A view to a death - Chapter 9. A view to a death is the chapter in which Simon is killed.

Simon completes his purpose as he tries to tell the boys about the beast while being ravaged. “Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill.” At this point, Simon’s character succeeds as the readers see what he is ultimately capable of. He dies while trying to deliver the truth that will aid the boys and it is ironic that the boys’ aim is to hunt the beast because they only ever manage to distance themselves from success. The readers can only appreciate Simon in awe after his tragic death as nature is the only to embrace him deservingly. “The water rose further and dressed Simon’s coarse hair with brightness.” He was always mocked during his lifetime, but his true values are revealed as the water strives to caress his hair, and revive his character to allow the readers to visualise his actual being. Golding suggests that the world is full of falsehood, hatred, and evil; however if one strives, they will be presented with their eternal gift. This gives readers a fresh perspective and ignites hope which helps them to overcome hardships and excel their character.

Golding further unveils the boys’ characters. “Nothing prospered but the flies who blackened their lord...” The boys are ultimately the flies, and they please the one who rules over them; their inherent evil or their beast. Golding foreshadows the killing of Simon through this, because evil endeavours to become an uninviting black dwelling in shadows, and the eradication of light or purity thus satisfies and empowers their beast. This is indeed confirmed as the beast finally dominates. “There was a throb and stamp of a single organism.”, the boys’ tribal dance transforms into a treacherous ritual as all their evil is unleashed simultaneously; forming a deathly entity. Golding would observe this frequently during his teaching period, as young boys would please their inherent evil by mistreating others. To Golding, this was not a minor issue and he has reconstructed those boys as characters for readers to shield themselves from this and be aware of others.

Golding described the mob murder scene as, “There were no words, and no movements, but the tearing of teeth and claws.” Here savagery is linked with a lack of communication. Verbal communication is one of the greatest inventions among humans, and that which greatly separates humanity from other lower life forms. Furthermore, Golding uses the phrase, “teeth and claws”, which represents primitive features of using physical attributes rather than weapons. The phrase also links to Samneric’s previous description of the beast as having teeth and claws, which confirms that the boys are the beast themselves.