Jonathan Vautour Mrs. Fils World Literature 3 November 2015 Simon: Lord of the Flies The book “Lord of the flies” is story of a group of boys who were marooned on an island and forced to survive and the effect on their moral stability. In the beginning the reader is introduced to the character Simon. He was a skinny vivid little boy whose hair, black as night and coarse, hung down straight over his face (Oldsey and Weintraub 182-183). Golding’s writing style and background can be seen by how he decided to characterize each and every character in the story. Simon was created as a quite boy that played a substantial and crucial role in the story behind this book. Golding shows Simon’s Christ like characteristics through his bravery, kindness, and good morals. Although he appeared as small and weak, Golding gave Simon the heart and bravery of a war hero. Golding however does not make this bravery very obvious in the way he wrote the book. He showed it when Simon was picked to go with Jack and Ralph (Telgen 174-195). The reason Jack and Ralph picked Simon to go with them is a confusing choice at first because Simon was not the most burley character in the book. However, it is Jack and Ralph’s instinct that causes them to pick Simon, because there was a mutual feeling of comfort. “Simon 's special powers are signaled early in the story when, even though he is not one of the bigger boys, he is chosen by Ralph to join him and Jack to explore the island” (Telgen 174-195). The
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.
Even though Golding had an enormous amount of symbols throughout his novel, Simon is the first to recognize the complication posed by the beast and the “Lord of the Flies” that is, that the monster on the island is not a real, physical beast, but rather a savagery that lurks within each and every human being. As a final point, the loss of social structure within civilization can lead to the demise of the boys on the island whether it's between Ralph vs Jack, the boys vs the island, or even Simon vs
Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding illustrates Simon as the only boy on the island holding a good soul. Many of the actions and events that Simon goes through also contain a very strong link to the actions of
In the beginning of the Lord of the Flies we are introduced to two young boys, who have survived a tragic plane crash. The aircraft was an evacuation plane and it was transporting the group of boys out of England. One of the boys named Piggy is trying to catch up to the other boy, Ralph. Piggy is described as being very fat and shorter than Ralph. He wears “thick spectacles” (William Golding 7) and he is the first to determine that they are on an island. Piggy is also the one that knows how to use the conch shell and comes up with the use of it, which is to call everyone else to the beach. He believed the conch created order. Once the conch had been used we are introduced to more boys and they gain interest in Piggy’s glasses. They discover that Piggy’s glasses can start fires and they refer to them as “burning glasses” (Golding 40). The boys also rejoiced when they discovered that his glasses could create the fires. They proclaimed, “His specs - use them as burning glasses!” (Golding 38). The spectacles symbolize Piggy’s intelligence, which distinguished him from the others. Without the glasses Piggy would be blind and he would not know what to do. Although Piggy is portrayed as being physically weak and not having a great chance at survival, he is the only one that seemed to know a few survival skills. He is the one that created the fire, sundial and shelter. Without his glasses he would not be ‘intelligent’. His appearance and personality cause him to be shunned
Lord of the Flies written by William Golding is about British school boys who get trapped on an island. Who then try to create a society to temporarily suit their needs till they get rescued. There are four main characters in the book Ralph, Jack, Piggy. The character that I chose to compare the characterization that the author puts to enhance the theme loss of innocence is Simon. Innocence is considered as a nice, non-evil, clean minded person. Innocence is lost once they are not considered good people or don’t think of good things. Golding uses the characterization of Simon to enhance the theme of the loss of innocence.
The island in William Golding’s novel, Lord Of The Flies, is one of wonder and a great deal of natural resources. However what develops on this oasis is war, bloodshed and cruelty. This could also be said for Earth, as the same traits occur in the global society as well. Therefor, the island symbolises the entire outside world in three key ways, social relationships, war, and politics.
In Lord f the Flies, a group of young choirboys are stranded on a deserted island after their plane was shot down and crashed, and the boys interact with many different types of elements that symbolize distinctive thoughts and ideas. In William Golding’s most famous novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding expresses law, intellect, and purity through his characters.
William Golding utilizes Lord of the Flies to prove that the inherent nature of man is truly savage and cannot be contained by any form of civil government. Characters, setting, atmosphere, and other elements are all used by Golding in the novel as metaphors and symbols to ultimately reveal the natural intention of man. In Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan, John Locke’s Concerning Civil Government , and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract, they share their own personal interpretations on man’s inherent nature, with the closest to Golding being Hobbes. Although both Golding and Hobbes state that man’s true nature is evil and selfish, Hobbes advocates for an absolutist government as capable of controlling man through fear of punishment, as opposed to Golding’s belief that no form of government is sufficient to control man. Conversely, Rousseau argues that men are born with morality and inalienable freedom, and John Locke believes that man is free but is neither inherently reputable nor immoral but a blank slate. Both want the people to be in control to prevent corruption from changing man, although Rousseau insists that a direct democracy to completely give power to the people would be more effective rather than only a representative democracy where the people would have individuals represent them which Locke suggests.
William Goldings "Lord of the flies", portrays a group of boys who find themselves stranded on a desert island in a deep battle between civilisation and primitive savagery. One of the boys portrayed, Simon, a boy who is kind and physically fragile expresses a deeper knowledge of the problems on the island that the other boys are unaware of. There are many differing viewpoints on his role in the novel. One of these is that he is a biblical parallel; Simon portrays a saintly figure, and shows many of the qualities demonstrated by Jesus Christ. He demonstrates a strong connection with nature throughout, and also is shown to be a character of strong goodwill and kindness.
Many people have their own views on humanity. They can either be that humans are essentially good but can become corrupt or that people are just essentially evil. They have their own opinions, some people can tell their perspective on humans in other fashions. If people are essentially good, they how do they become corrupt? Or if are truly evil, then why do some people seem like they are kind people and they can never do such things? To take both of these into account, a person may saw that people are good but deep down have evil within them. People may ask how does the evil within a person come out, the answer to that is that it is thanks to their environment. The environment around a person can undoubtedly draw out the evil within them
In order to create a character strongly in foil with the evil deeds of the island, Golding uses the archetype of the Christ figure in Simon’s self-sacrificing behavior, his time spent in the jungle alone, and in his confrontation with the evil Lord of the Flies to further portray the great potential for loss of human empathy and emotion in the other boys due to dire circumstances.
In William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," Simon emerges as a Christ-like figure, symbolizing qualities of compassion, spirituality, and sacrificial love within the darkness and chaos of the boys' descent into savagery. His role is central to exploring the novel's themes of morality, spirituality, and the inherent duality of human nature. Through his interactions with other characters, his visions, and his fate, Simon serves as a moral compass, guiding readers through the chaotic journey of the boys' moral decay. Simon's portrayal as a selfless and compassionate individual sets him apart from the other boys on the island. Unlike his peers who succumb to savagery and violence, Simon consistently demonstrates moral integrity and empathy in his
Imagine yourself in one of the characters shoes in the novel “Lord of the flies.” You would see yourself loaded with responsibilities, major decisions, etc. “Lord of the Flies” represents a microcosm of adult society. The island can act as a democratic government, demonstrate knowledge, and each character can demonstrate an aspect of adult society. William Golding was in the Royal Navy during WWII. He creates a smaller image for what’s really happening in the world.
Leaders play an important role within a group. A good leadership can help a group perform better, where as a bad leadership could ultimately bring the group down. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding tells the story of a group of boys on an island left alone to survive without adult supervision after their plane crashed. The boys quickly elected Ralph to be the leader and Ralph appointed Jack to be the leader of the hunters. After a while, various accidents caused a power struggle between Jack and Ralph, which leads to Jack overthrowing Ralph in a coup. In the novel, the boys needed a leader that could help them stay alive and ultimately have them rescued. Ralph is an excellent leader for the boys since Ralph display responsibility and initiative.
The theme of The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, is the reason society is flawed is because people are flawed. Although Piggy is knowledgeable, he has many flaws including his laziness and physical inabilities. Ralph is an authority seeker. He sets rules and laws, yet does little to enforce them. Ralph wants to be the ruler, without doing the work to enforce his laws. Jack is persistent. He is rude, harsh and violent in order to get what he wants. He wants to be supreme. Piggy’s flaws are impactful in the story. His laziness and lack of physical ability hurt him in his quest for survival.