Simon In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

Just as the people in the Bible receive Jesus to guide their way, Golding creates a Messiah of his own, Simon, who stands in stark contrast to the savagery of the boys and allows the reader to see what Godling believed the nature of good was. Much like Jesus, Simon possesses prophet-like skills in determining future events. After an assembly about the nature of the beast, Ralph decides to take Jack, Simon, and the hunters with him to see if they can find where the beast lives. Simon uses this as a time to think, questions if the beast comes from the sea like a leviathan or why it was not fast enough to catch Samneric, who claim to have seen the monster. Simon, usually furtive and shy, decides to walk by Ralph as they hunt, and Ralph, lost in thought, does not

I think so, anyway’ " and smiles (111). Simon ensures Ralph he will be rescued but says nothing of his own fate, suggesting Simon senses his impending death. Simon also smiles while delivering the news, tacitly suggesting he does not care if he dies as long as it ensures the survival of another boy. Willingly sacrificing himself not only parallels Jesus’ willingness to die for others but also creates a sense of morality missing from both the island and the boys. Likewise, Simon’s conversation with the Lord of the Flies resembles Jesus’ conversation with the devil. Jack’s determination to usurp Ralph leads him down an errant path, so he takes a group of boys hunting without Ralph’s consent, and they catch and kill a sow, leaving the head mounted on a stick as an offering for the beast. Jack attempts to propitiate the beast, saying “ ‘This head is for the beast. It 's a gift’", then the boys run away (137). This equates to the time in the Bible when the Israelites worshiped a statue of a calf, both trying to appease an inanimate animal that deceives them from discovering the real beast. Simon comes to the head and becomes so disturbed by the sight he starts having a hallucination in which the head speaks to