The storyline of Lord of the Flies is deceptively simple. The characters in the book are mainly children, but the symbolic meaning is complex and deep. Through the fictional text, exactly the imaginary background in the future, it constructs a new contemplation of human nature. This thesis will probe into the symbolism in the novel through characters, objects and plot, and try to analyze their contribution to the theme. By doing this, I am trying to integrate all the profound meanings of the novel and reveal the outstanding originality of the novel. 

Chapter One  Symbolism in Characters.源^自·吹冰~文~论`文]网[www.chuibin.com

The characters in Lord of the Flies are all different inpiduals, and become embodiments of particular parts of human nature. That is Golding’s ability to make characters exemplify abstractions without becoming abstractions. All of the characters are children, but they are symbols of adult world: indeed. So in this part, the symbolic meanings of characters would be analyzed.

1.1 Simon—Saint and Prophet

The first time we see Simon, he is fainting, and things go downhill from there. From passing out to throwing up to hallucinating to getting bloody noses, Simon is a walking mess. He is afraid of speaking in the assembly, with that dread feeling of the pressure of personality. But he’s anything but weak.

First, Simon is a saint. William Golding said of him: “Simon called Peter… The illiterate person knows about saints and sanctity, and Simon is a saint.” His name is Simon, which happens to be the name of one of the twelve apostles. Simon started out as Simon until Jesus decided really his name should be “Peter” instead, because “peter” means rock—and Simon was the “rock” on which Jesus would build his church. 

As a saint, Simon is a compassionate guy. “[He] was a skinny, vivid little boy” (Golding 25). Simon’s innate goodness comes out in his actions. He recovers Piggy’s glasses when they fly off his face (post-Jack’s punch). He gives Piggy his own share of meat. He also helps the children pick fruit: “found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands” (Golding 72). From the word “choicest”, we can see not only does Simon pick food for them, but also he picks the best fruit. “Endless” reveals his patience. And, of course, he doesn’t turn into a primitive savage and go around killing things.