Preview

Simon Character Progression in the Lord of Flies Essay Example

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
479 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Simon Character Progression in the Lord of Flies Essay Example
In the book Lord of the Flies Simon has changed from being a sensible, skittish, weak boy to a distorted, brave, helpful boy. In the begging of the book Simon is introduced as the weak boy who isn’t strong enough to hold up his own weight. After Ralph blows the conch for the very first time a new group of boys arrives called the Choir this is were Simon faints Merridew the Choir leader says, “he always throwing a faint”(20), Merridew is talking about Simon. Another time when Simon comes off being weak and afraid is when he admits to believing in a beast and says, “maybe, maybe there is a beast”(88). Although Simon is weak and afraid he is very sensible and is able to keep a sense of hope Simon tells Ralph that, “you’ll get back to where you came from”(111). Another sensible thing that Simon said was how the beast is in every one although this seemed weird at the time as the book went on Simons theory became more true almost everyone resorted into being a beast who murdered people. Simon becomes strong and helpful as the book goes on while the rest of the boys give up building shelters Simon is the only one who stays to help Ralph. After Ralph gets annoyed that no one is helping he says, “all day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing, or eating, or playing”(50). Another attribute that has changed about Simon is that he is now very brave. Jack is brave enough to cross the island by himself when Ralph asks who wants to go tell piggy that they won’t be coming back tonight Simon says, “I don’t mind going”(118). Simon arguably becomes the bravest kid on the island he goes through the island at night by himself, but that isn’t it he even goes up the mountain by himself to find out if the beast is real what Simon figures out what no one else ever does is that the beast isn’t actually a beast. One of the bad traits that Simon a quires as his time on the island goes on is that he becomes very distorted. The night that he dies Simon

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, William Golding depicts morals and the boundaries of society in the form of characters. This essay will compare and contrast the differences between four pivotal characters: Ralph, Jack, Simon and Roger. The goodness and order in society is portrayed by Ralph and SImon. The darkness in human nature is explained through Roger and Jack.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    His breakdown occurs only in chapter 9 and so does his death. After they find what they believe to be the beast, he decides to go on his own, not to leave the group permanently, but to go investigate the mountain on his own for a while. The first thing that may have caused his breakdown, though we can't be sure, may have been when he found the body of the pilot that had fallen from the sky sometime earlier in the book. “The flies had found the figure too. The life-like movement would scare them off for a moment so that they made a dark cloud round the head. Then as the blue material of the parachute collapsed the corpulent figure would bow forward, sighing, and the flies settle once more” (p. 210) Anyone could agree that that would be a bit traumatising to anyone, especially a young boy who was likely already beginning to lose hope of ever seeing the world he once knew of again. After that incident, he stumbles on the head of the sow that had been killed by Jack and his crew, only to have fantastical visions, or delusions, involving it. He may have reached some helpful conclusions through these delusions, that the beast was not something they could fight or needed to fear, that it was actually their inner urges to destroy and be wild, but there is no denying that the pig’s head did not actually talk to him and anything he saw was made in his own mind. As helpful as this information could have been, Simon was soon killed by the other boys after they worked themselves into a frenzy and mistook him for the beast. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!...Him! Him!” (p. 218) This chapter was one of the most madness driven in the book, showing not only Simons, but also everyone else in the…

    • 1619 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Simon is an overall really kind person who always thinks of others, and it respectable. In part II of the movie, the hunters finally killed the pig, and after a while of not eating, they could finally enjoy a meal. Everyone got to eat besides Piggy, and when Piggy asked for food, Jack sternly told him no. Simon offered his part of the pig to Piggy, and he accepted. Simon shows how sincere he is in part II of the movie. After the assembly about whether or not there is a ghost, Jack went against the rules and split up from Ralph because he was angry that Ralph opposed going after the beast. Ralph wanted to give up on being chief, but Simon decided to stay back with him and encourage Ralph not to give up on being the leader. Simon constantly does what he thinks is best for not just himself, but everyone else…

    • 898 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    However, Ralph is the only character to acknowledge the true savage nature of Simon's death: "that was murder". This highlights the fact that he is more mature in comparison to the other boys, as a result of his additional responsibilities on the island. Ralph is willing to admit to his mistakes, unlike at the start of the novel when he tried to justify his cruelty towards Piggy. This shows that Ralph's position as 'chief' and the responsibility it brings has had a profound impact on him, making him more mature than he would have been without this position of…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He was a unique child who believed that both good and evil resided within each person. Through the story Simon acted as the Christ figure. Simon was epileptic and had E.S.P. Simon foresaw the fate of Ralph and his own. ?You?ll get back all right. I think so, anyway.? (Page 121). Simon viewed his fate and witnessed the killing of the sow. Prior to one of his seizure?s he saw his death. The Lord of the Flies spoke to him and said, ??we shall do you. See? Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph?? (Page 159). Shortly before his death he came to the realization that the beast was not a creature but something that was within Jack and the hunters. He believed that he should tell the truth despite the consequences. In turn he was sacrificed for the continuation for the evil on the…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    -In this quote Simon expresses his thoughts about how the boys have been acting so far in the story. He believes and states that the beast isn’t anything circular, not anything that moves but just them. In a way what he says is true and this shows that Simon is a kind of person that thinks out of the box, he believes that there is a reason for everything and also an answer for all. The beliefs and thoughts of the other characters affect Simon in a more designated way than any other character probably due to the fact that he is more of a sensitive, spiritual type. The beast is becoming the most important part at this point and has begun a time of terror and evil. The beast in them is the sense of savagery, the knowledge of being able to do all they want, the advantage of being in the wild, more or less not being bossed around by anyone. The other boys received the opinion in a more ironic way and harassed him at the thought, even though it is going to come back to bit them.…

    • 1233 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The only boy on the island that understands the truth about humans, tries to save them from their self-destruction. Throughout the book, Simon represents a Jesus-like figure. He helped Ralph with the shelters, handed ʻlittlunsʼ food and was very perceptive about the true meanings of the world. When the boys believed in the beast, he was the only one who knew the truth, ʻmaybe there is no beast . . . maybe itʼs only usʼ (Golding pg 111). Simonʼs death represents the idea that goodness is weaker than evil. The murder of Simon is the point of no return for civilisation on the island and shows that even decent people like Ralph and Piggy are capable of committing heinous crimes. His death unlike Jesus did not lead them to salvation but lead them to destruction and a deeper inner evil. After Simons death, Jack the leader of his tribe, became merciless and cruel. Jack often used other characters fears to control the people on the island. ʻMy hunters will protect you from the beastʼ (Golding pg 185). Jack is the first of the boys to succumb to his inner evil and become a savage. This is ironic because at the beginning of the novel he says, ʻWeʼve got to have rules and obey them. After all, weʼre not savages. Weʼre English.ʼ (Golding pg 55). He uses the fear and evil within all the characters to force them to follow under his dictatorship. Throughout the book Jack has a crazy obsession with hunting, the more times he kills the less civilised he would become. Jack is the one responsible for sending the boys on the island into this deep dark evil that they cannot seem to escape from. As Jack becomes more evil as the book progresses, Golding makes him the representation of the evil in every man. Lord of the Flies is a deep and meaningful novel, with a pessimistic view on human life. Golding uses the characters for his novel, the setting of the island and the symbolism throughout the book to show the potential for destruction and chaos in the world. The idea that evil is…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the literary critic “Simon” an overview of Lord of the Flies mainly focuses on Simon, and the discovery of the true beast being within. Simon is considered a Christ figure, he proves his point by referring to passages about Simon from Lord of the Flies and references to the bible. Simon is introduced as a choir boy, then suggesting Simon’s characteristic of the “holy idiot.” Simon does many actions similar to those of Christ; Simon defending Piggy and the other boys, is the equivalent to Jesus defending Mary Magdalene. In the New Testament it was said that Jesus was mocked by the centurion, which had a striking resemblance to Simon getting laughed at by the other boys. Throughout the article, Spangler links the events leading to Simon’s death to…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ralph changes emotionally when he and the boys mistaken Simon as the beast and becomes involved in his death. When Ralph realizes what had happened, he feels guilty and blames himself for Simon’s death, but Piggy was there by his side and insists they had nothing to do with it. Ralph also changes emotionally when Piggy dies. “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 225). Here, Ralph goes back to the memories he and Piggy have made on the island and wishes that he was still alive. All of the boys are…

    • 577 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Simon In Lord Of The Flies

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages

    He stumbles upon a pig head on a stake, which had been left by Jack and the few hunters that had joined him as an offering to the beast. Swarmed by flies, the dead pig head had seemed to put Simon in a trance, and it spoke to him in the voice of a school teacher; it said that the only beast was within the boys. This pig’s head becomes the Lord of the Flies, and enters Simon’s head with fear and mockery, yet revealing the truth. Simon is a symbol of innocence and reason, for he comes about the so-called beast in the night. He discovers its true identity to be a dead pilot being carried by a parachute. During Simon’s discovery, Jack and his tribe were hosting a feast, having invited the rest of the boys who had not joined Jack. Perhaps the most important event of this story occurs at this event. Dark clouds appear, rolling thunder and scars of white and blue lightning sound and appear through them. Rain starts to pour while Simon is rushing back to the feast with his news of the so-called beast. As he appears from the woods out onto the beach, the boys panic, disoriented by their fear and the storm around him. They circle around Simon, Ralph and Piggy included, chanting and yelling with spears thrusting towards Simon. They were caught by darkness, and killed Simon, thinking that he was the beast. Simon’s body was carried by the tide out to sea, and with him the truth of their circumstances; savagery has claimed its first…

    • 1522 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Lord of the Flies, Simon has been characterized in a sort of all seeing, knowledgeable creature. Having epilepsy, or a similar condition, was considered a holy disease, that he was connected with god because of it, he was purer than the other boys in a sense. The scene after his death really shows that. The passage describes the “clear water [that] mirrored the clear sky” and the flowing of nature around Simon. Had it been one of the other, the corrupted and savage boys, the flowing of the water, the moving of the waves, and the creatures around them would have been disturbed by the body floating there. However, Simon is simply welcomed into the water, “The water rose farther and dressed Simon’s coarse hair with brightness. The line of his cheek silvered and the turn of his shoulder became sculptured marble.” Even in death…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, tells a story about a group of English schoolboys that are taken from their society to be put somewhere out of harms way. Unfortunately, the plane is shot down and crash lands on a deserted island. On this island there are no adults to show them how things work like they are used to from their former lives. Although, they try to keep order, chaos takes over, and the society comes crumbling down. The only thing that kept them fighting was the thought of a beast. Simon was the only character that could look past a physical beast and see that the beast was the darkness of man’s heart.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ralph's Savagery

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In an imaginary conversation, the Lord of the Flies tells Simon that he is the beast and that he is the reason for the savagery in the boy’s, “Only me. And I’m the Beast. You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?’ ‘You know...you’ll only meet me down there—so don’t try to escape!’ ‘Jack...Roger..Maurice...Robert...Bill...Piggy...Ralph” (143). The Lord of the Flies provides a clear indication that he is the savage beast within the boy’s and that he, meaning the other boy’s will kill Simon,”You know...you’ll only meet me down there—so don’t try to escape! ‘Jack and Roger and Maurice and Robert and Bill and Piggy and Ralph” (143). Simon will soon realize what the Lord of the Flies met when the boy’s actually kill him, “The beast (Simon) was on its knees...was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast...fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt onto the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore“ (152). The boy’s have become blinded by their own savagery and fear to notice that they are killing Simon. Due to their own savagery and fear they killed Simon. No one a part of civilization would be so scared of something that they are paranoid enough to…

    • 1117 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fear In Lord Of The Flies

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the midst of danger, one will make irrational decisions. On the island, the boys are faced with many types of fears. Once the boys hear that there is a “beastie” on the island, one of Jack’s first ideas is to hunt it down. When Ralph doesn’t agree that they should be out searching for the beast, conflicts arise among Jack and Ralph which result in the separation of group. Without Ralph and Piggy, Jack’s group eventually turn to savages and do as they please, not feeling guilty or caring for a thing that happens. The boys recite an incantation right before Simon stumbles upon the camp and is brutally murdered by the boys, thinking that Simon is the beast. “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (Golding 152). The death of Simon is a major turning point in the story because it signifies the boys’ major deterioration in morality and how less and less careless they’ve gotten since the crash. Another type of fear the boys are faced with is the fear of Jack. As the novel advances, Jack becomes more and more of a ruthless tyrant. He uses Roger to torture Samneric and by that action, he shows that he is powerful and whoever doesn’t listen to Jack will be punished…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Unlike McMurphy, Simon does not revel his isolation and instead chooses to isolate himself further by wandering into the forest wilderness and away from the rest of the group. Simon’s seizures and shyness lead to the other older boys ignoring him when he does try to talk at their meetings, even though Simon has the most insightful thoughts out of any of them. In addition to being the most insightful, Simon also experiences an altered perception of reality when he imagines “. . . Lord of the Flies was expanding like a balloon. . . blackness within, a blackness that spread” (Golding,143-144).When Simon walks out of the forest with the body of the dead parachutist, the boys, in a social gathering of their own, immediately kill him. By not joining the other boys in the feast, Simon highlights his social isolation. This eventually leads to his death. All of the rest of the young boys, including Ralph and Piggy take part in the feast. The only boy missing is Simon, further exemplifying to what extent his social isolation reached. In this fatal feast, which Simon does not partake in, the others brutally murder him, mistaking him for the beast. Simon’s social ostracization and therefore isolation from the other boys eventually leads to his savage murder proving that when Simon is not part of the norm, because of his frequent…

    • 1381 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays