How Does Golding Present Schizophrenia In Lord Of The Flies

The group of stranded adolescent boys fought for their lives. Their bodies’ abilities able to keep their physical selves intact, but alas it would not be strong enough to protect them from losing their minds. As a result of isolation, these boys who once held their sanity fell victim to mental psychasthenia. In William Golding's novel the Lord of the Flies, the adolescent boy, Simon, isolates himself within the island only to find himself in schizophrenic episodes communicating with a severed pig’s head. The young boy grew to be distant by the end of the novel, secluding himself from others. This left him lost in his own thoughts, damaging his perspective of reality. Simon exemplifies schizophrenia through isolating himself in the jungle, pulling himself from social interactions with the other boys on the island, as well as experiencing things that others do not see or hear. Simon exhibits schizophrenic tendencies when he repeatedly isolates himself from the other boys. Psychology Today states that a common symptom of schizophrenia entails “isolating oneself and withdrawing from others.” He finds a place in the jungle in which he spends large quantities of time alone
Piggy asks him, "What makes things break up the way they do?" (265) to which he had all of the answers but no one listens to him. His communication skills as well as coherent thoughts grow damaged, making it near impossible for him to answer immediately. Later in the novel, he replies, "You'll get back to where you came from" proving that he has a higher understanding of society than the boys, but his ability to share his knowledge lacks. The American Psychological association states that the one telltale sign of schizophrenia is, “hallucinations, such as hearing voices or seeing things that other do not experience.” This lets us know that what Simon hears and sees does not exist in reality, instead it emerges from his