Simon As A Christ Figure In Lord Of The Flies Essay

As "…Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea", the true essence of his stature as a literary Christ figure in William Golding's perspective-altering Lord of the Flies is challenged as either a success or a failure in bringing salvation to the malicious boys (154). Salvation is defined as redemption from the penalty of sins committed; therefore, once the erstwhile innocent boys commit the satanic sin of murder, there is no question Simon has been predestined to liberate them from their misdeeds. In order to bring salvation, he is foreordained to be crucified; however, Golding, rather than explicitly state, wants the reader to see that Simon, a literary Christ figure, succeeds in bringing deliverance through the chaos initiated by his

death.
Firstly, due to Simon's benevolent characteristics, one of the first examples in the novel that foreshadow Simon's future to parallel with that of Christ's occurs when he builds the other boys' shelters on the beach (54).

Simon being both the literal and figurative carpenter on the island, helps Ralph to build shelters solely because of his selflessness and altruistic concern for others' welfare; these characteristics are also found in another eminent carpenter who had a magnanimous devotion to serving others. As Simon's Christ-like characteristics exude into the other boys' lives, he, again, is the only boy to help feed the hungry littleluns (56). Paralleling with Jesus' bread and fish parable found in the Bible, Simon's, like Jesus', nurturing and caring qualities have the only intention of enriching someone else's life. The final event that confirms Simon is the literary Christ figure in Lord of the Flies occurs when he is killed by the boys (154). Even from the beginning of the novel, it is predestined that Simon would be killed such as it was predestined that Jesus would be crucified from his beginning. Likewise, each individuals' death is intended to bring deliverance of the sins of other

people.
As time continues to pass, the once orderly and organized island turns into a state of chaos where savagery rules over civilization; the first major instance of disorder happens when Roger kills Piggy by annihilating him with a massive boulder (181).

The boys no longer view murder as a crime against any civilized morals or rules; murder is accepted among them and helps to establish social order through power. Because Roger goes unpunished, a new standard is created that in order to survive one has to kill anyone or anything that poses as a threat. As civilization continues to on a down-spiral path, the next quintessential example of savagery occurs when Jack turns Ralph into the scapegoat of the island and calls for a manhunt to kill him (198). The boys are hunting boys to the point of murder and have deteriorated from anything civilized thus in a state of chaos. In the manhunt to kill Ralph, Jack succeeds in setting the island ablaze in an attempt to "smoke out" Ralph (197). At this point, rational thinking has been abolished and all efforts to kill the enemy are put in full force. As the chaos created by Simon's death reaches its extremes, the reader assumes his death fails in bringing salvation to the boys; however, Golding discretely establishes Simon's success in saving Ralph from joining the Jack's evil

tribe.
By changing Ralph's mindset to want to refuse in joining the evil in the other boys, he is the only boy to take responsibility for Simon's death as seen while talking to Piggy and bluntly says, "'That was Simon… That was murder"' (157). Because Ralph refuses to yield to the wickedness, the island is set on fire in the effort to eliminate him; ironically, the fire that was intended to kill Ralph actually brings salvation to all of the boys in a physical form similar to the plague of passover the Israelites experienced. A naval officer arrives on the island to rescue the boys after he "… saw [their] smoke…" (201). Simon's death brings salvation in the form of rescue which in turn worsens the feud between Jack and Ralph. Simon's death, which is predetermined by his Christ-like characteristics, successfully brings spiritual deliverance to Ralph and brings actual salvation to all of the boys as through the chaos incited by his death.
In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Simon is established from the beginning of the novel as a literary Christ figure to eventually be crucified in order to bring salvation to the sinful and evil boys on the island. Through inciting the chaos on the island, Simon saves Ralph from faltering to Jack's devil-like ways by opening his eyes to the evil on the island and causes the tensions between the boys to quickly escalate. Due to the increased tensions, Jack sets the entire island on fire as an attempt to murder Ralph. The smoke from the fire is ironically seen from a passing ship where a naval officer comes ashore to rescue the boys. Because of the chaos caused by Simon's death, the boys are physically and spiritually saved. This fulfills the prophecy of making Simon as a literacy Christ-figure as he successfully fulfills his duty in bringing salvation to them.