In my opinion, Simon is the hero of the novel; he seems an unlikely hero at first. He has fits and is regarded as ‘batty’ ‘queer’ and ‘funny’ by the other members of the choir. But, like Jack and Ralph, Simon shows physical courage. He is chosen to go on the first exploration of the island and he is the only boy brave enough to climb the mountain to discover the dead airman. He is genuinely kind to the little'uns and helpful on projects like building the huts. When Simon has his conversation with the Lord of the Flies he understands what is happening on the island and dies trying to bring a message of hope to the boys. Unfortunately, his message doesn't get through. Simon must therefore be considered the closest thing the novel has to a hero. He wins the respect of the reader but it is difficult to see in him some other qualities we normally expect of a hero.
The main reason I think Simon is misunderstood is because the others aren’t familiar with his philosophical thoughts and see him as a threat, because they are naïve and don’t understand him, so the solution is to get rid of him. The first impression of Simon the readers get is in the first chapter, when he faints, even then the other boys don’t seem to like him, making remarks like “He’s always throwing a faint.”
When Simon, Jack and Ralph are exploring the island, Ralph concentrates of places they could camp, Jack focuses on places where they could find food, but Simon absorbs his surroundings, and comments on some ‘candle buds’ he finds, Ralph exclaims that they just look like candles, you couldn’t actually light them and Jack says that they aren’t edible so they both dismiss them but Simon wasn’t implying that they could be eaten or lit, he was just acknowledging the scenery.
In chapter three, Simon is helping build the shelters, he has already realised the beast doesn’t exist, he reminds Jack and Ralph that they originally thought the beast was a snake, and it has become apparent that the beast is clearly not a snake. When Simon states that the beast is not real, Jack and Ralph flinch, as they obviously believe the beast exists. “As if… the beastie, the beastie or the snake thing, was real, remember?” Later on in the chapter, Ralph is complaining about the little’uns not helping with the chapters, but says that Simon has worked extensively. “Simon. He helps…he’s done as much as I have” This suggests that although Simon looks a bit weedy he does have physical strength.
To conclude I believe Simon is misunderstood because the other boys are too naïve to appreciate his thinking, and he was put in the novel ass a hero in disguise that the other boys just see as an outcast and don’t realise that he understands the beast and the island but they just can’t see it.
