Cut the throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 138). But for poor Simon who runs into the savage celebration, screaming. The boys see him as the beast which leads to a truly gruesome and animal like attack “There was no words and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding 139). Golding uses this depiction of the savage attack on Simon, to imprint into the reader the sense of loss of reasoning, morals, and intelligence within the boys on the island.
Much like Christ preaching the Christian truth to the multitude only to be betrayed by Judas then crucified, when Simon attempts to inform others of the truth behind the beast from air, he is brutally murdered by the boys-including Ralph who he considers to be a valuable companion. Golding then illustrates that “The water rose further and dressed Simon’s coarse hair with brightness. The line of his shoulder became sculptured marble”(170). This tranquil image creates a sense of sacredness in Simon
When the boys crash-landed on the island they were mostly all innocent other than a few exceptions. The boy who the reader can see loses the most innocence is Jack. Jack is the choir leader and just wants more power, like a dictator. As the story goes on, the reader sees how Jack changes from an innocent choir boy to a pig obsessed ravenous killer. The point where the reader can see the most loss of innocence is when Jack and his hunters murdered the pig and smeared its blood on their faces.
Do Not Ignore the Laws of the Gods Loyalty to the state should not undermine a person’s loyalty to their gods. When the king challenges or ignores the authority of the gods, he is headed for failure. Sophocles trumpets this message throughout his tragic play, Antigone. After Polyneices rebelled against Thebes and killed his brother Eteocles in battle, King Creon decreed that a traitor to the state cannot be buried. Worse, the body of a traitor is left to rot above ground as food for scavengers.
Jack’s non-existent rules are a way for him and his tribe to pretend like they can hide behind a mask and take away the boys ability to function as members of a civil society. Towards the end of the story, the lack of laws take a toll on all the boys on the island: “The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like vapor. These painted savages would go further and further” (236). The breaking of the conch and the loss of two boys are prime examples as to why a society cannot function without rules. The rule of the conch was the first rule established by the assembly.
The boys become crueler after the killing of Simon takes place; killing a boy that was in their tribe and withheld the truth of the Beast contained no logic and destroyed Ralph internally. Ralph's leadership starts to fall apart at this moment due to the fact that his emotions are taking over him; he feels scared from the idea of murder, never being able to get home, and the beast. Ralph was not a leader at this time because he was not able to control himself and with that, he did not stop the boys from destroying Simon and the logic within him. The decision all these boys made together fully took away the whole importance of logic and their emotions took full control of them. Their ideas of fear are mostly shown at meetings called by the conch.
However, in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”, events beyond the mariner’s control result in his isolation. The mariner slaughters the albatross, a symbol of fortune, which destroys his crew, “Alone, alone, all alone, / Alone on a wide wide sea! / And never a saint took pity on / My soul in agony” (Coleridge 231-235). The mariner evokes nature’s destructive powers which devastate his crew, leaving him stranded on a deserted ship. The mariner’s punishment is similar to Victor’s because both characters witness death but survive and live in solitude.
He claims that Beowulf has lost the swimming competition between him and Breca. This affects Beowulf because his reputation is vital to him. Beowulf fires back with a reminder that Unferth killed his own kin. “[...] and the forthright Unferth, admired by all for his mind and courage, although under a cloud for killing his brothers, reclined near the king” (1164-1167). To prove himself, Beowulf informs the King Hrothgar of his new expedition, killing Grendel.
Using this simile adds to the morbid and horrific description of Piggy’s tragic death. This shows loss of civilization and innocence because Piggy was killed by his own peers of the island. Murder destroys innocence, and the fact that the boys purposefully killed him using the boulder shows how far from civilization they have become. Another example of Golding’s use of similes is when Ralph sees the “Lord of the flies”. “He walked slowly into the middle of the clearing and looked steadily at the skull that gleamed as white as ever the conch had done and seemed to jeer at him cynically,”(185).
Just like how the white men “drove him to kill himself and know he will be buried like a dog”. (Pg.208) This means that he hanged himself because he could not go on with the white people taking over the village but no one wanting to do anything about it. So at night “He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart.” (Pg.183) This is because of the white man having people changing their religions. This is why okonkwo is a tragic hero and many many more reasons. That I believe he is a tragic