Schizophrenia And Depression In William Golding's 'Lord Of The Flies'

There are many different things that can occur in the context of one’s own mind. Two of these things are mental illness, and depression. These affect many people and it can lead to both internal and external problems. Kathleen Smith’s “Schizophrenia and Depression” explores the different symptoms that come with these diseases. In William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies characters show symptoms and signs of schizophrenia and depression throughout the book. One of the most prevalent indicators of schizophrenia is hallucinations. In Smith’s article she notes three different “Positive symptoms [which] include psychotic behaviors and can cause people diagnosed with the disorder to lose touch with reality”(Smith 4). One of which was hallucinations, which is hearing or seeing things that are not really there. In Golding’s The Lord of the Flies Simon is by himself on the island when he sees a pig head on a stick and it says to him “What are you doing out here all alone? Aren’t you afraid of me? . . . There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.”(143). In this scene, Simon starts hallucinating and he thinks that ‘the beast’ or the pig head on a stick is actually talking to him.

Smith talks about negative signs and how they affect emotions and behaviors, one of these signs is “[a] lack of interest in things and social interactions”(6). This can be anywhere from not wanting to talk to people to actively removing yourself from others. In the Lord of the Flies Simon wanders off on his own into the jungle and when he comes back he states “I wanted—to go to a place...just a place I know. A place in the jungle”(Golding 85). Here Simon is showing how he wants to be by himself and he is actively trying to have an escape from the other boys on the