Simon And Ralph Comparison At Chapter 3

Essay, Research Paper

Golding portrays the different characters

and those ideologies that accompany them with a strong contrast in writing

style. To further understand this we must compare characters from his Nobel

Prize winning novel, The Lord of the Flies. A good example of this is Jack

who represents evil, described at the beginning of chapter three, and Simon

who represents good and spirituality, described at the end of chapter three.

Golding writes the story with the knowledge

that characters who strongly dominate the plot at any given time of the

book will become associated with the mood and imagery of their surroundings.

When he writes about Jack he creates dark images, to represent evil. One

of the ways that he does this is by placing Jack in a dark and unpleasant

jungle. The jungle that Golding describes is also humid, and makes the

reader feel uncomfortable. He also describes Jack as being similar to animals;

“?Then dog-like on all fours?”, “?flared nostrils”, as to create an image

of a character who is governed by instinct and savagery. The mention of

dark sunburn and freckles splashes the image of red colour on Jack’s character

signifying rage and lack of control. Every move that Jack makes is described

as quick and deceiving, and this prevents the reader from trusting or admiring

Jack.

When Golding writes about Simon’s sunburn,

he describes it as a deep tan, which does not have the same connotation

as Jack’s red sunburn. Every move that Simon makes is slow and delicate;

“?He picked his way up the scar?”, “?He walked with an accustomed tread?”.

Simon is found in a beautiful scene with fruit trees, flowers, and honey

bees. Butterflies dance, expressing the good spirit always accompanying

Simon. Golding has the little ones who are the helpless and weak members

of society seek Simon for aide in reaching fruit that they themselves cannot

reach. This is done intentionally to show Simon’s compassion, and Golding

would not place Jack in a similar scenario. Chapter three concludes with

white flowers opening to symbolize peace and love, the aura surrounding

Simon.

It is nocoincidence that Simon and Jack

are placed in such different circumstances and imagery. It is also no mistake

that any similar movements and characteristics (sunburn) the two have,

are described in such a way as to create differing connotations. Golding

writes every sentence, places every image, and inserts every symbol with

precision. He truly is a masterful writer.