Lord Of The Flies Simon's Death

Not many authors dare to write something in a novel that they disagree with. However, when interviewed by Jack Biles, William Golding, the author of the chilling novel Lord of the Flies, states that at the end of the novel, Ralph is weeping for Piggy “and he should be weeping for Simon.” Golding means that the loss of absolute good impacts the island much more than the loss of civilization and order. This is plausible because Simon represents goodness, so his death is a loss of all goodness and morals. His murder leads to the decline of other aspects of civilization since goodness creates the morals and sets the foundations for an ordered civilization. As a symbol, Simon embodies all of the “goodness” on the island through his kindness,

The cold irony of Simon trying to release the evil and then merging with the evil itself shows how the boys are losing the will to tell the difference between good and evil. Just before Simon walks into his impending doom, he finds the real identity of the beast — the corpse of a pilot. In his rush to resolve the other boys’ fears, he overlooks the fact that they are performing a dangerous ritual. The boys, in their crazed frenzy, mistake him for the beast, and “leapt onto the beast [Simon], screamed, struck, bit, tore” (Golding 153). Another Christ allusion can be picked up from here, as Jesus’s death is similar to this, with him rushing to convey an important message, and the populace failing to lend him their ears. Simon, the epitome of virtue on the island, is killed, as he is mistaken for the very evil he attempts to unveil. As Simon moves out to sea, his heavenly figure is taken with him. Little creatures surround his corpse and dress “Simon’s coarse hair with brightness” (Golding 154), making a halo shape around his head. This is yet another suggestion of the Son of Man and heavenly figures. Simon drifts away from the island, taking with him all goodness, kindness, and empathy, as symbolized by the halo. What takes his place is the savagery that Jack embodies. After Simon’s departure, Jack twists reality and fantasy together

Now that killing other boys has been justified by Simon’s death, Jack’s tribe does not hesitate to kill Piggy and hunt Ralph. While Ralph and his little group of followers are trying to negotiate, Roger casually sends a boulder flying straight towards Piggy and Ralph. While Ralph dives out of the way, the rock hits Piggy with “a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 181). Not more than a minute later, Jack, “with full intention…[hurls] his spear at Ralph” (Golding 181). As soon as Simon is gone, Piggy and the conch disappear and Ralph, who symbolizes democracy, becomes the next target. Piggy represents civilization and society, and the conch represents law and order. The sudden loss of goodness brings about the end of what has been a gradual decay of logic, which turns its decline into a rapid and brutal one. Although Piggy’s demise represents the end of logic, the loss of logic is ultimately brought about by the death of Simon. Before Simon’s murder, there is a chance that logic and order could prevail, as seen by Ralph’s actions to keep order in his own group. With Ralph’s support, Piggy suggests that they “‘build it [the fire] just here between the bathing pool and the platform’” (Golding 129). This shows that rational thinking and order still live before Simon’s fall, however small. Everything seems to be