More handpicked essays just for you.
Use of symbolism in Lord of the flies
Symbolism in the lord of the flies essay
Symbolism in the lord of the flies essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Throughout everyone’s life, there will be a point where they will find themselves as the center of blame for a situation, even though it may not necessarily be said person’s fault. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, the reader will see many different characters on the island, with many different opinions, which can easily lead to clashes between them. The issue with this is, whenever a altercation breaks out amongst the boys, they immediately try to find a “scapegoat” to throw all of the blame on. Throughout the story, Simon quickly becomes the scapegoat; being an outcast in this group of boys, it is very easy for the others to team up on Simon. Simon’s death can be used to provide an interesting example of how people are naturally evil. By Golding utilizing characterization, bible references, and symbolism, he is able to demonstrate this to the reader. …show more content…
Simon is very intelligent, and perhaps he is even more mature than the rest of the boys, but because of this, he gets blamed for everything, and the boys even end up killing him eventually. During one meeting, where the boys are discussing the “beast” on the island, Simon voices a controversial opinion, “...maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Simon could possibly be giving the boys a warning, saying that they are the true beasts. The boys immediately deny and ridicule Simon, which turns out to be incredibly ironic, because they later go on to literally tear him apart a few chapters later. But from the point that Simon makes that comment, all of the blame almost immediately shifts to
In conclusion, Golding presents Simon as a boy who is prophet-like, mentally powerful and at one with nature. These traits added together give us a goodhearted boy who knows his right from wrong and tries to stick to it as much as possible. The role of Simon in Lord of the Flies is to represent the good traits of the human, which the other boys begin to loose as the book unveils. Overall, Golding tries to show us that not everyone is evil and that there is good in every situation. However by the death of Simon, Golding could be trying to warn the reader that evil overpowers good in this society.
Imagine a life that is detached from civilization and free from any socially imposed morals. In the story Lord of the Flies by William Golding, a group of young boys is faced with this situation, and there is a perpetual conflict between the boys who are trying to maintain order and those whose violent instincts take over. Despite Ralph’s efforts to maintain order on the island and get the boys rescued, the boys, including Ralph himself, resort to violent and primitive behavior, and this is what causes Simon’s death. Whereas the other boys on the island lose their moral principles once savagery takes over, Simon retains his morals and does nice things such as helping the younger boys find food. In Lord of the Flies, Simon represents the speck of intrinsic morality and perceptive reasoning on the island, and unlike the other boys, he demonstrates morality as a way of life rather than a socially-imposed concept that is to be quickly lost in the wake of uncertainty.
In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the concept of good fighting evil is clearly shown to be a big picture. In many cases, Jesus Christ represents good and bliss in the universe, while the devil represents evil. In this novel the reader sees the when good fights evil, the evil is a good turned evil. For example, before the devil became evil, he was an angel. He was good turned evil and is now fighting good. Simon represents the good and bliss, he is the Christ figure on the island while evil and savagery is shown in the other boys on the island. Both Simon and Christ share common qualities, actions, and deaths. Simon shows this throughout the novel, from the beginning until the time of his death.
In the novel, Lord of the Flies, all the characters have an significant role and each individual shows a different impact than others in the society. Simon’s innocence through the novel impacts his behavior and the way he treats the littluns with care. He is a flat, static character who has an active role and gives his full support in everything he does. Simon does not give up hope on being rescued and becomes the light of the island as he does everything he can throughout each situation. As the characters and plot develop, the boys begin to change as each character loses their innocence because of their freedom. Simon shows the most purity and compassion as problems increase through the boys as he tries to not let any of the causes affect him. In Lord of the Flies, Simon represents the goodness of the island as he helps the littluns, supports the boys and does everything in his power to make the best of the situation on the island.
Responsibility is a lot of different things and has many different parts. One part of responsibility is social responsibility. Social responsibility is being responsible to people, for the actions of people, and for actions that affect people. Social responsibility is about holding a group, organization or company accountable for its effect on the people around it. When you do the wrong thing many people pay for it, especially everyone that you know. When you do the wrong things your family will be ashamed of you. You will have the feeling that you have disappointed them and they have the feeling that they have disappointed you. It doesn't make sense but they feel like they have let you down. They will think to themselves that they could have been more strict and that haven't been disciplining you hard enough. Most of the time that is true because if someone knew that if they did something wrong and they were going to get severely disciplined, they will not do it.
In the novel The Lord of the flies, William Golding illustrates the decline from innocence to savagery through a group of young boys. In the early chapters of The Lord of the Flies, the boys strive to maintain order. Throughout the book however, the organized civilization Ralph, Piggy, and Simon work diligently towards rapidly crumbles into pure, unadulterated, savagery. The book emphasized the idea that all humans have the potential for savagery, even the seemingly pure children of the book. The decline of all civilized behavior in these boys represents how easily all order can dissolve into chaos. The book’s antagonist, Jack, is the epitome of the evil present in us all. Conversely, the book’s protagonist, Ralph, and his only true ally, Piggy, both struggle to stifle their inner
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding expresses the idea that humans are naturally immoral, and that people are moral only because of the pressures of civilization. He does this by writing about a group of boys, and their story of survival on an island. The civilized society they form quickly deteriorates into a savage tribe, showing that away from civilization and adults, the boys quickly deteriorate into the state man was millions of years ago. This tendency is shown most in Jack, who has an animalistic love of power, and Roger, who loves to kill for pleasure. Even the most civilized boys, Ralph and Piggy, show that they have a savage side too as they watch Simon get murdered without trying to save him. Simon, the only one who seems to have a truly good spirit, is killed, symbolizing how rare truly good people are, and how quickly those personalities become corrupted.
The character of Simon in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies has often been viewed as the Christ figure of the novel. If you were to examine the actions of both Simon and Jesus, you would find a number of incidents that parallel each other.
As Simon was trying to tell the boys that the beast did not exist, his death symbolises that mankind can’t face the truth about their inner desires. Part of Golding’s intent was to demonstrate that the evil is not recognised in specific populations or situations. On the island, the beast is manifest in the deadly tribal dances, war paint and manhunt; in the outside world, the same lust for power and control plays out as a nuclear war. Throughout ‘The Lord of the Flies’ Golding has managed to show that evil is present in everyone.
As Jack hunts his “frustration seemed bolting and nearly mad” which shines in his slowly deranging eyes (Golding 67). In Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, stranded boys struggle to find order and civilization on an island with no other humans. After their plane crash lands, a few boys, such as Ralph and Piggy, are quick to set up standard rules. But, not everyone agrees that rules and rescue are what is most important. Jack, a boy who cares more about hunting, disrupts the goodness and order that remains in the boys. When a simulated hunting influenced and led by Jack goes awry, the boys kill Simon. The now deceased Simon is the purest and kindest of the boys. Jack leads the elimination of the only good left on their island. Whether it is his intention to kill him or not, Jack should be held responsible for Simon’s demise because he leads the group to kill him, regardless of his age.
Leaders have responsibilities to their people; a responsibility to protect and to nurture them. Leaders can reject their citizens needs because they believe that their wants are more important end up destroying the very society they rule. As shown in the novel Lord of the Flies when Jack rejects his responsibility of nurturing and giving the boys a home because he believes his lust for power, which provides him with a sense of security, is more important than the needs of the boys for affection and protection, allowing him to use the boys as objects to accomplish his own desires. This eventually leads to the destruction of society.
Sometimes the most hope comes out of the worst tragedies. In William Golding’s Novel Lord of the Flies, there is a group of boys stranded on a lone island. Almost all the boys become extremely savage, one of the 3 exceptions however is Simon. He is the one boy who brings morality to the island. He is a loner, very hardworking, and extremely kind. None of the other boys on the island understand the difference between what is morally right, and what is emotionally fulfilling. Simon is also the only one of the boys that grasps the true demonic and humanoid nature of the beast. He represents a the islands soul and spirit and bring this morality to the boys.
Bullies, while they might be horrible, turn out to be harmless when confronted, just like Simon when he confronted the Beast. In the end, even though he failed to inform the other boys of it, Simon through his use of spiritual power was able to recognize the truth. He stood strong against evil, even though it consumed the island after his death. People can look to him as an example of how to act in real life. And to be honest, Simon is an important character in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, not just for all this, but because he is what every person should wish to be.
Man’s inhumanity to man literally means human’s cruelty towards other humans. This is a major theme of the story and is seen throughout it. Golding himself even states that “man produces evil as a bee produces honey.” A review of the book states how Golding portrays this “because the boys are suffering from the terrible disease of being human.” Piggy, Ralph, and Simon are the “rational good of mankind” portrayed in the book, and Jack and his hunters are the “evil savagery of mankind.” “The beast” is a symbol for the evil in all humans, and Simon and Piggy, or rationality, are almost helpless in his presence. Simon, though, in a book filled with evil, is a symbol of vision and salvation. He is the one to see the evil as it truly exists, in the hearts of all humanity. When he tries to tell the others of this truth, however, he is killed, much like Christ was trying to bring salvation to the ignorant. Simon being there gives us hope; the truth is available to those who seek it. In the book, Jack and his hunters become so evil that they end up killing two boys while on the island. Man’s tendencies towards evil in The Lord of the Flies are also compared to the book of Genesis in the Bible. Nature, beauty, and childhood can all be corrupted by the darkness within humankind. The ending of this truly dark and evil story tells readers how Golding feels about evil within society and where he thinks humanity is headed. Evil will triumph over the intellect and good, unless some force intercedes. In th...
However, there is large difference between the darkness enclosed within Simon’s core compared to that of Jack. Jack becomes a blood-thirsty savage with no regard for other people, whilst Simon began to experience hallucinations and begins showing signs of going insane. When arriving on the island, Simon was considered one of the wisest amongst the boys, being one of the only people who didn’t believe that there was a beast on the island and providing a great deal of help to the group. However, as their time on the island expanded, he began to lose his mind. “‘Maybe there is a beast….