Simon Flashcards
1
Q
How is Simon portrayed and described?
A
He is described as being quiet and frail, twice in the book collapsing and it is indicated that he has done so before too.
2
Q
What does Simon represent?
A
Genuine kindness and omniscience.
3
Q
Simon has blonde hair, how might this reflect his personality?
A
His hair is a very light blonde, which could represent his purity and kindness.
4
Q
In what way is Simon like Christ?
A
- Simon shows sympathy towards the children and gets them food and helps Piggy retrieve his glasses and gives food to Ralph.
- He helps Ralph build all of the shelters and has a place in the woods where he is at one with nature.
- However, he dies not spreading his whole truth to people, and doesn’t get resurrected like Jesus.
5
Q
In what way is Simon prophetic?
A
- He prophesises that Ralph will get off the island.
- When Simon tries to visualize what the beast might look like, “there arose before his inward sight the picture of a human at once heroic and sick” — Golding’s vision of humanity as flawed by inner human evil.
- He asks philosophical questions, “What’s the dirtiest thing there is?” and “What else is there to do?”
6
Q
How is Simon’s perception of knowledge different to other characters?
A
- Piggy and Ralph associate knowledge with higher understanding
- Simon sees the bad side of knowledge and adult life when he looks into the sow’s eyes
- He aims to find out what the beast is so the boys can face their fears
- He discovers that the more wild the boys behave, the worse the dreams get
7
Q
How is Simon’s death significant?
A
- He doesn’t get to share his revelation with the other boys because they are not ready to accept or understand it.
- He dies as a result of being the scapegoat for the boys’ unshakeable fear during their dance
- When Simon’s body is carried off by the tide, Golding shifts the focus from Simon’s body’s movements to the much larger of the sun, moon, and earth because Simon represented a knowledge as fundamental as the elements.
