Lord of the Flies: Simon’s Story Imagine being a boy fighting to stay alive on a deserted island, that boy is Simon, William Golding’s character from Lord of the Flies. Simon was in a plane crash with some other boys causing them to arrive on island. Simon has great importance in the book, because he symbolizes humanity's goodness and mortality, contrasting to the overpowering evil in the other boys. Simon’s kindness, intelligence, and peculiarity makes him important to this book, because everybody else is ruined by the evilness inside them. Simon’s good nature causes him to use selflessness and kindness to help others. Simon nobly goes out of his way to help Piggy find his specks when they were lost, because he knows that Piggy …show more content…
Furthermore, Ralph says “He’s queer. He’s funny” (Golding 55) while talking to Jack about Simon . Ralph simply means Simon is different, and does not behave like the others. The boys, additionally consider him different and/or strange due to the fact that he likes to go off into the forest and spend time there alone away from people. This is a big contrast to the other boys on the island who are afraid to be alone. Moreover, Simon can also be seen as the yang in the yin and yang circle. Meaning he can be seen as the good in the overwhelming chaos. Simon is described as having metaphorical “...eyes so bright they had deceived Ralph into thinking him delightfully gay and wicked” (Golding 55). This differs from other boys, because they do not have this kind of light in them, instead they have dark and twisted souls. Another reason Simon can be considered queer, is due to the fact he often faints uncontrollably. Simon being so different explains why the boys ignore and patronize him for everything he does, making him essentially an outcast. Being different causes a barrier between him and the other boys, because they do not understand why he does what he does. Simon does not feel dehumanized by the less than human treatment by the other boys. In all reality Simon’s treatment actually makes the other boys to become less human and more corrupted through
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.
These boys represent good intentions in the novel, but in our existence, we are fortunate to have incredible citizens who are comparable to the characters. Ralph symbolizes our parents, they always have the best intentions for the children they have made although, we may not appreciate the little things they do for us such as purchase food for our stomachs , provide a roof over our heads and love us unconditionally. Simon is represented through people who aid others because it is from the goodness of their
In conclusion, Ralph and Simon were the two characters that were different from the rest. They were different in a good way. This just goes to show you that there is always good in whatever you do and wherever you are, you just need to express
Simon was made fun of by the other kids because of how he acted and the things he said. One such ocassion was when he was talking to Ralph and said, "You'll get back to where you came from" to which Ralph replied a few lines later, "You're batty." (Page 111) Simon here has a prophecy about Ralph, and was made fun of for what he believed. Jesus was made f...
Their actions are what makes them different from other characters or people in their stories. For example, both Christ and Simon have two different identities. Christ was a Jewish man and, in Christianity, the son of God. Simon also shared the fact that he has two identities. His first identity was that he was dedicated to Ralph. He made sure to follow Ralph with his decision making and do whatever Ralph wants him to do. He does so because he want to return to the way things were before the crash. He wanted to go home in a civilized manner and not in savagery. He helped build shelters for Ralph and was one of the few core support of Ralph. Simon's second identity was a mature, spiritual self. He would always go to the forest to meditate and become one with the island to further his understanding of it. Just like he was compassionate towards others and their feelings, he was sensitive towards the island. When he visits the forest, it is as if his spiritual alter ego shows up and takes over him. “Then he… walked into the forest with an air of purpose… he wormed his way into the center of the mat… holding his breath he cocked a critical ear at the sounds of the island,” (Golding 55-57). This shows that Simon is different from the other boys. It shows that Simon has a deeper understanding of what is happening on the island that the other boys don’t know
Imagine a life that is detached from civilization and free from any socially imposed morals. In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of young boys is faced with this situation, and there is a perpetual conflict between the boys who are trying to maintain order and those whose violent instincts take over. Despite Ralph’s efforts to maintain order on the island and get the boys rescued, the boys, including Ralph himself, resort to violent and primitive behavior, and this is what causes Simon’s death. Whereas the other boys on the island lose their moral principles once savagery takes over, Simon retains his morals and does nice things such as helping the younger boys find food. In Lord of the Flies, Simon represents the speck of intrinsic morality and perceptive reasoning on the island, and unlike the other boys, he demonstrates morality as a way of life rather than a socially-imposed concept that is to be quickly lost in the wake of uncertainty.
Simon was the first and only one to realise the real beast on the Island. He could be compared to someone like a priest or a good samaraton – someone who tries his best to convince everyone of what’s right.
Simon 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.
While Jack and Ralph represent the distinct polarization between civilization and savagery. Simon is separated from both of these dimensions. Simon represents built-in goodness. The other boys who hold on to their sense of morality only do so because society has conditioned and trained them to act in a certain way. They do not have an innate sense of morality. Unlike the other boys on the island, Simon does not act morally because an external force has compelled him to do so, instead he finds value in performing good actions.
Golding makes very good use of characters in Lord of the Flies, he shows both good and evil through each of the characters. One of the characters that represents goodness is Simon. He is very good and pure, and has the most positive outlook. Simon is very different from the other boys, he seems to always be helping the Littluns and many other vulnerable boys 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, pg.74) This quote interprets an example of a time when Simon helped Piggy by giving him food, it shows Simon's wholeheartedness. Another example would be when Simon helps the Littluns pick fruit from high to reach places. All in all Golding tries to portray Simon as a Christ like figure.
In Golding’s book Lord of the Flies Simon is a very significant character, who strangely isn’t made very familiar with the reader until the end of chapter three. At this point in the book the group of school boys who have crash-landed on this uninhabited island, have found a course of action. Unfortunately, not all the boys are working hard to accomplish what needs to get done. Jack is set on catching a pig, Ralph on getting rescued, and the rest of the boys are enjoying their time without adult supervision. While Ralph and Jack are busy arguing over what needs to get done Simon sneaks away for some peace and quiet. At this point in the novel Golding then follows Simon’s walk alone into the forest. Through this Golding effectively establishes
Simon is the big tough character you can expect any group of men to want in the group. He is a calm character but can turn into a powerful and aggressive person that demands respect in an instant. In the scene where Tristan challenges Simon on being fearful of benny, Simon quickly reminds Tristan exactly who he is talking to by throwing the drink at Tristan who is the leader and in command. Simon demonstrates one characteristic that all men value and that is Power, Men are expected to be strong bold characters, and Simon uses these
Simon is the morally good boy. His selflessness and goodness comes from within. He is kind to the little boys, and helps the outcasts. For example, when none of the boys want to give Piggy meat from the first pig, Simon steps up and takes him meat. "Simon…wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy…"(p.74) While everyone else is cruel to the young ones, he helps the "lil'uns" grab meat from the trees when they can't reach. "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest…passed them back to the endless, outstretched hands." (p.56) Simon helps those whom no one else is kind to, perhaps remembering that he was looked down upon once. He realizes what it's like to be scorned and to be the "little one", so he tries to make it less miserable for the outcasts by being kind to them. He wants to always help others, so when he discovers the beast is inside of everyone, not external, as they had imagined, he instantly runs down the mountain to tell him. He helps others even to the point of death.
In the beginning, Simon was described as a 'skinny, vivid little boy…,'; (Golding 24) showing that he was undersized and possibly weaker than the others. He stuck around Ralph for a while, went exploring with him and Jack, and even helped him build the shelters. It was not long before he began to wander off by himself to that little place among the creepers. The other boys thought he was 'queer….funny.'; (55) because he was an outcast and rather strange.
A legitimate explanation for this is that the spending of time that he had with Jack throughout island stranding, allowed for his bad human instincts to finally come out. Lastly, Simon once had a very honorable character. He was very helpful to the others, and did what he could to help. One day, Ralph said that all day he had “been working with Simon.