Lord of the Flies Character Analysis
Nice Guys Finish Last
Throughout history, the “good guy” is often abused by surrounding beings. This often occurs in everyday life and has been demonstrated in countless stories. This was also shown in the Bible with Jesus Christ. One example of this occurrence can be found in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Golding uses the character Simon as a Christ figure and symbol of an ethical being to represent how people naturally begin to turn on their morals over time, from accepting the weak to murdering them. In the beginning of the novel, although Simon is shown as a weak character, he and Jack choose him to survey the island with them. Simon is introduced when he faints as the choir boys arrive at the platform. Golding writes, “Then one of the boys flopped on his face in the sand and the line broke up. They heaved the fallen boy to the platform and let him lie,” (Golding, 15). Clearly a person who faints because he cannot handle the heat would not be an ideal companion while trekking around an island all day. Yet, when Jack was making his decision, Golding inserted, “He looked round the circle of eager faces. There was no shortage of boys to choose from,” (Golding, 18). Although there were many other options, Golding used this as a tool to represent how when there was order, people still clung to the Christ figure and their principles.
Rahrig 2 The first time the boys had a conflict with Simon was also after the first time the boys single out Piggy. They had been trying to start a fire to signal for rescue, but they could only produce a smokeless flame. Piggy expressed that he did not believe they would be able to keep a fire going, even if they tried. Jack snapped back, snarling that Piggy had not tried. Simon was the only one to defend Piggy. “’We used his specs,’ said Simon, smearing a black cheek with his forearm. ‘He helped that way.’” (Golding, 37). Jack refused to accept this, and ignored Simon’s remark. After overlooking Simon’s
Throughout history, the “good guy” is often abused by surrounding beings. This often occurs in everyday life and has been demonstrated in countless stories. This was also shown in the Bible with Jesus Christ. One example of this occurrence can be found in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. Golding uses the character Simon as a Christ figure and symbol of an ethical being to represent how people naturally begin to turn on their morals over time, from accepting the weak to murdering them. In the beginning of the novel, although Simon is shown as a weak character, he and Jack choose him to survey the island with them. Simon is introduced when he faints as the choir boys arrive at the platform. Golding writes, “Then one of the boys flopped on his face in the sand and the line broke up. They heaved the fallen boy to the platform and let him lie,” (Golding, 15). Clearly a person who faints because he cannot handle the heat would not be an ideal companion while trekking around an island all day. Yet, when Jack was making his decision, Golding inserted, “He looked round the circle of eager faces. There was no shortage of boys to choose from,” (Golding, 18). Although there were many other options, Golding used this as a tool to represent how when there was order, people still clung to the Christ figure and their principles.
Rahrig 2 The first time the boys had a conflict with Simon was also after the first time the boys single out Piggy. They had been trying to start a fire to signal for rescue, but they could only produce a smokeless flame. Piggy expressed that he did not believe they would be able to keep a fire going, even if they tried. Jack snapped back, snarling that Piggy had not tried. Simon was the only one to defend Piggy. “’We used his specs,’ said Simon, smearing a black cheek with his forearm. ‘He helped that way.’” (Golding, 37). Jack refused to accept this, and ignored Simon’s remark. After overlooking Simon’s
Cited: Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Penguin Books, 1954. N. pag. Print.