Simon

Question 1

“Now that the pallor of his faint was over, he was a skinny, vivid little boy, with a glance coming up from under a hut of straight hair that hung down, black and coarse”

Answer 1

Innocent

Question 2

“every now and then Simon had to do a double shuffle to catch up with the others”

Answer 2

Simon set apart from others

Question 3

What does Simon represent?

Answer 3

• A christ-like figure, religious purity
• Truth, innocence, the (little) true good in humanity

Question 4

“You’ll get back to where you came from”

Answer 4

• Predicting the future
• As if he knows he will not get off the island but Ralph will
• Similar to Jesus prophesying his own death

Question 5

Simon was ‘tempted’ by the Lord of the Flies
“There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast”

Answer 5

Similar to Jesus being tempted by the devil during his 40 days in the desert

Question 6

Adjectives used to describe Simon such as ‘batty’, ‘queer’, ‘funny’, and ‘cracked’

Answer 6

Shown to be an outsider but, unlike Piggy, less known why

Question 7

‘Simon became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness. Inspiration came to him. “What’s the dirtiest thing there is?”’

Answer 7

• Cannot verbally express evil shows his innocence
• Physically and mentally detached from evil

Question 8

‘The beast was harmless and horrible.’

Answer 8

• Juxtaposition
• Beast not fully good or evil, similar to humanity

Question 9

‘In Simon’s right temple, a pulse began to beat on the brain.’

Answer 9

• Simon is portrayed as individual, perspective and almost prophetic in nature, but he is weak and frail in body

Question 10

How is Simon similar to Jesus?

Answer 10

• He is the only one to confront the Lord of the Flies (the titular character of the book!), who symbolises evil itself
• He is murdered when bringing the truth back to the other boys, just as Jesus was bringing the ‘truth’ to the people.

Question 11

‘Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was a blackness within, a blackness that spread.’

Answer 11

• Foreshadows his death
• Evil overwhelming

Question 12

“Surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations”

Answer 12

• Simon returns to nature
• Seen as serene and peaceful after frenzied murder