Lord of the Flies - Simon's Death

Simon’s Death – Analysis

There are several factors in play through the pages 167-170 that make the scene as realistic and dramatic as possible. The storm, the tribal dance, the chant and the overall build-up all contribute to this effect and make the extract worth reading. The fear and the excitement, seen through the boys’ behavior and presentation, seeps through between the words, giving the pages an otherworldly feel. The question is, how did the author achieve this? Through the skills described below.

One of the greatest senses the author uses in this passage is sound – the chant, the storm and the clamor. Golding, on page 167, tells us that the blows of thunder “were only just bearable” and the children were “screaming” in their newfound restlessness. When the chant begins – “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!” – we sense the build-up. The mastermind behind the scenes entered the chant at specific times in the extract, intensifying the emotions he tries to convey. The thunder and the storm also play their role, striking us with the atmosphere in phrases like: “whipped like thunder…” and “rose a tone in agony.” The author shows us the pain and terror of the scene by using “shrieking” and “abominable noise”. We almost find ourselves engulfed in this new world.

Another main point is vision and the presentation of the boys. The dance, the movement, the emotion overwhelm us and this is very hard to do with words. Golding did. The “dance” (most likely more of a demonstration) of the hunt and the killing of the pig gives the boys’ a kind of savage air, blinding us with their beast-like intentions. Roger “mimed the terror” of the pig, “grunting and charging” and showing us the vile mind of the tribe driven to a kind of madness by their own desires. The movement throughout the passage is rapid, uneven, shown through the “dark” language used – “dark and terrible”, “clamorously”, “hemmed in the terror”… The author says that it was a “demented but partly secure society”, meaning that the madness was also a type of community, like a tribe, that can also be a comfort when greater terrors arise. The motion of the “circle”, overcome with the insanity and the killing intent of the “beast inside them”, is vivid – “crunched and screamed”, “surged after it”, “tearing of teeth and claws”, “horseshoe”, broke the circle”…. The whole manifestation of the scene makes the boys look animalistic, broken down and demonic, like servants of their own and individual “Lord of the Flies”.

The build-up of the extract and the storm come in together. Even the sound continues wildly over the moment of killing, bringing it up to a climax. “Him! Him!” – they shouted, in harmony to the seemingly endless thunder and lightning. It was, as if in pain, as they “leapt” on the “beast” and “poured down the rock”. They were in a trance, ensued by their own instincts to kill this unearthly creature that came out the forest – violent, savage. The growing strikes of the “blue-white scar” in the dark sky push them to this crime of murder and the author eventually leads us to that moment. To highlight this issue even greater, he unexpectedly drops the scene – “There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws.” This makes the scene dramatic, more dramatic than one could have made it by any other device. Golding even “opened” the clouds for us to give us a still picture of this dead body under the endless rain that “bounded from the mountain-top.” Only the beast lay still… It is very interesting how the book is as if written from the point of view of the boys – only on express moments is Simon actually called by his name and not as the “beast”. This is also an artistic effect, but it also has symbolic meaning – only Simon actually knows what the beast is and now he is the beast…

The moment of killing, in itself, is interesting. The “screaming” gashing of the “claws” and the “tearing” – it is all so striking in the way the author presents it. The powerful words used also enlarge the effect. For example, “staggered”, “struck”, “bit”, “struggling”… As well, one must notice the few moments after the murder: “Even in the rain, they could see how small the beast was; and already the blood was staining the sand.” We almost feel sorrow for the small child who knew, but no-one listened. In this he is portrayed as Jesus, wanting to tell the men of good and evil, but being killed for his beliefs. The blind emotion grips me greatly. The fear and the excitement shown, thrill – “agony”, “steady pulse”, “superficial excitement”, “throb and stamp of a single organism”…. It is breathtaking to feel the emotion, the blood-thirst. This animalistic side of the boys is remarkable to watch, as it progressed almost stepping into the chasm of lunacy. As the boys “rushed… into the darkness”, the parachutist was lifted into the air by the wind and settled into the sea, as if telling us that the truth will never be now known. Through this effect, we see that for the boys it can be described as the “spirit” of the beast, being freed from the mountain and pushing the boys down into this darkness in their hearts – “vastness of wet air… falling, still falling…”

At the very end of the chapter, Golding decided to contrast the violent storm by an almost heavenly scene of Simon’s “funeral”. It was said that the lagoon became “a streak of phosphorescence” as the tide flowed and “mirrored the clear sky and the angular bright constellations”. For one, it may seem as though the sky is “accepting” this body of the child to take into its heavenly dome. The author writes this fantasy-like scene, where there are “strange, moonbeam-bodied creatures with fiery eyes”. It is all like a dream, a fairytale, with its “coat of pearls” and “layer of silver”. Simon’s body is further described as being, as I see it, “cleared from sin”. His hair is dressed with “brightness” and “the turn of his shoulder” became “sculptured marble”. It is all so very sacred in the passage – it feels as if the fiery-eyed bodied “lift” the body into the water, as it turns in this godly tide. It says that “somewhere over the darkened curve of the world the sun and moon were pulling…” It is beautiful metaphor for the tide, but also one can trace it to the sky and the sea acknowledging Simon as a part of their cycle and consent to him. It is described, that the “bright creatures” surround the body that is “itself a silver shape” beneath the stars as moved to open sea – all awareness of his secret lost and peace engulfing him. It is another reference to the Bible and the comparison of Simon to Jesus.

As a conclusion, one would most likely say that the extract – dramatic, emotional and strong – features many a skill of writing that Golding uses with immense experience. The author uses language in a way that makes us want to be in the story and feel that we actually are. He uses weather, sound, movement and time to greatly focus our attention of the scene and its emphasis like the director’s ability would envelop us in a performance. The use of vocabulary in the text is also very proficient – repetition, simple, but “deep” world and clever metaphors all make a great impact on the writing. Golding thrills us with his ability of description and setting, so that we cannot but continue being overwhelmed by the passion of the prose and hope that the book will never throw off its iron grip.  

By Valentina C.