Simon Symbolism In Lord Of The Flies

How quickly can a society fall to ruins? In The Lord of the Flies, author William Golding argues that society is made with the most fragile of fabrics. Golding’s use of symbols allows his readers insight into the deeper meaning of a seemingly simple story. A master of symbolism, Golding uses small details to drive the plot forward and create depth within the story. Society is depicted as being exceedingly fragile with symbols, such as Simon as goodness, being the structural components keeping everything from falling into the hands of savagery. Therefore, Golding uses Simon as a symbol of goodness, emphasizing his constant acts of kindness, his inability to communicate well, and his horrific murder, to demonstrate the fragility of society.
Simon’s death is written as a callous murder so as to highlight the purity of Simon’s righteousness in stark contrast to merciless, mangled mess of his murder. Simon’s death is written with much detail, “At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, lept on to the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding 153). One important thing to note from this quote, is that Golding refers to Simon as an ‘it’ - as if writing about goodness and society - while he is being torn apart. Simon’s attack, and subsequently his death, displayed the true capacity of mankind’s ability to be evil. The fact that Golding wrote Piggy, who represents civilization, to be a part of Simon’s murder shows that once savagery, power, and lust have taken over, goodness is destroyed. However, without goodness society cannot survive. Ultimately, Simon’s death implied the death of goodness on the island, and along with it the demise of a struggling and fragile society.

Moreover by emphasizing several aspects of Simon’s character, speech, and eventually his cessation, Golding demonstrates how frail society is. As Simon’s rectitude diminishes, as does the strength and stability of society. Golding shows readers that the fabric and most basic factor of society is goodness. The events in The Lord of the Flies explain, through a series of symbols, the fine line between savagery and civilization that society resides on. Essentially, Golding makes the point that the prosperity of society is dependent upon the decisions of civilians in hopes that they abide by what is morally