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Simon As A Historical Figure In Lord Of The Flies

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Jesus Christ, a famous historical figure in Christianity, was considered to be God’s incarnation. The name Jesus Christ was given equal standing with the Father, God. Both were adored as creators. Jesus was depicted as everlasting, omnipresent, omniscient and almighty. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, Simon’s resemblance to Jesus Christ is undeniable, in the aspects of his characteristics, qualities, actions, and most importantly, his death. Simon embodies a selfless, insightful, wise and kind, but misunderstood character. Similarly to Jesus Christ, Simon is willing to put others' needs before his own, as well as help guide others towards the path of righteousness, but ends up dying as a consequence of discovering the truth. For that …show more content…

Golding describes Simon as a wise, mature and kind-hearted boy, much like how Jesus is known by everyone. Evidence of these characteristics can be seen during times like when he volunteered himself to explore the island, building the shelters, searching for the “beast” and so forth. During the boy’s first assembly, Ralph and Jack decided to explore the area to confirm whether or not they were on an island, Simon then stepped forward and offered his help, which unveils his helpful and considerate nature. Another instance of Simon’s helpful nature was during an assembly, everyone had to work together to help build the shelters. However, Simon was the only one who actually consistently worked with Ralph to build the shelters. Simon would also give up his own food for the other boys, like when he offered his food to Piggy after the first hunt. Simon is a selfless boy who cared for the littluns, “found for them the fruit they could not reach” (68), and cared for those who were unable to do things themselves. In the Bible, Jesus was well known to be loving towards children and caring about others. “And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled”. (Matthew 15:36-37) Hence, this has proven that Simon’s and Christ’s personalities are entirely identical. Both beings …show more content…

Simon goes to his “special” place on the island for solitude, spending time away from the other boys and away from everything. The Lord of the Flies ominously declared that “Simon will never be able to escape him, for he lies within all human beings”. He, the Lord of the Flies, also promised to have fun with Simon, which in turn caused Simon to be terrified, later on collapsing. With the help of the conversation Simon had with the Lord of the Flies, the readers are able to figure out the truth about the beast which the boys have been scared of this entire time. Many many years prior, Jesus Christ experienced a similar occurrence which Simon did. Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness in solitude, and during the 40 days, he encountered the devil. Satan offered him food, power and wealth. Despite how tempting these offers were, Jesus rejected it. Both Simon and Jesus had similar encounters during their time in the wilderness in solitude, they faced similar situations when they were spending their alone time. Golding purposely chose for Simon to encounter the same thing Christ did, in order to clearly establish the reader’s understanding that Simon is meant to represent a Christ

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Simon consistently expresses concern for the more helpless boys. This is shown when the Littluns follow him, and he picks choice fruit for them from spots they can't reach. In the book, Simon is characterized as a saint.

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Simon was always an outsider and their is lots of evidence that hints Simon is a Christ like figure. He helped those in need, and was killed by his own community. He even grew his hair out longer than the other boys. The author writes, “Here the littluns who had run after him caught up with him… Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands.”(pg.56).

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Simon was one of the only boys who actually showed moral decency on the island. While the rest of the older boys are mean to the littluns on the island, for instance they stomp on a sand castle the littluns have built. Roger even throws stones at one of the boys. Simon on the other hand actually helps the littluns. Like when he helped them pick their fruit off the trees, because they couldn't reach.

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When the bus crashed and went into the lake, Simon knew that this was his time, and all along it was God’s plan. He saved all the kids and sacrificed himself for a another child to be removed from the bus. Sadly he floated to the top of the lake and died later in the movie, in the hospital. Simon died in good spirits knowing this was God calling him up to the

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(Golding 74). Here we see some strong, emotional dialect to describe Jack's frustration, but Simon does not give way. Simon may seem stubborn, but his stubbornness is what makes him a leader although he has no followers Simon has great leadership qualities. Not eating the meat while the others are and Jack is getting angry, shows Simon guiding himself down his own path

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He would find the reasons why certain things would happen, and along the way after getting a fever. After hearing about so-called beast lurking along the island, Simon goes off into the woods and finds the ‘lord of the flies’. Which turns out to be a decomposing pig’s head on a stake. But,

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Later, this is confirmed when the Lord of the Flies speaks to him in the forest, telling him he “[shouldn’t] try to escape” (136) because he knows “perfectly well” (136) that he will not. As the island was divided over whether or not the beast was real, Simon believed it was not and wanted to help the others come together once again by proving that the beast they feared was only inside

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He has the caring and understanding qualities that Christ holds. And he seems to go away from the others every so often to his spot in the jungle just to be alone, like I imagine Jesus doing to pray. I feel like the pig’s head, Lord of the Flies, represents the devil in a sense, trying to tempt Simon and the other boys into fear, yet Simon seems

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Although Simon does show traits of a Christ figure, he does not fully live up to the archetype of a Christ figure. To be a Christ figure is someone must show the traits of the Biblical Christ. In the Bible, Christ fed people who could not feed themselves, and Simon fed the littluns ripe fruit, so that they could eat without getting sick. Simon’s role as a failed Christ figure is shown in his violent and ineffective “crucifixion” and “resurrection”, and his failure at getting them to listen and be reassured by what he had to say. One of the reasons Simon is a failed Christ figure, is that he just died, unlike Christ, who died a martyr to save humanity, and was resurrected from the dead.

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Simon becomes aware of his internal cruelty when it manifests itself in hallucinatory forms as “The Lord of the Flies”. Simon at first lacks the understanding and cannot comprehend what is happening until the hallucination says “‘Fancy thinking the beast was something you could hunt and kill!’ said the head. For a moment or two the forest and other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. ‘You knew didn’t you?

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1. Jesus often wished to “withdraw himself into the wilderness” in much of the Bible (Wilson 181). 2. Simon also is drawn into the wilderness to be alone. C. However, Simon’s death is also symbolic of Jesus’ sacrifice

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Similarly, Simon has an engrained goodness in him that shines through even in the toughest moments. He retrieved Piggy’s glasses after they were knocked off his face post a punch in the face by Jack, and, like Christ, he was good with kids, helping the younger littluns pick fruit, finding “for them fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands” (Golding 56). Simon was also very wise and insightful, and maybe even slightly prophetic. When he was dehydrated and hallucinating, he imagined the

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Simon was the first to realize there was no actual beast on the island, and that it was only a dead man with a parachute. He believed there was no such thing as a beast on the island, and he helped the littluns believe it too by saying: "What I mean is... Maybe it 's only us." (89). Simon was trying to suggest the idea that the beast was only an illusion to the boys’, as it had been created only within their imaginations.

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Gilman develops setting in “The Yellow Wallpaper” by describing the connection there is between the house and the narrator. The narrator tells us that the house is three miles from the village, that it has walls and gates that lock, and separate little houses. This gives us a sense that the house is isolated from society. Within the house the narrator is greeted to a “big, airy room, with windows that look all ways”. The windows in her room ,that look out everywhere, are “ barred” forbidding any sort of escape.

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As Simon comes to embody the Christ-figure role, the other character’s slow descent into savagery calls for him to grow into a strong figurehead of understanding and enlightenment. Leading up to this point, Simon stands out as the only character to put the needy before himself, as the others believe in survival of the fittest. He even provides food for the hungry, such as Piggy and the neglected littluns. In a scene similar to Jesus’ feeding of the multitude, Simon picks the best fruit for the “endless, outstretched hands” (56) until they grow satisfied. This key moment directly mirrors Jesus’ desire to provide for the needy who follow him, an act which further proves to the people that Jesus is the Messiah as he feeds thousands with just a bit of bread.

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