Simon Believes in Fear and Is Scared of the Lord of the Flies

“They knew very well why he hadn’t: because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood” (Golding 31).

This particular quote describes how the boys, and Jack, in particular, are not quite ready to kill a live being yet. They are still children, given that it is stated that Ralph is 12 years old. These children are not war veterans and they have had to never commit such an act before (Golding 31). They have never even used a knife in such a manner and it is a foreign act to them.

I have read this and it reminds me of The Enemy series by Charlie Higson. The children in that book are forced to commit acts to kill the undead and many children cannot stomach this. Some of the children evolve and adapt and manage to grow the courage to kill them but others succumbed to their fear and died.

Golding is foreshadowing a struggle in the future for some to kill but that eventually there will be the few that overcome the fear and terror of such an act.

These few boys will become more powerful and protective and they will have added authority over the rest and will abuse it as well. Additionally, this development plays a role in the hunters being revered and eventually after that first time of killing an animal, it will become easier and more bearable.

Golding is providing how the boys know why Jack couldn’t kill the pig that they had within their grasp.

Get quality help now

Doctor Jennifer

Verified

Proficient in: Lord Of The Flies

5 (893)

“ Thank you so much for accepting my assignment the night before it was due. I look forward to working with you moving forward ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

Prior to this, the boys had climbed the mountain to check whether the landmass they were stranded upon was an island, they travel back through the forest and happen to enter upon pigs which are using one of their various trails. They surround it and this is where Jack fails to kill the pig.

The introduction of the “snake-thing” shows that terror is already manifesting itself among the little ones. There is a certain unease and apprehension when discussing this creature and it shows that the terror has shifted from just among the little ones to also being prevalent among the older children.

I have heard that terror and fear manifest themselves into ideas and thoughts that frighten you for the most effective impact upon the person. Some people are afraid of clowns and manifest that fear, whilst others are scared of spiders and manifest that fear through terror. In this instance, a boy manifests a “snake-thing” that was “ever so big” (Golding 35). He also had seen this monster himself as Piggy interprets for him to the assembly (Golding 35).

The significance of the “Snake-thing” is that it provides an embodiment of the collective fear among the boys. It allows the little ones to believe in it and be terrorized at night when they heard a noise and it was in actuality, Simon. Additionally, this fear transfers to the older children as they begin to believe in the beast. In Chapter 8, Jack Merridew even leaves an offering for the beast himself, the head of the sow (Golding 136).

Jack is describing how he is in agreement with Ralph on the topic that the “snake-thing” is nothing more than a nightmare dreamt up by the little children. Prior to this quote, Ralph had called an assembly of the boys to outline their plan of action for survival on the island. They talked of creating a committee of hunters before the little children urged a boy to speak on the supposed creature.

The varying views of the Beastie foreshadow that there is no beast. The beast is a manifestation of each person’s specific fears and that it was not real. The mutual fear helped to strengthen the sentiment that it was real and it was a mysterious beast that could either; swing, fly, or swim. They also describe it as wings by some and others describe it as a “snake-thing” means that these conflicting viewpoints seem to make one decision clear, that the beast was a myth. This is unfortunately never believed and they leave the island without securely proving it is mythical.

The boys are becoming distant as Ralph is thinking about long-term success whilst Jack is thinking about short-term success. From the book, Ralph is thinking about “going on with the shelter” whilst jack is thinking about “If only I could get a pig!” (Golding 55).

The distance is because not all friendships are meant to last. Ralph and Jack share two radically different viewpoints on the topic and that they must attempt to try a compromise.

This discord so early in the relationship seems to signify future tension between the two to come as their viewpoints call for different priorities and totally different approaches. The Jack Merridew method is to hunt and the Ralph method is to play it safe and to get wood for the shelter and also fruit. Jack offers help reluctantly but Ralph refuses as he knows it would only be half-heartedly.

The two boys, Ralph and Jack Merridew, have conflicting priorities for the group. Prior to this, they were discussing what the group must do to survive and they begin to argue on the aspect of shelter vs. hunting as the biggest priority. Critical Analysis: Reread the first three paragraphs of the chapter. Why do you think Golding describes Jack as he does?

I believe that Golding attempts to try to attempt to paint Jack as a thin, sinewy character with mad eyes as his obsession with hunting seems to signal mental illness (Golding 48). He seems to be staring at the tracks intently even though he doesn’t know the art of tracking and nor does he realize it would take an expert to teach him.

“He poked about with a bit of stick, that itself was wave-worn and whitened and a vagrant, and tried to control the motions of the scavengers. He made little runnels that the tide filled and tried to crowd them with creatures. He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things. He talked to them, urging them, ordering them. Driven back by the tide, his footprints became bays in which they were trapped and gave him the illusion of mastery” (Golding 61).

This behavior from Henry seems to signal that he desires control over his own life. He might have not had any control in his private life at home from Europe. Additionally, “He became absorbed beyond mere happiness as he felt himself exercising control over living things” (Golding 61). He desired to be in control of anything as older children bossed around the younger and he needed to be able to have a situation that relied solely on himself.

This signifies that Henry and many other people on the island, such as Jack and Ralph, are desiring control of the island because they have never had it before and also because of the need for structure. This seems to foreshadow a future struggle for power. This struggle may not include Henry since he’s a little child but it may signal how both Ralph and Jack would want control. This signals a future conflict and possible violence.

This is on the beach in which Henry plays by himself with the sea life and the sand. He desires to play with control as Roger follows him with rocks and nuts. Critical Analysis: Use Chapter 2 in How to Read Literature Like A Professor to analyze the significance of Simon’s decision to share his meat with Piggy.

Simon’s decision to share his meat with Piggy because he feels comfortable around Piggy and he feels a sense that he and Piggy will have more in common by the end of the book as life details are just the surface and that we all die and this makes us similar in a way. This sharing also shows companionship as he desires to be on Piggy’s good side and realizes the intelligence of Piggy as well, which is an added advantage. Jack has forced Ralph’s hand to which he must decide if he blows it and risks they don’t come back or not blow and allow them to go. Piggy states, “Blow the conch Ralph” (Golding 92). This exemplifies how Piggy votes for the former as the second will just relegate them to be animals as well.

Ralph is in a position many people have been in. Do you react or not react to a result? It is difficult to judge in the world and it’s a personal choice as it could go either way, such as it could go either way for Ralph. He must decide whether it is in the best interest of his leadership or the group to blow the conch.

This quote foreshadows the difficulty that Jack will be upon Ralph but also how much power he has. He is able to sway the assembly and members of the group by preying on their thrills whilst Ralph must think of the best for the group as a whole. Jack will want to hunt and get pigs but hunting pigs too often will threaten the supply of the island. He must be open to just fruit as well and also for the shelter of the group as well so they feel safer and are hidden from the night weather.