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Unit 27: William Golding — Lord of the Flies: Themes and Characterization

Simon Notes

The most introspective character in the novel, Simon has a deep affinity with nature and often
walks alone in the jungle. While Piggy represents the cultural and Ralph the political and
moral facets of civilization, Simon represents the spiritual side of human nature. Like Piggy,
Simon is an outcast: the other boys think of him as odd and perhaps insane. It is Simon who
finds the beast. When he attempts to tell the group that it is only a dead pilot, the boys, under
the impression that he is the beast, murder him in a panic. Golding frequently suggests that
Simon is a Christ-figure whose death is a kind of martyrdom. His name, which means “he
whom God has heard,” indicates the depth of his spirituality and centrality to the novel’s
Judeo-Christian allegory.

Sam and Eric
The twins are the only boys who remain with Ralph and Piggy to tend to the fire after the
others abandon Ralph for Jack’s tribe. The others consider the two boys as a single individual,
and Golding preserves this perception by combining their individual names into one (“Samneric”).
Here one might find suggestions about individualism and human uniqueness.

Roger
One of the hunters and the guard at the castle rock fortress, Roger is Jack’s equal in cruelty.
Even before the hunters devolve into savagery, Roger is boorish and crude, kicking down
sand castles and throwing sand at others. After the other boys lose all idea of civilization, it
is Roger who murders Piggy.

Maurice
During the hunters’ “Kill the pig” chant, Maurice, who is one of Jack’s hunters, pretends to
be a pig while the others pretend to slaughter him. When the hunters kill a pig, Jack smears
blood on Maurice’s face. Maurice represents the mindless masses.

Percival

One of the smallest boys on the island, Percival often attempts to comfort himself by repeating
his name and address as a memory of home life. He becomes increasingly hysterical over the
course of the novel and requires comforting by the older boys. Percival represents the domestic
or familial aspects of civilization; his inability to remember his name and address upon the
boys’ rescue indicates the erosion of domestic impulse with the overturning of democratic
order. Note also that in the literary tradition, Percival was one of the Knights of the Round
Table who went in search of the Holy Grail.

The Beast

The Beast is a dead pilot whom Simon discovers in the forest. The other boys mistake him as
a nefarious supernatural omen, “The Beast.” They attempt to appease his spirit with The Lord
of the Flies.

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