Chapters nine and ten: pages 145-168
Why do authors love to destroy hearts, hopes, and dreams? Gosh. Simon was the only one who had it together, who knew what was going on. Well, sort of. He was a bit on the eccentric side; thinking that dead pig's could talk to him and called themselves "The Lord of the Flies". But, in terms of humanity, love, and morals; Simon was the best of them all.
The book, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins has a character whose circumstances reminded me a lot of Simon. In the book, Katniss and Gale admit that no decent person ever wins the Hunger Games; with the exception of Peeta. Peeta is too caring to survive a game that's all about self survival and the death of those around you. While Katniss was busy plotting against the other tributes, Peeta was running around chasing butterflies and trying to decide which flowers Katniss would like best. Peeta only survived the games because of Katniss. In The Lord of the Flies Simon was a lot like Peeta. Rather than caring about hunting, or sleeping, Simon liked to wander through the woods and look at the beautiful island. |
Simon thought much too intensely and cared too deeply. This is what made him different, awesome, and pure. But, it is also what made him weak. He knew that the true monsters were inside people. Like Peeta, Simon cares about his individual character, and he didn't want to change who he was in order to survive. The two boys care too much about helping others rather than their own safety. It's beautifully selfless, although stupid at the same time. BUT OF COURSE SIMON DIDN'T SURVIVE BECAUSE GOLDING HATES ME. In reality, Golding did this in order to make the the savage acts of the boys all the more unbearable and horrific to understand. The more these boys turn into animals, more innocence and purity dwindles.
Anyways. Simon discovers that the all powerful and mystifying beast is actually just the corpse of a dead parachuter. He throws up because of the dead body, and then cuts the constrains that the body is trapped in; he doesn't think that a body should waste away in that fashion. Although saddened, Simon makes his way down to Jack's territory to share the news that no beast exists. Again, on the body you see flies. Obviously they are there because of the smell of the man, but could this be a coincidence? The flies were also on the Lord of the Flies, just about 3 pages back. Could the boys discover that this parachuter died an innocent and unjustified death, just like the mother pig did? Is that what the flies represent?
Before Simon makes it to the beach, Jack and Ralph are talking to all the boys on the island. Jack is making the boys decide whose tribe to join, and Ralph is defending himself. Ralph's side is all about preparation, and Jack's is all about fun and power. It begins to rain, and Ralph laughs at Jack for not being prepared for a storm. Jack counters this by doing a rain dance. Well obviously, because it's Jack, the dance is all about the hunt. During the dance, the boy's yell " 'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!' " (Golding 152).
Aside from my boring summarization, the interesting thing about the dance is that Piggy and Ralph want to join in on the excitement.
Before Simon makes it to the beach, Jack and Ralph are talking to all the boys on the island. Jack is making the boys decide whose tribe to join, and Ralph is defending himself. Ralph's side is all about preparation, and Jack's is all about fun and power. It begins to rain, and Ralph laughs at Jack for not being prepared for a storm. Jack counters this by doing a rain dance. Well obviously, because it's Jack, the dance is all about the hunt. During the dance, the boy's yell " 'Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!' " (Golding 152).
Aside from my boring summarization, the interesting thing about the dance is that Piggy and Ralph want to join in on the excitement.
"Piggy and Ralph, under the threat of the sky, found themselves eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society. They were glad to touch the brown backs of the fence that hemmed in the terror and made it governable." (Golding 152)
Their nervous excitement got the best of them and they participated. Unfortunately, Simon staggers in as the dance is in motion. Of course, the boys mistake Simon as the beast. They savagely attack him, and poor Simon dies by the hands of even those whom he trusted most- Ralph and Piggy.
"The beast [Simon] was on its knees in the center, its arms folded over its face. It was crying out against the abominable noise something about a body on the hill. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it, poured down the rock, leapt on the beast, screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws." (Golding 152-153)
This is a very descriptive narrative of the way that the boys killed Simon. Plus, there is also the fact that Ralph and Piggy took part in this horrific event. It kind of shows that even the boys with the highest moral standings can get tired, and slip into the easy way out. Plus, one thing that I thought interesting was that Golding only used "it" and "the beast" to describe Simon during his death scene. This could be used to enforce the feelings the other boys had while participating in his murder. They did not see Simon as a boy- rather they only saw him as prey.
But overall, Simon died trying to save the others and by telling the truth. After he dies, it begins to storm. This rain I believe was added in to represent Simon being "cleansed". Or, maybe it's supposed to represent a new beginning (hopefully a happy one)? But then his body is described as being floated down the lighted stream, surrounded by flowers. I thought that was really nice even though I was really sad.
Although very depressing, luckily Ralph shows that he feels guilt and loss about Simon. The other boys either don't care, justify his death as an accident (Piggy), or honestly believe that Simon was the beast (Jack's crew) and that the beast can change forms. Ralph displays that he is still holding on to his humanity. Even though it would be easier to just pretend that Simon's death was an accident, he knows it was murder; he knows that he played a part in the death of a young boy.
But overall, Simon died trying to save the others and by telling the truth. After he dies, it begins to storm. This rain I believe was added in to represent Simon being "cleansed". Or, maybe it's supposed to represent a new beginning (hopefully a happy one)? But then his body is described as being floated down the lighted stream, surrounded by flowers. I thought that was really nice even though I was really sad.
Although very depressing, luckily Ralph shows that he feels guilt and loss about Simon. The other boys either don't care, justify his death as an accident (Piggy), or honestly believe that Simon was the beast (Jack's crew) and that the beast can change forms. Ralph displays that he is still holding on to his humanity. Even though it would be easier to just pretend that Simon's death was an accident, he knows it was murder; he knows that he played a part in the death of a young boy.
'Piggy.'
'Uh?'
'That was murder.'
'... We was scared!'
'I wasn't scared,' said Ralph slowly, 'I was- I don't know what I was.'...
'Don't you understand Piggy? The things we did-'...
'It was an accident,' said Piggy suddenly, 'that's what it was. An accident.' ...
'I'm frightened. Of us. I want to go home. Oh God, I want to go home.' " (Golding 156-157)
Ralph has had enough. He doesn't want this responsibly, and he doesn't want to have experienced all this trauma at such a young age. He is channeling his sadness, guilt, and frustration into his attitude. He is taking everything as a sick joke. The conch, assemblies, everything. He is losing his will to keep everyone together, and I really hope he can overcome this.
Okay, now that all the sadness is out of the way let's begin with messed up leaders- like Jack! First of all, I just have to rant how Jack just sits on a throne while all his little men work for him. How come the boys put up with this? Out of fear or delusion? They could easily just go back to Ralph, but something inside them is holding them back. Plus, Jack punishes his boys for no reason. He is abusing his power, and taking advantage of the blind loyalty that the young boys are showing him. Jack just randomly beat one of the boys, named Wilfred. I'm assuming he did this to use him as an example. Golding never had Jack give a reason to his men, but I suspect that Jack plans to lead them through fear rather than trust.
Another thing that I have to comment on is that deep down, Jack is a coward. I commented on that in one of my earlier blog posts, but I failed to mention his face paint before. Jack coats his face with paint. He only feels powerful when he wears the paint. He is trying to disguise who he truly is; to cover up his fear and his stress so that way he can be chief. The paint represents his hidden shame, and hopefully this achilles heel that Jack has will catch up to him.
One thing that Golding altered in this chapter is how he references Jack and his men. He now only calls Jack "chief" and he calls Jack's soldiers "the savages". This technique belittles the boys, and allows the readers to understand how much their humanity has dwindled. They have now been resorted to objects rather than individuals with names.
Okay, now that all the sadness is out of the way let's begin with messed up leaders- like Jack! First of all, I just have to rant how Jack just sits on a throne while all his little men work for him. How come the boys put up with this? Out of fear or delusion? They could easily just go back to Ralph, but something inside them is holding them back. Plus, Jack punishes his boys for no reason. He is abusing his power, and taking advantage of the blind loyalty that the young boys are showing him. Jack just randomly beat one of the boys, named Wilfred. I'm assuming he did this to use him as an example. Golding never had Jack give a reason to his men, but I suspect that Jack plans to lead them through fear rather than trust.
Another thing that I have to comment on is that deep down, Jack is a coward. I commented on that in one of my earlier blog posts, but I failed to mention his face paint before. Jack coats his face with paint. He only feels powerful when he wears the paint. He is trying to disguise who he truly is; to cover up his fear and his stress so that way he can be chief. The paint represents his hidden shame, and hopefully this achilles heel that Jack has will catch up to him.
One thing that Golding altered in this chapter is how he references Jack and his men. He now only calls Jack "chief" and he calls Jack's soldiers "the savages". This technique belittles the boys, and allows the readers to understand how much their humanity has dwindled. They have now been resorted to objects rather than individuals with names.
"The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him.... The boys have changed. And Jack, is not exactly the best influence for the boys to have right now. |
Finally, the chapter ends with Ralph's tribe. Ralph is slowly losing his cool; Piggy must keep reminding him of the goals this group must work towards. Ralph even forgot why he must keep a fire going! Then, once Ralph's group all rests down to sleep, Ralph is restless al night with nightmares. These nightmares are a further example of his guilty conscious, and it is there to force Ralph to keep his humanity with him. Then, because Jack is an awesome individual, he plots to steal fire from Ralph's group. Just that in itself, it mean. But then Jack takes it a step further. Jack and some of his savages attack the boys in their sleep and take Piggy's glasses. The glasses are a key factor in the boys survival and their chances of getting out. This act is just more proof of how much Jack has changed. But, the funny thing is that Piggy thought the boys were coming to steal the conch. This reaction from Piggy displays his loyalty towards Ralph. The conch represents everything that Ralph believes in, and Piggy is very protective of that symbol. Of course Jack wouldn't want to steal it- he doesn't need it. But, it's important to Piggy, so he believes that it is definitely worth stealing.
I hope that as I finish the book after my next blog post, that Ralph will come out on top. I hope that common sense, humanity, and caring for others will trump beastly actions. I'm not completely sure if the boys will be rescued or not. It may be a Lost type of deal where there is no real solution, or maybe Ralph will hallucinate his dead coming to the rescue. I'm not sure. But, what I do know is that these last two chapters will probably be full of tension, fighting, power plays, and probably death.
Tribute to my boy Simon:
I hope that as I finish the book after my next blog post, that Ralph will come out on top. I hope that common sense, humanity, and caring for others will trump beastly actions. I'm not completely sure if the boys will be rescued or not. It may be a Lost type of deal where there is no real solution, or maybe Ralph will hallucinate his dead coming to the rescue. I'm not sure. But, what I do know is that these last two chapters will probably be full of tension, fighting, power plays, and probably death.
Tribute to my boy Simon: