What Is The Beast In Lord Of The Flies

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.
In the beginning of the novel, the boys band together as a group. Suddenly a boy decides to go out on his own to learn about the island. While exploring, the boy with the mulberry birthmark sees something that is not known to the big kids. He then comes down to tell the others. In the assembly the boy tells Piggy to tell the others “it was a beastie” but, they do not believe him(35). This is when the boys first create the idea that there is a beast. In the next meeting
When he arrives, he discovers that it is indeed a dead parachute guy. Rushing back down the mountain to tell the others, Simon loses his footing and begins to crawl. The other boys see this mysterious object crawling out of the forest. Out of fear, the boys think that the object is the beast and start to beat it. Things get out of hand and, the “beast was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face”(152). The boys did not know that the beast was Siamon until halfway through the song. Even Though the boys knew that it was Simon, they kept hurting him out of fear of the knowledge that he was telling them. The next day Ralph and Piggy talk about what happened and all Ralph could say was “Simon” (155). This was the moment that the boys realized what they had done to the only person that knew all about the