Lord of the Flies

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1. 
   bmadnick Teacher
   High School - 11th Grade

   The absence of the conch represents the absence of civilization. It's in this chapter that the boys give in to their savagery, culminating in Simon's brutal death. Simon is pure and represents humanity at its best, while Jack is the opposite. Simon's purity allows him to recognize the beast for what it is. Because Jack and his group have allowed their evil sides to overtake them, they are frightened by the beast and don't see it as anything but evil. The Lord of the Flies, the sow's head, symbolizes how powerful evil is, so powerful that the boys, representing society, succumb to evil rather than good. Like Satan, the Lord of the Flies is able to bring the boys to evil. Simon, the only pure soul, is Jesus, trying to save the other boys from themselves.

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   http://www.enotes.com/flies

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   Posted by bmadnick on Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 1:58 PM
   
   

2. 
   sagetrieb Teacher
   Doctorate

   The text describes Simon's dead body through symbolism, using detail of nature to make him holy and beautiful. Everything glows around his dead body:  "a streak of phosphorescence" shines in the water, and when the water touches the blood stains of his body, "the creatures made a moving patch of light," eventually "dress[ing] Simon's coarse hair with brightness.  The line of his cheek silvered and the turn of his shoulder become sculptured marble." These details of light contrast starkly with the darkness that otherwise pervades the novel, and the details of dirt and grime that characterize the other children. Light, then, is used to symbolize the purity and holiness of Simon's dead body.

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   http://www.enotes.com/lord-flies

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   Posted by sagetrieb on Tuesday December 11, 2007 at 6:37 PM
   
   

3. 
   cbf Student
   High School - 9th Grade

   Thank u bmadnick and sagetrieb.

   ur answers are a BIG help. thank u

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   http://www.enotes.com/lotf

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   Posted by cbf on Wednesday December 12, 2007 at 1:12 AM
   
   

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