Duality In Lord Of The Flies

(Golding 117). This single quote Simon says describes him in many ways. From this quote Simon is shy, kind and thoughtful, solitary, sensitive and understanding, and Christlike. First thing mentioned was Simon being shy. Simon shows this by not speaking out loud to some of the boys.

He remains free from all the fear and evil eating away at the other boys. Simon is a reference to Jesus, who tried to save people from the evil of the world. Simon is pure and kind by nature, shown by his treatment of the littluns, whom no one else seems to care about. Simon sees them picking fruit, and “found for them the fruit they could not reach... [and] pulled off the choicest” (56). This mimics the actions of Jesus, who was a protector and comforter of little children, and was always willing to go out of his way to help the weak or unfortunate. Simon is willing to go through discomforts as long as it is for the wellbeing of another. On the island, he has the purest soul, and when evil and savagery prevails in the other boys, he remains innocent. Due to his goodness, Simon also makes efforts to bring the others back to the light. While wandering about the island, he sees the body of the dead pilot up on the mountain. He realizes that “the beast was harmless and horrible; and the news must reach the others as soon as possible” (147). This is like Jesus in that he tried to free the others from the burden of sin and evil. However, like Jesus, Simon is not accepted by the people he tries to save, and is murdered brutally for all his troubles. Simon is the savior in a dark and fear-filled world, but he is shunned due to the evil in the other

Simon is the one boy who never participates in destructive behaviors and always contributes to the well being of the boys. He continues to work even after everyone stops, gives Piggy food when no one else will, and speaks his mind about the beast. He is also the only one to realize that the true beast is inside the boys. Simon’s moral compass, much like the superego, allows him to see the evil of mankind. Simon is whole-heartedly good. The superego attempts to lead a person to the morally right pathway, much like Simon aims to show Ralph how he can do what’s best for the tribe. The primitive nature of the others overpowers Simon’s internal good nature. Even after his death, Simon’s moral nature lives on through the boys similar to how the superego can continue to shine after a person follows the desires of the id.

Although all of the other boys on the island are turning into savages, Simon does not follow. The other boys are becoming savages because it is instinct. Simon is not like the other boys, in this sense. Simon is a Christ-like figure, so he isn’t able to become savage. This island is a very harsh environment, so only the savage will be able to survive. The other boys are not always savage, as they have developed the savagery over time. Simon isn’t able to develop this and he isn’t able to survive on the island, just as piggy. Due to this Simon will not be able to survive. The novel is foreshadowing that Simon will not make it, as he has not turned savage “You’ll get back to where you came from” (Golding 111). This quote implies that other boys, such as Ralph, will get back and make it but Simon will not.

Jack and his chosen group of hunters all follow Jack and fail to follow Ralph’s command to keep civilization under control. Simon and his natural behaviors contrast with Jack as he sees the positive interests and goodness in civilization. Simon’s actions reveal his shy, yet kind, and non confrontational attitude which makes the importance of his character hard to notice. Simon is the mediator on the island, as he will never decline a request from the little children for food, an order from Ralph to help build shelters, and tries to keep the peace between the hunters and the civilized boys. Simon can be seen as the most compassionate character on the island as displayed in this quote: “Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it. The twins giggled and Simon lowered his face in shame” (Golding 74). Jack, on the other hand, is most malicious towards Piggy as he eventually becomes consumed by evil and and will attempt to destroy all points of civilization and innocence left on the island. Innocence is bestowed upon nearly all the boys trying to keep civilization alive on the island and is despised by Jack and his highly influenced choir boys turned hunters.

When is comes to murderers of all kind “ ‘Malice’ is found if the individual possesses any one of the four states of mind: The intention to kill a human being, The intention to inflict grievous bodily injury on another, An extremely reckless disregard for the value of human life; or the intention to commit a felony during the commission or attempted commission of which a death results.There is no exclusion for children ” (Mauro). In The Lord of the Flies by William Golding a group of young boys crash land on an island, and throughout the madness of living on a deserted island, kill two of their own. It starts out with two boys named Ralph and Piggy, who meet a group of chorus boys who also are stranded on the island. Two of the boys names are

After the younger boys follow Simon on his trek, “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands” (Golding 56). This action shows the helpfulness that SImon has that none of the others do, including Ralph. EVen though Ralph’s leadership and building of shelter for the boys is also helpful, he is still building the huts for his own sake and because he thinks that doing that is necessary, even if others disagree. On the other hand, Simon’s actions are purely selfless and demonstrate his helpfulness. The next way Simon is different is his perceptiveness.

In the novel Lord of the Flies the author, William Golding, uses Jack’s desire for power and Roger’s inability to follow society’s rules to outline that man’s essential state of nature is a result of a hostile environment. Jack is relentless when trying to receive the label of chief, and he uses the fear factor routinely when he mentions the beast and the importance of having hunters to make all of the boys feel as though they need him for survival. Roger constantly goes againsts Ralph’s rules and the power of the conch which strips away all of the remaining civilization. As Jack and Roger begin to band together, their wrong doings not only take a toll on them as humans, but on the good of the island and all of the boys. If one is surrounded by the influence of evil with no restriction, the dark will take over in place of the good rather briskly.

Simon also represents the Christ figure in the story, which makes him morally good and pure, furthering his identity as the Superego. One example of the compassion that Simon is known to show throughout the story is when Jack has killed the first pig, and denies Piggy a piece of meat because they don’t get along. Simon decides that the best course of action was to put Piggy’s needs before his, and “shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it” (Golding 74). This shows the empathy he feels for others. When Simon is talking to Ralph and says, ”You’ll get back where you came from.” (Golding 111), this is an example of foreshadowing, but also an example of the empathy that he feels, because he wants Ralph to not be upset by anything and know that he’ll make it back okay, even if Simon doesn’t. Even during Simon’s death, when he emerges from the forest and towards the group, he is trying to tell them that there’s nothing to be afraid of, "Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill" (Golding 152), and when he is being pummeled, he still tries to tell them about the parachuting man. Simon’s selflessness and the fact that he is a Christ figure makes him the representation of

Simon shows his individuality and cravings for tranquility and cognizance also through his participation with others. One instance when he truly displays this is when he was picking fruit from the “littluns”. The “littluns” and “lugged them towards the trees” and “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach” (Golding,56). He feeds them alone and “when he had satisfied them”he “turned away from them and went where the just perceptible path led him” (Golding,56). This shows how through his clarity with nature and himself, he helps others and continues to portray that he prefers to think, act, and help others by himself. He also shows his individualism when he reacted to the death of the pig. With the chaos going around him, Simon isolates himself and “lowered his head, carefully keeping his eyes shut, then sheltered them with his hands” next to the pile of guts Jack and Roger left after penetrating the pig’s head with a stick (Golding,138). He ignores everything around him and tries his best to hide away from the monstrous actions the other boys are committing. This also supports the idea that he favors time alone in his own thoughts in peace rather than facing his fear. In

In addition Simon feels since no one is taking care of the island, building shelters, and thinking things through he feels that he has to continue to be a good example for littuns and help them through everything. It might seem to the readers of this book that Simon is only doing it because he wants to be known as the helper. But truly Simon knows that if he doesn't care for the young nobody else will. “My specs!, He went crouching and feeling over the rocks, but Simon who had got there first, picked them up and gave them to Piggy” (71). This quote shows that Simon is always there to “pick you up” no matter if it it literally or figuratively.

Simon grows to be a social outcast on the island; when the group crash-lands, he is trusted, but he distances from the group the more time progresses. After Ralph is elected leader at the beginning of the novel, Simon is chosen as one of three boys to go on an exploration that will help Ralph choose a course. Very early on, Simon is trusted by Ralph, as “he looked round the circle of eager faces. There was no lack of boys to choose from. ‘And Simon’”

Here is where it all begins. The reader can see five boys who are on the older end of the spectrum of the boys present on this remote island. And now the author, William Golding introduces the main characters, Ralph, a civilized and educated young boy with fair hair. Along with a overweight and smart boy named “Piggy”, who also had asthma. Jack Merridew, a confident

Mankind is, by nature, an evil, vile, and savage species. This is nowhere more apparent than in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a novel detailing the adventures of a group of shipwrecked British schoolboys, who must survive on an uncharted Pacific island, while seeking rescue and order. Golding’s exploration of Man’s inherent wickedness is no more apparent in Chapter Nine, “A View to a Death”, in which the group of boys, in a riotous ceremony, brutally murder one of their own. The many events of the book lead to one conclusion: In Lord of the Flies, William Golding propagates the idea that Mankind is inherently inclined towards savagery and evil, which is conveyed via symbolism, juxtaposition, and foreshadowing.

He is always helping the Littluns when they are struggling and many other boys that are vulnerable 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 74). This quote interprets an example of Simon showing his whole heartedness by giving Piggy food when Jack did not want to feed him because he did not hunt. "The vast majority of people reside prominently in civilized society, and they dismiss their instinct for aggression and dominance" (Wood, Bryan). This quote shows that people like Simon are always more civilized than those who begin to change into savages, Simon is the last piece of civilization on the island. "What I mean is...maybe it's only us" (Golding 89). Simon, himself, proposes to the rest of the boys that perhaps the beast is not only an external force, but an internal force within themselves. Simon is the only character to reveal Golding's point that innate human evil exists.