How Does Golding Present Simon in Lord of the Flies-What Is His Role?
How Does Golding Present Simon In the Novel-what is his role?
William Goldings "Lord of the flies", portrays a group of boys who find themselves stranded on a desert island in a deep battle between civilisation and primitive savagery. One of the boys portrayed, Simon, a boy who is kind and physically fragile expresses a deeper knowledge of the problems on the island that the other boys are unaware of. There are many differing viewpoints on his role in the novel. One of these is that he is a biblical parallel; Simon portrays a saintly figure, and shows many of the qualities demonstrated by Jesus Christ. He demonstrates a strong connection with nature throughout, and also is shown to be a character of strong goodwill and kindness.
One of the reasons Simon is often thought of as a biblical parallel to Jesus Christ is because of his encounter with "The beast", which shows a strong resemblance to Jesus' 40 days in the desert, in which he encountered the Devil and was tempted by him to leave his mission. In "Lord of the Flies", Simon meets the beast during an epileptic fit. His mind, or the Beast tells him "We are going to have fun on this island...so don't try it on...". Simon is being told that he must not tell the others what he knows, that they must have fun and Simon must not interfere, but he must just "run off and play". The name "Lord of the Flies" is a translation of a word thought to mean a powerful demon, or the devil himself. This shows that Simon may have represented Jesus in the novel. Simon's death also shows resemblance to that of Jesus, which shows us that Simon may be Christ's representation in the novel. 'Simon was crying out something of a dead man on a hill. ' This imagery is displayed just before Simon is mercilessly slaughtered by the other boys, a direct link to the image of Jesus' crucifixion on the top of a hill. After Christ was killed, it was said that 'There was darkness over all the land...and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.'
William Goldings "Lord of the flies", portrays a group of boys who find themselves stranded on a desert island in a deep battle between civilisation and primitive savagery. One of the boys portrayed, Simon, a boy who is kind and physically fragile expresses a deeper knowledge of the problems on the island that the other boys are unaware of. There are many differing viewpoints on his role in the novel. One of these is that he is a biblical parallel; Simon portrays a saintly figure, and shows many of the qualities demonstrated by Jesus Christ. He demonstrates a strong connection with nature throughout, and also is shown to be a character of strong goodwill and kindness.
One of the reasons Simon is often thought of as a biblical parallel to Jesus Christ is because of his encounter with "The beast", which shows a strong resemblance to Jesus' 40 days in the desert, in which he encountered the Devil and was tempted by him to leave his mission. In "Lord of the Flies", Simon meets the beast during an epileptic fit. His mind, or the Beast tells him "We are going to have fun on this island...so don't try it on...". Simon is being told that he must not tell the others what he knows, that they must have fun and Simon must not interfere, but he must just "run off and play". The name "Lord of the Flies" is a translation of a word thought to mean a powerful demon, or the devil himself. This shows that Simon may have represented Jesus in the novel. Simon's death also shows resemblance to that of Jesus, which shows us that Simon may be Christ's representation in the novel. 'Simon was crying out something of a dead man on a hill. ' This imagery is displayed just before Simon is mercilessly slaughtered by the other boys, a direct link to the image of Jesus' crucifixion on the top of a hill. After Christ was killed, it was said that 'There was darkness over all the land...and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.'