SIMON: A Christological Figure?

An allusion is a “reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to well-known characters or events”1, and in chapters eight and nine of Lord of the Flies, it seems as if Golding is alluding to many stories from the Bible about the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Many critics believe that Simon is a Christ-figure – a character that is supposed to allude to the story and personage of Christ from Biblical literature. The story of Jesus is that he was both God’s son (a “divine”) and man (a mortal), and he comes to be as a sacrifice for the evil that all men have committed, dating back to the first “sin” or offense in the Garden of Eden. The Bible claims that Jesus professed openly that he was God, but the Jewish leaders and the Roman authorities forced him to reject his claim to divinity or face death, though he had never committed a crime. Jesus Christ would not relent, so he was crucified. Many Christians believe, that because he was really God’s son, his death served as a sacrifice for all the wrong committed, and the story goes on to tell of his supernatural resurrection after three days of death and the promise that anyone who believes in him will live with him eternally. Considering the story just as Literature, the “story” of Jesus Christ serves as a popular reference for authors who want to align their character with a Christological Figure (Christ Figure) character of great morality and ethical conviction and most of the time the character sacrifices his life for a humane cause. For example, two authors who have used Christological Figures in their works were Hemingway and C.S. Lewis: • Old Man in Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, who after his struggle with the fish ends up bleeding from his palms and lying on the floor in a cruciform pattern • The lion Aslan in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia who allows himself like the lion of the tribe of Judah to be slain in order to redeem a traitorous child Now that you understand what a Christological figure is, please evaluate if SIMON is such. In what ways IS he similar to Christ? In which ways is he not? Simon is a complicated, complex, integral character in this book, and if we are to gleam any positive insight from Lord of the Flies, it is from this character.

Jesus Simon

1“Allusion.” All American: Glossary of Literary Terms Retrieved on February 21, 2010. http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/ glossary.htm