Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

michelle-telford
michelle-tel...
Student
High School - 12th Grade

At the end of Chapter Eight of "Lord of the Flies", the author tells us Simon has "One of his times". What does this mean?

Bear in mind Simon faints and that throughout history prophets have often been people who have had 'flits' or seemed to suffer 'possession by spirits'

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Posted by michelle-telford on Tuesday October 7, 2008 at 6:55 PM and tagged with chapter 8, epilepsy, lord of the flies, quote, simon.

Answers:


  1. ms-mcgregor Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    Simon has epilepsy, a disorder that causes seizures. When Simon has "one of his times" it means he had a seizure that rendered him incapable of controlling his body and mind. Epilepsy is an ancient disease ( Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great were said to have this disorder.) In ancient times, it was associated with special spiritual insight. Golding uses this idea to reinforce Simon's search to find the truth about "the beast". He is the first to say that "perhaps the beast is us" and he is the only character who has a "conversation" with the "Lord of the Flies." Although this conversation is probably associated with "one of his times", it also helps the reader understand the nature of 'the beast".

    Sources:
    http://www.enotes.com/flies

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    Posted by ms-mcgregor on Tuesday October 7, 2008 at 7:12 PM