Ernest Hemingway once said, “When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.” In a good book, one will connect with at least one fictional character. In the book The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding, one will be able to relate to with several. A character that the reader will be able to connect with from the start is Simon. In the book Lord of the Flies, Simon takes on the role of an adult and keeps everything civil while he can. Simon is sophisticated in the book Lord of the Flies because he is calm, nice, and brave.
Civilization means to be a part of a culture, to have a leader who takes power, and to be apart of orderly society. In the novel The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Simon is the most civilized boy on the island because he has the most positive outlook out of every boy on the island, he is insightful of what and where the beast is, and, he is the first to realize most of the problems that occur on the island.
Paragraph Essay In this scene of Golding’s Lord of the Flies, we see Simon finally giving in to the madness that has rooted itself deep on the island, and deep inside of everyone; the island is merely an outlet for these boys to to let out the evil inside of them. Simon had inner demons like everyone else, but it seems only logical that in real life, Simon was hallucinating the pig head speaking to him. Simon was hungry, dehydrated, exhausted, and just escaped a hunt with the most violent of the group, not wanting to kill the pig. There are certain inconsistencies such as, “He knew one of his times was coming on.”
Through its contrasting characters, Golding’s Lord of the Flies signifies the different behaviours of mankind, which civilization is either lost and turned to savagery, or remains steadfast under extreme circumstances. Simon illustrates the pure and good-hearted individuals of mankind. Jack symbolizes the innate savagery of our society. Ralph personifies the grey area between civilization and savagery. First of all,
Christ is a perfect figure of light and goodness. He showed the world what love could do during his ministry on earth. Simon’s characteristics make him an analogy to Christ. His love, compassion, and service to others portray him as a Christ figure in Lord of the Flies, as well as his similarities in his experiences.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a book about a group of boys stuck on a deserted island who try to organize their own society which results in a series of events and disasters. This book portrays many different personalities and characters that are important parts of the book. One of the protagonists, Simon, has a plethora of fine qualities such as kindness, intuition, thoughtfulness, and virtue. These qualities shape Simon into a Christ-like figure. Simon is shown to be an image of Christ through his tender-hearted nature, prophetic-like qualities, and understanding of the beast within the boys.
Much like the rest of the human race Ralph can be a savage, controlled by his id. All the remaining boys, except for Simon are gathered around a fire chanting about the beast and acting like savages. Simon, meanwhile is investigating the parachutist that has fallen from the skies and is perceived by the boys as “the beast,” a monster that they believe inhabits the island. While a physical beast my not occupy the island, a more potent and omnipresent threat is lurking the island. This threat is the beast inside the kids that all of them possess, some are just more expressive than than the others.
During a meeting in Chapter 5, the boys consider the question of the Beast. They argue over where the beast comes from, what it is, and what it can do. While all the boys are bickering, Simon grabs the conch and says, “”What I mean is… maybe it’s only us.” (Golding 126) Simon is proposing something that the others boys have never thought about, that perhaps the beast is only themselves.
The similarities between the two are very limited. Like most kids on the island, they both had their inner struggles. They both try to appeal to their leaders (Roger to Jack, Simon to Ralph), although it seems that Roger only intended to rise to the top and Simon simply wanted to be a friend. Both of the boys have their own “place” where they can fit in or be themselves.
This information is confirmation of Simon’s belief of the beast acting from within the boys (from chapter 5). The Lord of the Flies finds it funny how the boys thought that the beast was a physical creature. As he continues to talk to Simon, he reveals that the so-called beast is a “part of you” (Golding
When the Lord of the Flies said to Simon, “fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!” (Golding. pg.158), it showed that even if Simon did not know it, he subconsciously understood that the beast was not real, but something within all of them. This also shows that no matter how hard the boys try to stay good, the evil within them is something they cannot get rid of. Additionally, the end of the conversation Simon had with the Lord of the Flies also represents evil.
The ineffective crucifixion and attempt at martyrdom are evidence of his great failure. Simon's act of cutting the parachutist free leads to the corpse resembling the beast in flight. The body then travels deep into the ocean while simultaneously driving the idea of the “beast” deeper into the mind of the boys. Simon also brings out the most primitive side of the boys while they commit murder for the first time. The boys will kill a human on the island again, and will continue to show how Simon was unsuccessful at being a Christ figure on the
At the beginning of the story the boys are very scared and confused on where they are because this place is a unknown entity they have no clue what could be on the island and how they are going to survive. This is symbolism of human instinct, because when people encounter unknown experiences they start to freak out and make irrational decisions on easy problems with simple solutions. This occurs most in Jack because he wants to be the leader of the group of boys but when Ralph gets leader he tries to sabotage it in different ways by creating more fear and promoting protection of the group from “The beast”. “If you’re hunting sometimes… you can feel as if you’re not hunting, but being hunted”. While Simon is still scared he is not making irrational decisions, he is trying to figure out how to survive and follow orders and creating shelters and fire.
In the book The Lord of the Flies by William Golding, Simon would be the best leader. There aren’t an immense amount of qualities in Simon that some might see as leader material. He’s different compared to the others, though all the boys are unique in their own little way, he stands out the most. Maybe it’s because of his independent like personality or the fact that he is rational and uses logic before he lets his imagination get the best of him.
Human behaviors are easy to be changed by the experiences and environment. As the time passes by, the changed behaviors can be worse or better than before. However, most people become worse because of the specific experiences in their life time. In Lord of the Flies, the changes of behavior are occurred obviously in the characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph. They become different because of the extreme environment and new experiences around them. The characters of Jack, Roger, and Ralph change in terms of their behavior by becoming savagely brutal, which shows the significant influence of their experience on the island.