evil. He also is gifted with wisdom and near prophetic abilities. Of all the individuals in the novel, Simon is best equipped with the ideal character traits to bind their society together in sacred unity. These attributes together allow Simon to be the epitome of spiritual representation in the Lord of the Flies.
The Lord of the Flies was written by William Golding. Simon is one of the major characters in this novel. Simon’s character lives by what is morally right as opposed to the rest of the island. Simon represents essential human goodness. There are many biblical parallels in the Lord of the Flies that result in Simon being compared to Christ.
In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the concept of good fighting evil is clearly shown to be a big picture. In many cases, Jesus Christ represents good and bliss in the universe, while the devil represents evil. In this novel the reader sees the when good fights evil, the evil is a good turned evil. For example, before the devil became evil, he was an angel. He was good turned evil and is now fighting good. Simon represents the good and bliss, he is the Christ figure on the island while evil and savagery is shown in the other boys on the island. Both Simon and Christ share common qualities, actions, and deaths. Simon shows this throughout the novel, from the beginning until the time of his death.
Simon, the wisest, calmest, and maturest of all the boys, is off by himself “talking” to a pig, perhaps going crazy. All others are sitting around the fire relaxing, ignoring the fact that one of the the wisest men of all has himself begun to lose sanity, possibly symbolic of the condition of people on the island. Of course, readers know, by the description of the bulging clouds, that the sky will soon break and, symbolically, something terrible within the plot will soon happen. Indeed, the entire novel has built to this point, as readers have observed the downward spiral of morality amidst the moral characters and increased savagery. Simon has observed this, and perhaps because he tends to take in everything inwardly, his depression over the gradual decline in the children on the island has caused him to become somewhat senile. Simon continues his “conversation” with the pig whom he calls “the lord of the flies” (“Beelzebub” in Hebrew, meaning “the devil”), and it is as if he is being tempted by the devil, or corrupt immorality that has taken over the other children on the island. However, he is able to be triumphant over the temptations, and staggers back down to the island to inform the other children that the beast on the island is
Throughout the Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Simon, one of the boys on the island shows a very complex inner conflict. Simon battles with the inner conflict of whether to give into the human nature to deceive or to tell everyone the truth that he believes there is a beast within everyone. This inner conflict is prevalent throughout the book, however it doesn't manifest until halfway through the book.
As Simon was trying to tell the boys that the beast did not exist, his death symbolises that mankind can’t face the truth about their inner desires. Part of Golding’s intent was to demonstrate that the evil is not recognised in specific populations or situations. On the island, the beast is manifest in the deadly tribal dances, war paint and manhunt; in the outside world, the same lust for power and control plays out as a nuclear war. Throughout ‘The Lord of the Flies’ Golding has managed to show that evil is present in everyone.
William Golding’s novel ‘The Lord of The Flies’ tells the story of a group of English boys isolated on a desert island, left to attempt to retain civilisation. In the novel, Golding shows one of the boys, Jack, to change significantly. At the beginning of the book, Jack’s character desires power and although he does not immediately get it, he retains the values of civilized behaviour. However, as the story proceeds, his character becomes more savage, leaving behind the values of society. Jack uses fear of the beast to control the other boys and he changes to become the book’s representation of savagery, violence and domination. He is first taken over with an obsession to hunt, which leads to a change in his physical appearance This change of character is significant as he leads the other boys into savagery, representing Golding’s views of there being a bad and unforgiving nature to every human.
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.
On contrary from all the other boys on the island Simon, a Christ like figure in the novel, did not fear the ‘beastie’ or the unknown. “Maybe there is a beast....maybe it's only us” Simon explained. (p. 97) The fear of the unknown in the novel contributes to the boys’ terror of the beast, the beast is an imaginary figure which lays in all of the boys’ minds and haunts them. Golding uses the beast as a symbol of the evil that exists in every creature. "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 the way they are?" The sow head announced to Simon to be the “lord of the flies”. The “lord of the flies” is a figure of the devil, and brings out all the evil and fear in people. It wants you to fear it, but if you don’t believe in the “lord of the flies” nothing can happen to you. Therefore Simon didn’t fall into the trap, but the beast killed him, meaning the other boys on the island did. Simon discovered that the beast is in fact just a dead parachute man before he died and ran down to tell the boys about his finding. When Sim...
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding expresses the idea that humans are naturally immoral, and that people are moral only because of the pressures of civilization. He does this by writing about a group of boys, and their story of survival on an island. The civilized society they form quickly deteriorates into a savage tribe, showing that away from civilization and adults, the boys quickly deteriorate into the state man was millions of years ago. This tendency is shown most in Jack, who has an animalistic love of power, and Roger, who loves to kill for pleasure. Even the most civilized boys, Ralph and Piggy, show that they have a savage side too as they watch Simon get murdered without trying to save him. Simon, the only one who seems to have a truly good spirit, is killed, symbolizing how rare truly good people are, and how quickly those personalities become corrupted.
One of the main themes in William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies is that without civilization, there is no law and order. The expression of Golding's unorthodox and complex views are embodied in the many varied characters in the novel. One of Golding's unorthodox views is that only one aspect of the modern world keeps people from reverting back to savagery and that is society. Golding shows the extreme situations of what could possibly happen in a society composed of people taken from a structured society then put into a structureless society in the blink of an eye. First there is a need for order until the people on the island realize that there are no rules to dictate their lives and take Daveers into their own hands. Golding is also a master of contrasting characterization. This can be seen in the conflicts between the characters of Jack, the savage; Simon, the savior; and Piggy, the one with all the ideas.
...religious allegory. He depicts a story in which the boys are stranded on an island and need to fend for themselves. However, instead of focusing on rescue and building a fire, the boys ultimately shift their priorities to hunting and killing. They turn a once beautiful and majestic island into a place of terror and evil. Additionally, they maul and kill their only hope of ever changing, Simon. Lord of the Flies is reminiscent of the television series “Lost.” Just like in Golding’s world, “Lost” is staged on a remote far away island after a plane crash. However, these people are not children. They are adults, which makes the story even more chilling. These adults eventually succumb to murderous acts and violence, further proving the point Golding sets out to make. Humans are inherently evil, and without any system to keep them in line, they will destroy the world.
All of the boys but Simon are becoming the beast at that moment. In Lord of the Flies, Golding proves that fear draws out man’s inner evil and barbarism. Within the novel, Golding uses characterization of the boys and symbolism of the beast to show the gradual change from their initial civility to savagery and inhumanity. Learned civility, order and humanity become ultimately futile in the face of fear. The author teaches that without logic, fear consumes us endlessly.
The novel “Lord of the Flies” was written by William Golding to demonstrate the problems of society and the sinful nature of man.
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.
Lord of the Flies provides one with a clear understanding of Golding's view of human nature. Whether this view is right or wrong is a point to be debated. This image Golding paints for the reader, that of humans being inherently bad, is a perspective not all people share. Lord of the Flies is but an abstract tool of Golding's to construct the idea of the inherent evil of human nature in the minds of his readers. To construct this idea of the inherent evil, Golding employs the symbolism of Simon, Ralph, the hunt and the island.