Simon Symbol of Human Decency in Lord of the Flies

When people are tested in extreme environments or situations, their true nature manifests. Such was the case in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, where a group of boys end up stranded on an island and attempt to develop social order and have a civilized society, with the backdrop of a global war. Although living in such conditions makes boys cruel, one of them, Simon, remains true to his moral compass. However, the group kills him, mistaking him for the beast, before he could inform them that the supposed beast on the mountain was a dead body. Simon’s character reveals his representation of human decency since the boy considered others’ needs, had the courage to face the so-called ‘monster,’ and tried to uncover the truth to the community, which made him a victim of indecency.

Simon’s actions are driven by altruism, as evident in his selfless and instinctive nature, which sets him apart from the other boys. Goldwin presents Simon as such early on in the novel, where he focuses on humanistic efforts, such as helping the children, rather than materialistic efforts like those of the other boys. For example, when the littluns follow him among the trees, he reaches for fruits and offers them the best from the foliage, and only after they were content did he leave (Goldwin 49). By going a step further and picking out the choicest fruits for them, Simon shows thoughtfulness and generosity. Furthermore, the boy had to abandon his walk in the forest to help them, reflecting his consideration to prioritize others. Nonetheless, at no point does he show frustration or anger. In fact, his actions extend beyond the expected capacity of helping them. Therefore, such behavior demonstrates the human capacity to act altruistically and help others without expecting any personal benefit.

Simon also becomes the one who discovers that the beast resides within the boys themselves, proving that humans possess a moral compass to discern evil. Mistumoto concurs, noting that Simon excelled in depth and reflection instead of qualities like attractiveness or leadership, like the other boys (107). Simon does not simply accept the superstition of the boys that a beast on the island haunted them, but he tries to seek the truth of this beast through reflection and refuses to surrender to fear. In one scene, an argument breaks out on the nature of the best, and the boys are left drowned in fear when Percival reports that the beast lived in the sea (Goldwin 74). However, Simon speaks up to challenge this notion with the statement that “maybe there is a beast…maybe it’s only us” (Goldwin 75). The boys had readily accepted the idea of a beast haunting them, perhaps because they needed something more evil than their own actions to exist. This would make them victims of the beats and their actions incomparable to it. Dawid Bernard Juraszek explains that they ridiculed Simon’s assertion and rejected it as a shield to who they had become or had always been (220). Thus, when Simon speaks up stating that the beast was present inside everyone of them, he demonstrates moral responsibility to highlight the problem with humanity.

Furthermore, Simon’s action of going to the mountain to confront the truth about the beast and his resolution to make the boys aware of the truth highlight humanity’s role to be courageous and guided by integrity. Simon was a shy boy, even an outcast among the other boys, but his drive for truth and goodness pushes him to investigate the beast and reveal the truth to the boys. After he discovers that the supposed beast on the mountain is only a dead body, Goldwin writes that he decided to enlighten the other boys as soon as possible that the beast was harmless yet horrible (124). He could not even walk properly, yet he understood the depth of the situation, as all the boys had been moving away from the mountain and truly believed it was a monster. Yet Simon walks towards it and, after finding that it was only a dead body, rushes to inform the boys. He does not worry about the current physical situation that limits him, and even when he was labelled shy and lacking courage, he does not shy away from the task of doing good and acting with integrity, something which adds to his innate goodness.

Conclusively, the death of Simon is the validation of his status as a representative of human decency, as he turns into a martyr of truth and is killed by the very brutality he was trying to reveal and defeat. While he pushes himself beyond his physical limits to uncover the truth to the boys, they all gang up on him, calling him a beast and brutally murdering him (Goldwin 124-129). Simon’s death becomes a sacrifice that he makes at the expense of being good. It illustrates how evil in humanity often overshadows the good, seeking it out and destroying it before it can manifest. As Alfaro notes, Simon is a true hero because he knows that he will meet a tragic end if he defies the unrestrained freedom of the boys, but he deliberately denies the prevalent understanding of the beast as something physical (45-46). The boy then walks right ahead to meet his death, but is still hoping to enlighten the boys about the beast. However, his death is not in vain, as it inspires other characters, like Ralph, to acknowledge their inherent evil. Alfaro writes that Ralph “tries to fundamentally understand the evil within himself because his conscience tells him the killing was wrong” (51). Hence, Simon unassumingly achieves his purpose of making the boys unafraid of the evil within themselves. In fact, the story ends with them showing remorse for their actions by crying. This is a way for them to purge their antagonism and cruelty, and the crying acts and atonement, and offers them redeeming qualities (Alfaro 55). Therefore, Simon’s death becomes one last act of selflessness that sows the seeds of conscience, motivating the boys to face the evil within themselves and hopefully regain their humanity.

Overall, Simon in Lord of the Flies symbolizes human decency, as all his actions are done in consideration of other people. He only cares that other people are supported and helped, putting his life at risk to reveal the truth about the beast. The boy’s courage in such a situation proves that goodness prevails over evil. It also shows that human decency is inherent because he takes up the moral responsibility to act with integrity and warns the boys that the beast is something that exists in them. Therefore, this book becomes a powerful illustration of how human goodness is innate, forcing people to confront their equally innate nature of evil and defeat it with decency.