SIMON ESSAY

WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SIMON IN THE NOVEL

Simon is the only character in the novel that represents pure goodness. He is unlike all the other boys, because their
goodness comes from the taboo of the life in the civilized world; that if one commits a crime he will be punished.
However Simon is inherently good and this is why he is allegorically associated with Christ in the play.

Right from the beginning we can see that Simon is different from the rest of the boys. This is evident in his physical
frailty and his fainting spells. However we soon realise that he is different spiritually too. This is seen early in the
novel when he expresses his concern for the vulnerable littluns. Littluns follow him, and he picks choice fruit for
them from spots they cant reach, a saintly or Christ-like image. However up till Chapter 3 in the novel, Simons
presence is quiet and unnoticeable. It is in Chapter 3 that we see that Simon actually voices his thoughts and ideas
to the rest of the boys. In fact he says to Jack As if it wasnt a good island. Hence Simon seems to recognise that
the island is a good paradise. He understands that the the beastie, the beastie or the snake-thing is not real and
does not physically exist, instead he realises that these fears came from within. We also see that in this chapter
Simon is the only character that helps to Ralph make the shelters. This again highlights Simons association with
Christ he is willing to give help all the time and is morally profound.

What is also important to notice is that the language Golding uses to describe Simon reveals much about his
allegorical representation. In chapter 3 Simon is described as being all around, suggesting that at that point of the
play goodness is all about and that evils has not taken hold of the island. Later on in Chapter 4 Golding states that
Passions beat about Simon on the mountain-top, with awful wings. Thus Golding succeeds in associating Simon
with Christ through imagery.

Simon is often described in the novel as going to a private paradise. We see that this haven is an open space in the
jungle which was walled with dark aromatic bushes with gaudy butterflies fluttering about. Golding even
describes the sunlight as honey coloured and the place filled with the sounds of bright fantastic birds. It is a
beautiful place in the jungle and shows how stunning and delightful the isla nd is in appearance, smell and sound.
However as the novel progresses and the boys plight into savagery strengthens, just like the island Simons haven
is turned into a burning hell occupied by the Lord of the Flies. Hence Simons haven acts as a microcos m of the
island. Probably Simon retreats to this haven to seek peace in the hustle and bustle of the daily island life and also
because he wants to escape from the other boys who were losing their civility as their stay in the island
progressed. Golding also uses the haven to portray Simons affinity with Mother Nature. In fact Golding states that
the creepers and the bushes were so close that he left his sweat on them and they pulled together behind them.
This generates a picture of Mother Nature embracing Simon and holding onto him.

Simon is the first character to understand that the beast could be from within. However he becomes inarticulate in
his effort to express mankinds essential illness in the assembly and he fails to express his p oint clearly. He is
therefore taken lightly by the rest of the boys and is dismissed as batty. This relates to Jesus Christ when his
moral teachings were dismissed and treated with open hostility by many people. Simon also recognises that if
their stay in the island should remain peaceful Ralph should be the leader. This is seen when he says Go on being
chief to Ralph. Simon seems to recognise the qualities within people and the potential of people to be bad or
good. This quality is demonstrated later on in the novel when Simon was afraid as he looked from Ralph to Jack
after Jack and his tribe failed to keep the fire going. He understood that if Ralph and Jack fought each other then
democracy and civilised rule would no longer be in the island. Simons belief that the beast is within the children is
again emphasised when Golding states Simon thought of the beast, there rose before his inward sight the picture
of a human at once heroic and sick. From this we clearly understand that Simon hates ever ything evil and
unpleasant.

Simons Christian attitudes are shown when he gives Piggy a piece of his meat, when none of the other boys
offered Piggy any meat. Simon found greater satisfaction in helping others than enjoying things alone. His selfless
nature again corresponds with Christs attitudes.

His likeness with Christ is also evident in his prophetic nature. We see that Simon prophesises that Ralph will get
back from where he came from. This suggests that Simon is in touch with Ralphs feelings and understands that he
himself might not escape from the island. However Ralph dismisses him as batty. It seems that Simons sensitivity
and prophecies meet with he same reactions Christ met to which was being not understood and different. Also the
fact that Simon seems to recognise his end also strengthens his relation with Christ.

As mentioned before Simons selfless attitude is evident throughout the play. When Ralph says Someones got to
go across the island and tell Piggy well be back after dark Simon volunteers to do it. Many of the boys including
Bill could not believe that Ralph wanted someone to go alone through the forest at night. Even though Simon is
physically weak compared to rest of the boys he was the only boy willing to do the job. It seems that Simon
understood that the island was a paradise and the only danger that was present was from the boys themselves.

After Jack and Ralph confirm the existence of a beast, Simon expresses his views in the assembly. He suggests
that they should climb the mountain and that there was nothing else to do. This is highly significant, as Simon
understands that the only way to tackle fear is to face it. However, again the others fail to understand any reason
with this. Even Piggy who represents intelligence and rationality cannot find any pract icality with this idea. Golding
is probably indicating that knowledge and intelligence can only help man to a limit; if one has profound morality,
faith and courage he will be able to tackle any obstacle or fear in front of him.

As the boys descent into savagery reaches maturity we find that Simons perfect haven is turned into a sort of hell
enthroned by the Lord of the Flies which is the physical representation of the devil. The place that once offered
Simon peace now made him feel threatened. Simon suddenly goes into a sort of trance as he meets the Lord of
the Flies. The Lord of the Flies tries to tempt Simon into being just like the other kids who were scared,
potentially evil and vulnerable. The pigs head tells Simon to go back into the world of ........................ We soon
find that Simons haven is occupied by flies, spilled guts, blood and the smell of raw meat. Simons haven now
represents how the atmosphere in the whole island has changed. The kids have changed the paradise into a he ll.
Golding also states that the Lord of the Flies was grinning all the time. Eventually Simon faints. This event reminds
us of the temptation of Christ, where the Devil tried to tempt Christ into evil.

Simon then decides to overcome this fear by facing it. So he goes up to the mountain to see whether there is a
beast or not. When he finds that it was actually a dead parachutist Simon vomits until his stomach was empty.
This again physically shows Simons abhorrence towards evil and destruction which the parachutist symbolized. He
then frees the parachutist and understands that the beast was harmless and horrible. This is ironical as so on we
find out that the beast from within is actually the reason behind Simons death.

Golding paints a picture of recklessness, violence and great disruption leading up to the murder of Simon. Golding
brings in prophetic fallacy to emphasise the destruction that is to happen. In fact he describes the atmosphere as a
sulphurous explosion and that it was shattered by a blue-white scar. All such imagery conjures up the view of
burning hell. It is ironical that the boys kill Simon thinking that he was a beast, as Simon was least beast like in the
novel. But what is evident is that Jack is a sadistic ruler and he has taken away the individuality of the boys by
making them chant kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood. By doing so he induces a desire, thick, urgent,
and blind to kill. Simon becomes a victim of this gang mentality that arose from terror of the beast (Jack). The
proceedings after Simons death also relate to Jesus crucifixion. After Jesus dies there is a great storm. Similarly
clouds opened and let down the rain like a water-fall after Simon dies. Golding also later describes that the body
of Simon was lifted a fraction of an inch and was surrounded by a fringe of inquis itive brightness. Such
descriptions remind us of the elevation or resurrection of Christ and the halo that surrounded him. It is also
interesting to note how the parachutist leaves the island once Simon is dead; The Parachutist which represents the
physical destruction of evil, has done its job pure goodness represented by Simon has been eradicated from the
island and thus the physical representation of the beast is no longer needed.

Thus Simon is an integral character in the novel and is unique in that he is the only character who represents
complete and inherent goodness. We find that his little acts of kindness stand out from all the other characters
he shares his meat, he helps in building the shelter, he understands the fears of the children etc. Through the
death of Simon, Golding is probably indicating that evil stands as the major force in the world and that only a
minority of people are ready to stand up for what is right. He is also implying that being good is very hard and
those who do so are not appreciated or looked up to, just like Simon. Hence I feel that Goldings message through
the novel is pessimistic and the fact that this book still has modern implications 50 years after it was written again
emphasises the great potential of mankinds inherent illness.