Simon's Character Analysis in William Golding's Novel Lord of the Flies Essay Example
Simon
Character Analysis
The first time we see Simon, he’s fainting. Physical weakness becomes a hallmark of his character, from passing out to throwing up to hallucinations and bloody noses. So it’s easy to think right off the bat that this kid is kind of weak. Simon is a timid but compassionate guy. A “skinny, vivid boy,” Simon’s got this innate goodness that comes out in his actions. He helps the littluns pick fruit to eat, he recovers Piggy’s glasses when they fly off his face (post-Jack’s punch), and he gives Piggy his own share of meat. As important as what he does do is what he doesn’t do, namely turn into a primitive savage and go about killing things.
But Simon is actually wise, mature, and insightful to the point of being prophetic. Simon wins the Most Amazing Comments Ever award in Lord of the Flies, despite competing with such brilliance as “We need an assembly to put things straight” and “What are we, humans or animals?” Simon’s prize-winning contender: “Maybe there is a beast […], maybe it’s only us.”
And that’s not all in the wise comments department, either. You can’t talk about Simon without talking about that huge, show-stopping scene in Chapter Eight when he “talks” with “the Lord of the Flies.” If you choose to see the Lord of the Flies as purely a product of Simon’s imaginations, then all of the pig’s head’s comments can be attributed to Simon’s insightful brilliance. We’re talking about lines like “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt or kill!” and “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close.” We’ll go into more detail in the "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" section, but for now be satisfied with the fact that Simon is the only boy to truly grasp that “the beast” is just all the negative, horrible aspects of mankind. The pig’s head’s next line, “I’m the reason why it’s no go […], why things are the way they are” is a direct answer to the question Piggy posed several pages earlier: “What makes things
Character Analysis
The first time we see Simon, he’s fainting. Physical weakness becomes a hallmark of his character, from passing out to throwing up to hallucinations and bloody noses. So it’s easy to think right off the bat that this kid is kind of weak. Simon is a timid but compassionate guy. A “skinny, vivid boy,” Simon’s got this innate goodness that comes out in his actions. He helps the littluns pick fruit to eat, he recovers Piggy’s glasses when they fly off his face (post-Jack’s punch), and he gives Piggy his own share of meat. As important as what he does do is what he doesn’t do, namely turn into a primitive savage and go about killing things.
But Simon is actually wise, mature, and insightful to the point of being prophetic. Simon wins the Most Amazing Comments Ever award in Lord of the Flies, despite competing with such brilliance as “We need an assembly to put things straight” and “What are we, humans or animals?” Simon’s prize-winning contender: “Maybe there is a beast […], maybe it’s only us.”
And that’s not all in the wise comments department, either. You can’t talk about Simon without talking about that huge, show-stopping scene in Chapter Eight when he “talks” with “the Lord of the Flies.” If you choose to see the Lord of the Flies as purely a product of Simon’s imaginations, then all of the pig’s head’s comments can be attributed to Simon’s insightful brilliance. We’re talking about lines like “Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt or kill!” and “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close.” We’ll go into more detail in the "Symbols, Imagery, Allegory" section, but for now be satisfied with the fact that Simon is the only boy to truly grasp that “the beast” is just all the negative, horrible aspects of mankind. The pig’s head’s next line, “I’m the reason why it’s no go […], why things are the way they are” is a direct answer to the question Piggy posed several pages earlier: “What makes things