What is the importance of Simon in 'Lord of the Flies'

What is the importance of Simon in Lord of the Flies?

Write about:
- The importance of the part Simon plays in the plot
- How Simon is different from the other boy’s
- What Simon might represent
- The ways the writer uses Simon to convey his ideas.

‘Then one of the boys flopped on his face in the sand and the line broke up.’

Even at this point, the very first mention of Simon in The Lord of the Flies, Simon is marked out as something different. Throughout the book, he is the outsider. Inhabiting the ‘dubious region’ between biguns and littluns – he is singled out for his faints, as Jack says, ‘In Gib.; and Addis; and at matins over the precentor,’ and, like Piggy, is often the subject of group ridicule. For example, when on page 92 he admits to being out at night, his mumbled excuses are put down with Jack’s dismissive ‘he was taken short’ – and he is crushed by ‘the derisive laughter that rose.’ He also seeks solitude, not companionship – but somehow is never afraid, unlike the other boys – who are all afraid at one time or another.

In due course, as the story progresses, he seems to become even more of a social recluse – even Ralph, who Simon generally seems to support, confides to Jack that ‘He’s queer. He’s funny.’ And this is without the one important, most drastic difference between Simon and the others – which only the reader finds out about – Simon’s epilepsy.

All in all, to the other boys – and it is possible even to readers who do not comprehend Golding’s possible deeper meanings in the novel – Simon is seen as ‘batty’, - as a strange boy who never fits in, but is always helpful – and is then killed in unfortunate circumstances as he is somehow mistaken for the beast. However, it seems clear to me that he means so much more than this.

In my opinion, Simon is one of the most important characters in the novel. Even if he does not, perhaps, contribute particularly often ...

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In my opinion, Simon is one of the most important characters in the novel. Even if he does not, perhaps, contribute particularly often or in the way that Ralph or Jack do to the basic plot on its first level, his importance is due to what he represents – how he relates as a character on the microcosm of the island, to the rest of humanity.

The most common interpretation of the character of Simon seems to me to be as an embodiment of the intrinsic good of humanity. The facet of us that will do good just because we believe in the inherent value and rightness of classically ‘good’ deeds, not for self-gain, or out of shame, or for a reward. This balances out that which I believe Roger represents - the ability to cause pain, suffering and destruction simply for the sadistic enjoyment of doing so, with no other kind of justification.

Moreover, when looked at from a religious point of view, this embodiment of two very basic human fascinations might be interpreted as Simon representing God, or Christ – and Roger, not Jack, representing the Devil. In my opinion, this may well have been what Golding was aiming at when he wrote The Lord of the Flies. Simon certainly has many christlike qualities – Roger we hear less of, though what we do hear is chilling: ‘“You don’t know Roger. He’s a terror.”’

Still, whether he is seen as the flip side of Roger or not – there are strong links between Simon and God, or Jesus. He is often a solitary figure – going off on his own into the jungle, the reason for which we later learn is his epilepsy. Moreover, there he seems to enjoy nature and find it beautiful (‘“Like candles. Candle bushes. Candle buds”’) and be at one with it; he is very peaceful, and does not damage the environment he is in: For example, the way he ‘dropped the screen of leaves back into place’ when coming out of the mat of creepers that he goes to.

In addition, he is helpful (‘Simon. He helps.’) He is caring and patient toward the littluns - for example on page 57 he ‘found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless outstretched hands.’ (Interestingly, I find this scene also contains resonances of the Feeding of the Five Thousand – yet another link between Simon and Jesus.) And he is comforting. On page 121, Ralph seems to lose hope of ever being rescued, as he says, ‘It’s so big. I mean-’

Simon replies to this, ‘All the same. You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway.’ And Ralph finds that ‘some of the strain had gone from [his] body.’ He has perhaps been ‘healed’ or at least relaxed by Simon’s presence. Moreover, after this, Simon’s insistence that ‘[He] just thinks [Ralph will] get back alright’ reads oddly. It is almost as if he knows what is going to happen, and indeed what he foretells does come true. If this is read with knowledge of Simon’s death it becomes even more of a revelation – why would he say ‘you,’ not ‘we,’ unless he knew that he himself would not survive.

A final factor concerning Simon’s importance in the novel is his relationship with the ‘beast.’ He is the one boy who really understands what the beast is – he does not try to pretend it is a physical thing, he accepts the reality of the situation. He tries to tell the others this: ‘maybe it’s only us?’ However, the first time, they do not believe him – dismissing his ideas because they scare them, I don’t believe any of the boys actually see themselves as evil. Then, on page 157 – Simon’s very vivid, personal encounter with the Beast takes place. The Beast basically tries to persuade him into forgetting what he knows – to not attempt to enlighten the other boys, and just ‘have fun.’ In my opinion, this experience could well be related to the story of the 40 days and 40 nights Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by the devil. Simon’s hallucination would almost certainly have been tempting, but still – after he recovers his first action is to venture up the mountain to see what was there and then down to tell the other boys that there is no beast. Ironically, he is mistaken for the beast and killed by the people he is trying to save - once again, much like Jesus.

I believe Golding uses the character of Simon in his novel to get across his idea that, as there is innate human savagery, there is also innate human goodness. However, the fact the Simon was eventually overcome and killed by the Beast’s side of the boys nature – the book rather depressingly hints at the scarcity of goodness in the face of evil, and how in the end – it may be overcome.

Written entirely from notes in class and my own thoughts.

Peer Reviews

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

sydneyhopcroft

26th of Feb 2012

Quality of writing

The Quality of Written Communication is very high and this answer reads extremely well. There is evidence of a great adeptness in using the English language to successfully construct an effective analysis (range of sentences/sentence starters; punctuation; excellent grammatical adherence) meaning this answer is both well-informed and well-presented.

Level of analysis

The Level of Analysis is outstanding. This candidate nails Simon's character with such precision that it finally feels like we can properly understand him as a person as well as a thematic element in a novel. There is an excellently-expressed understanding of the entire novel, and the candidate does well to satisfy the examiner's desire to see candidates who thoroughly understand the entirety of the novel's they analyse inside and out. In between spots of analysis, there is a well-informed contextual appreciation of both the book, the author, and the themes explored in the book. Simply recognising the book is an allegory novel provides contextual marks as the candidate is showing they realise the book is deliberately symbolic, and thus delves deeper than most other candidates into exploring the function and purpose of Simon. Most impressive about this essay, is the understanding of religious references Golding makes about Simon's character. The recognition that when Simon reaches for unattainable fruit is symbolic of 'The Feeding of the Five Thousand' and how his encounter with The Lord of the Flies is representative of Jesus' temptation in the desert after 40 days of fasting (not to mention that the candidate realises "Lord of the Flies" is a literal translation from the Latin "Beelzebub"; this wins context and understanding marks), are all signs of someone who's analytical prowess is of a far higher ability than GCSE, meaning the only possible conclusion is to award top marks. I, and some other examiners, might argue that it is indeed Jack that is the living representation of all that is evil. He might not be described in such an eloquent form as Roger, but he nonetheless the representation of humanity once all of society's virtues and rights have been stripped away - Roger on the other hand at least showed signs of "aiming to miss the little'uns" when he first started throwing rocks at them, showing there is a very small, insignificant even, binding by society's expectation. However, the candidate is right on the grounds that Roger, like Jack, drops this social awareness later in the novel and submits himself to his innate animalistic desires and bloodthirsty survival instincts.

Response to question

This candidate's response is an immensely strong analysis of the character of Simon in 'William Golding's allegorical novel 'Lord of the Flies'. After almost every point, the candidate provides an appropriate piece of evidence from the source text with an explanation that suggests there is a profound understanding of the allegory Golding creates with this novel and particularly with Simon's character. A consistent focus upon the importance of the character of Simon is shown through an analysis of character, his beliefs, his interactions with other characters and also his symbolic contribution to Golding's allegory.

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