What is the Function of Simon in the Novel Lord of the Flies.
What is the Function of Simon in the Novel? In the novel 'Lord of the Flies' William Golding, the author, does not go into great detail in describing every boy who is stranded on the island. He only chooses a selected few. He uses them to portray a theme. Simon is probably the most difficult boy on the island to understand, as he acts very differently to the other boys. Simon rarely speaks, though when he does speak it is very meaningful. Golding makes Simon stand out from the rest of the boys from when he faints on the beach. " Bill, Robert, Harold, Henry; the choir boy who had fainted sat up against a palm trunk, smiled pallidly at Ralph and said that his name was Simon. " When Golding is giving us the choirboys' names he expands on Simon, reminding us of his faint and emphasizing it. Simon often goes into the jungle on his own to observe his surroundings and to be in peace and on his own, which is different from the other boys as they all usually stay together. When the boys are discussing the issue of a beast, in chapter five, the boys are angry with Simon for going off into the jungle in the middle of the night. At this stage in the most of the boys are weary of the beast, and for Simon to go off on his own into the jungle at night seems very foolish. Though this is the way Simon is. He seems to prefer being on his own without the company of others. This way he has a
Lord of the Flies.
Megan Davies Lord of the Flies Simon says, "maybe there is a beast" Ralph says, "maybe there isn't a beast" Jack says, " we'll make sure when we go hunting" How Does William Golding use the "beast" in the novel as a whole? The beast symbolizes the evil residing within everyone, the dark side of human nature. It is internal, inside the soul and mind of every boy. The beast evolves gradually throughout the novel, into The Lord of the flies, physically represented by the head of the slaughter sow. The boys have different ideas what the beast is, and there are various physical representations for it. All the boys apart from Simon see the beast as a real object on the island. The idea of a beast is brought up in chapter 5, at the point when the boys begin discussing their fear, from here on the boys become preoccupied with this idea or a beast which they believe to be some kind of animal. To begin with Jack refuses to believe in a beast, he immediately insists that he has explored everywhere. " There aren't any beasts to be afraid of on this island." Piggy's initial reaction is to disbelieve in the beast, because it can not exist in a world with science. However as the novel continues eventually all but Simon, become frightened by the beast. He is the only boy who realizes there is no beast. "It's only us". He believes that it is just a force of savagery or evil inside them,
Lord of the Flies
"Lord of the Flies is just a children's adventure story." Argue against this statement. It may look as if Lord of the Flies is just a children's adventure story. However, there is also a truth concealed deep inside the novel where Golding uses symbolism effectively so that readers are able to become conscious of certain issues. The issues it concerns are: society, human nature, good vs. evil, ecological balance and cooperation. Lord of the Flies reveals a multifaceted story beneath an effortless storyline. In the novel, Golding takes the time to explicate to readers that man and women are who they are because of their childhood, that if they were not brought up well they will grow to be uncivilized. Take this for example Piggy continuously talks about his auntie saying, 'my auntie-'this and 'my auntie-'that, remembering everything that his auntie told him, what was right and what was wrong and understands that,' grown-ups know things.' This shows that without care and guidance that children receive from parents, guardians, or anyone at all, children will regress back to the roots of savagery of their fellow ancestors. Nonetheless, if you look in-depth into the story there is more than meets the eye. Thus claiming that Lord of the Flies is just a children's adventure story is incorrect, the story exposes a more intricate plot. At the beginning, the boys were ordered and
Simon in the Lord of the Flies
Simon is a member of the choir, but is the only one who seems weak. Simon is introduced in the novel when he faints; this is a show of his weakness. He is a lot like piggy, but not as bullied. Ralph thinks he is 'queer' and 'funny' because he is realistic. Simon is the first boy to notice the candle bud flowers when they are out walking. Simon always sees the spiritual side of the island. The only place you see candles nowadays is in churches. Jack slashes at the candle buds with his knife keeping up his reputation as the anarchist. The creepers on the island are long vines. The small children see these creepers as "beasties". When the little child comes forward during a meeting, he describes a 'snake-thing', then changes his mind to a 'beastie'. The boy makes out the 'beastie to be evil'. The beastie the boy has seen is not a physical monster it is a monster inside the boy's head. The most terrifying thing is darkness and the unknown. The unknown makes the human imagination go wild and ask all the questions it can, "What's out there?" "Is it a huge big snake" "Is it coming to get me in the night?" The snake-like thing the 'little-un' describes is symbolic of the serpent in the story of Adam and Eve. In Genesis, in the Bible, the serpent is portrayed as the devil and acts against god's wishes; it offers Eve the fruit from the tree of knowledge, unknowing of the
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Files: More than just an adventure story? The tale of 'Lord of the flies' is a riveting adventure story. It is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, which grips the reader. However, even though this book is based on English boys stranded on an island and what they do on the island, it is more than just an adventure story. There is a lot of evidence in the book to prove this, through all the symbolism, characters and the variation of themes running through the book. The novel 'Lord of the Flies' can be read on many different levels. A small child could read this book and think it is merely about boys who get stuck on an island, while an older more educated person could understand this book on a deeper more complex level. Almost everything in the book is a symbol including the island. It symbolizes the earth and all the boys on the island represent the population. In this novel you can see how the island starts out as a 'good, fun' island and slowly deteriorates into a place with barbaric and savage like behavior. The book symbolizes what would happen to the world if there was to be nuclear war. This novel has many distinctive characteristics about it that are not usually found in an adventure story. The boys being stuck on an island and exploring it makes the novel appear to be an adventure story on some levels. However, I think it is ironic in the way that
Lord of the Flies
LORD OF THE FLIES QUOTES AND NOTES Lord of the Flies: This is the name given to the inner beast, to which only Simon ever actually speaks. As Simon's waits for the beast's arrival near the bloody sow's head on the stake (buzzing with flies), The Lord of the Flies speaks to him, warning him not to get in its way or else he shall be killed by the boys. The Lord of the Flies name comes from the sow's head and the countless flies buzzing about it, which soon move from the sow's head to swarm around the head of Simon as the Lord of the Flies tells him, "I'm a part of you." In biblical texts, the Lord of the Flies is the title of Beelzebub (a direct translation of his name), a demon of Hell and cohort of Satan. Ralph: His body described as 'golden', it is Ralph who establishes a mock-democratic government for the group in order for them to be rescued, and to maintain peace and order. But due to the opposition of Jack, Ralph's chief goals of maintaining a signal fire to alert passing ships of their presence, building the shelters and holding assemblies end up in the dust as nearly all of the boys, over time, join Jack's 'tribe', whose chief focus is to hunt, kill and eat the wild pigs of the island. Ralph is the one boy at the close of the novel who is not a hunter. Having been pursued ruthlessly by Jack and his tribe, Ralph begins weeping on the beach before his grown-up
Lord of the flies
Lord of the flies Character List: Ralph: The protagonist of the story, Ralph is one of the oldest boys on the island and becomes the boys' leader. Golding describes Ralph as tall for his age and handsome, and he seems to preside over the other boys by a natural sense of authority. Although he lacks Piggy's overt intellect, Ralph is calm and rational, with sound judgment and a strong moral sensibility. He is susceptible to the same instinctual influences that affect the other boys, as demonstrated as Ralph's role in Simon's death, but Ralph remains the one character who remains civilized through the entire novel. With his attention to justice and equality, Ralph represents the liberal democratic tradition as chief. Piggy: Although pudgy, brusque and averse to physical labour because he suffers from asthma, Piggy, a nickname that he dislikes intensely, is the intellectual on the island. Piggy is an outsider among the other boys, accepted only grudgingly because his glasses are the key to starting fires. However, his clear thinking and ideas soon endear him to Ralph, who comes to admire and respect him for his clear focus on the main objective of securing their rescue from the island. Piggy has a clear concern for remaining civilized and consistently reprimands the other boys for behaving as savages. Roger murders Piggy by dropping a rock on him. Jack Merridew: The leader
Lord of the flies. How does Golding make Simon such a significant figure in the novel?
How does Golding make Simon such a significant figure in the novel? The Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, details the story of a group of schoolboys stranded on a deserted tropical island and their struggle between the choice of savagery or civilization. In many novels throughout history, characters often take on characteristics of well known religious, political, or historical figures. In Golding's novel, the character Simon actions and words make him a very important and significant character in the novel. There are many biblical parallels in The Lord of the Flies that result in Simon being compared to Jesus Christ. He commits many selfless acts, just as Jesus Christ did. Simon chooses to stay and help Ralph build huts rather than horse play with the other inhabitants. Ralph compliments Simon by saying "Simon. He Helps. All the rest rushed off. He's done as much as I have" this also showing how Simon is a supportive figure in the novel, especially to Ralph. We see this later in the novel when Ralph is left alone with only Simon and Piggy by his side. Golding also presents Simon to be very generous; as he comes to the aid of the hungry littluns, Simon always appears to help in times of crisis. Piggy's glasses have been knocked off by an angry Jack and Simon appears without warning to pick them up and hand them back to Piggy, expecting nothing in return. His
Lord of the Flies.
Lord of the Flies . INTRODUCTION In the year 2001, our drama group Namasté played Aipotu Paradise Lost. This play was about the story of the Lord of the flies and I have found it really interesting. So I have decided to read again the book (I had read it for the play) and to do the book report about it. The book, I read last term was Animal Farm. 2. SUMMARY Some boys crashed down with their plane on an island. A war is going on in the outside world. The boys are Ralph, who becomes the leader, Piggy, Jack and his choir, Simon, the twins Sam and Eric and many little boys (six to seven years). Rules are set down. Jack wants to go hunting to have meet to eat. Some time later Ralph calls a new assembly and he says that they are completely alone on the island without adults. Then a little tells that he has seen a beast on the island, but the others only think that there is no such thing. Afterwards they make a signal fire to be rescued. They grab Piggy's specs and focus the sunlight to ignite their fire. Jack and hi choir are trying to hunt while Simon, Piggy and Ralph are building shelters. Ralph complain that nobody helps them especially Jack. They have an argue. During a swim Ralph sees a ship. He hopes that it will see their signal fire, but it has been out. He is very angry, because Jack has had the charge to look after it. But he has hunted a pig and he has caught
lord of the flies
ENGLISH COURSEWORK - LORD OF THE FLIES ESSAY How does William Golding show evil at work in the lord of the flies? William Golding was born in Cornwall in 1911. As he became older his love for literature grew larger, but his father wanted him to become a doctor and as result he went to Oxford University to study science. Later on he decided to drop out of science because he wanted to start learning more about literature. When William Golding graduated from University he decided to start teaching. Unfortunately by that time Europe was on the brink of war. William Golding decided to sign up for the war to do his military service. By reading The Lord of the Flies it can be seen that William Golding was clearly influenced by his experiences during the war, which has in turn influenced this book. The images and acts of evil he envisioned during the war have been used to characterise his book (Lord of the flies). One of the ways William Golding shows evil at work is, by using children as the main characters. William Golding magnifies the acts of evil by using children to carry out t acts of evil. This is because people don't expect children to carry out these acts of evil because in reality people see children as being innocent, because children carry out such acts; William Golding shows that anyone and everyone who has the capability to do so can carry out evil. William
