Lord of the Flies

“A VIEW TO A DEATH”

William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is captivating because of the amount of symbolism he

uses for the characters in the story. Ralph is one of the main characters in the story who

symbolizes leadership. His archenemy Jack symbolizes violence and destruction. But Simon who

is one of the other boys in the island is different. Unlike the physical symbols Ralph and Jack

represent, Simon a black haired, small, epileptic boy who is full of spiritual qualities and has a

strong union with nature. Simon, who was brave enough to discover the true identity of the beast,

was mistaken for the beast and got murdered. In the Lord of the Flies William Golding uses light

imagery in the last four paragraphs of chapter nine, “A view to a death” to suggest that nature

honors Simon by giving him a burial. Everything in nature including the sky, the water, and the sea

creatures, play a role in Simon’s burial.

Nature pays tribute to Simon by illuminating Simon’s funeral location the decoration of

him and the environment with its beauty. In preparation for the burial, it stops raining and the sky

is clear, while “incredible lamps of stars”(153) appeared. In order to change the burial

environment, the sky changes from it’s state of disruptiveness represented by the rain to a state of

beauty and peacefulness represented by the sun, moon, and stars. In addition to making the

environment honorable towards Simon the “sun and moon [are ] pulling” (154) over the darkened

curve of the world promoting calmness. After seizing the natural disasters, nature starts to restore

the surface by making it look peaceful and exquisite. This comes in prospect when water became

so “clear” that is “mirrored to the sky”(153) as well as the angular bright constellation that reflects

on the water. To add to a final touch to the scene “breeze dies”(153) and “sound of the water is

still” which makes the environment honorable towards Simon.

In addition, Golding suggests that nature uses light to adequately prepare Simon for his burial. The water which surrounds Simons’s body reflect the sky and its beauty and it creates an