Lord of the Flies Group

Question:

lafter
lafter
Student
High School - 9th Grade

In Chapters 7-9 o Lord of the Flies, what is the significance of the attack on Simon? (In Ch. 7-9)

Please use specific quotes in your answer...thanks!

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Posted by lafter on Saturday January 10, 2009 at 7:29 PM and tagged with chapter 7, chapter 8, chapter 9, characters, lord of the flies, simon.

Answers:


  1. troutmiller Teacher
    High School - 12th Grade

    The killing of Simon represents the final blow to Good in the battle of Good vs. Evil.  Simon is a Christ symbol.  He represents both clarity and truth.  He wants to tell them that there is no beast.  That was a man on the hill, not the beast. 

    As he climbs down to the beach, the kids are chanting, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” (ch 9)They chant this over and over again, and eventually Ralph and Piggy join in. The two of them would rather be a part of a group than to be outside of the circle.

    "They were glad to touch the brown backs of the fence that hemmed in the terror and made it governable." (ch 9)

    Then as they destroyed Simon, "There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws."
    The beast had finally come alive, but it was within the boys.  It was not anything else on the island.  Once they killed Simon, all that was good and full of truth was dead.

    Sources:
    http://classiclit.about.com/od/lordoftheflieswg/a/aa_lofq...
    http://www.enotes.com/flies/themes

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    Posted by troutmiller on Sunday January 11, 2009 at 1:34 PM