Who Is Responsible For Simon's Death In Lord Of The Flies

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.

To begin, Simon did things to help all of the other boys on the island.

One example of this occurred when Ralph had plans to build huts for shelter. Ralph was irritated that none of the other boys were helping to build the shelter, but even though the other boys did whatever they wanted to do on a whim, Simon stayed around and helped Ralph with whatever needed to be done. When Ralph was talking to Piggy one day, he said, “‘Simon. He helps’…‘All the rest rushed off. He’s done as much as I have’” (54). Ralph’s statement here specifically shows how the majority of the boys are only self-interested, but Simon is interested in helping the group in any way that he can. Later, Simon also helps some of the little boys find fruit, which no one else had done. These actions from Simon show that he is willing to do good things even though he does not have to. In contrast with the other boys whose moral principles had quickly decayed, Simon continued to do good things because it was in his nature to do

so.
In addition, Simon knew things that the other boys did not know. Simon said, “‘Maybe there is a beast’…‘What I mean is…maybe it’s only us’” (89). He went on to describe “Mankind’s essential illness,” but he had a hard time describing it to the other boys. Since Simon took time on the island to carefully examine his surroundings, he was able to realize the savagery that was taking over the other boys. He realized that the boys themselves were the single most destructive force on the island. This realization is continued later when Simon discovers the dead parachutist on the island that the other boys thought was a beast. Although Simon dies before he can provide most of this insight to the other boys, he knows the truth in the end, and it is what he expected all along.
Finally, Simon’s perpetual goodness is emphasized by his description after he dies. He was described in a tremendous amount of detail, and the description made him appear to be at peace with the world. At the end of the description, it is described that “Softly, surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon’s dead body moved out toward the open sea” (154). Simon is described in a peaceful way to represent his satisfaction in life even though it was cut short. Despite his tragic death, Simon made morality a way of life, and this made his life meaningful so that he was happy with the life he had lived in the end.
Ultimately, Simon was one of multiple brutal casualties caused by a rudimentary civilization of boys that lacked order and moral principles. Simon helped the boys when he did not have to, and he knew things that the other boys refused to realize because of their decline to savagery.