In chapter three, "Huts on the Beach," Jack and Ralph bicker about the division of labor and the hunters' obsession with acquiring meat from wild pigs on the island. Simon steals away on his own.
Later, Simon leads a group of littluns into the forest "with an air of purpose." In a Christ-like display of compassion and silent leadership, Simon reaches high into the fruit trees and "found for them the fruit they could not reach." He feeds the multitude, passing fruit into "endless outstretched hands."
After feeding the littluns, Simon again goes off on his own, and in a hidden clearing, communes with nature in what could be read as a spiritual way. Unlike the hunters, and the boys who bicker for power over others, Simon is in harmony with the natural world. He cares about others in the world, represented by Piggy and Ralph and Jack and the littluns on the island, but his interests transcend the conflicts among the other boys.
Simon's insight into what really matters, taking care of others and living in harmony with nature, is lost in the clamor of the needs of the competing boys. Because he is later killed, it is likely that Golding intended for Simon to represent a Christlike figure whose message of compassion and the brotherhood of man is lost in the chaos of others' misplaced desires.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
What does Simon do for the littluns? What does this show us about him ?
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