Saturday, May 24, 2014

What happens simultaneously with the death of Simon in Lord of the Flies?

There is a big storm over the island simultaneously with
the death of Simon. The storm serves both as a symbol of the darkness and turbulence to
which the boys have descended, and a catalyst in making the mayhem happen. The hunters,
looking up at the darkening sky, first experience "a wave of restlessness," and then the
emotions of the little'uns, the most vulnerable, are whipped to a frenzy as the thunder
and lightning increase. Jack, seeking to direct the energies of his hunters, leads them
in a dance and chant, which begins to "beat like a steady pulse." At this
point,



"The
dark sky (is) shattered by a blue-white scar, (and) an instant later the noise (of the
thunder is) on them like the blow of a gigantic whip...(their) terror (and)...another
desire (rise), thick, urgent,
blind."



Another bolt of
lightning strikes, and Simon comes out of the forest, right into the midst of the
hunters, who have been stimulated to a killing frenzy. Because of the noise of the storm
and the excitement and terror generated by it, no one can hear Simon's exclamations
about the dead man on the hill, and without fully realizing the ramifications of their
actions, the hunters act on sheer instinct and momentum, savagely killing Simon. As they
leap onto him,


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"scream(ing), (striking), bit(ing), (tearing),
there (are) no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and
claws."



As Simon dies, the
clouds open and a torrent of rain descends on the scene, and a "great wind" blows the
parachute with the dead pilot off the hill where Simon had found him, carrying it over
the terrified boys and out to the sea. The storm is symbolic of the violent depths of
depravity to which the boys have descended. The scene created by the storm is indicative
of darkest and ultimate chaos, leaving the impression of a hell on earth (Chapter
9).

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