Simon is the wisest of the boys stranded on the island in Lord of the Flies, and he is strange and mysterious.
Simon is one of the choir boys, who are directed by Jack. As the choir joins the other boys after Ralph blows the conch, Simon collapses. The boys in the choir are used to Simon fainting.
At that first assembly, Ralph, the newly elected chief, and Jack decide to explore the area to see if they are on an island. Simon volunteers his help, which reveals his helpful nature.
At an assembly, plans are made for everyone to work together to build shelters. However, Simon is the only boy who consistently works with Ralph to build the shelters. While Ralph is discussing that matter with Jack, Simon sneaks off into the woods.
As he enters the jungle, Simon helps the littlest of the boys by handing down the ripe fruit they could not reach themselves. He then wanders deeper into the woods, through a dense patch of creepers, or vines, and into his secret forest glade—a clearing in the jungle—where he relaxed and meditated.
The boys fear of the "beastie", a snake-like monster one of the boys had claimed to see, began to grow. A small boy named Phil woke up one night and saw something moving around in the dark. Ralph asked if any of the boys were outside that night, and Simon admitted he was. He had gone back to his secret place in the forest.
During that same meeting, Simon, who originally agreed with Ralph that there was no monster, brought up the idea that there might be a beast, but that it was the boys.
After Jack leaves to start his own tribe, Simon suggests to Ralph that they should climb the mountain to look for the beastie. However, the others did not agree.
Yet again, Simon snuck off to his hidden spot. While there, he saw Jack and his band of boys kill a sow and mount her head on a stick as an offering to the beast. Flies swarmed the head, and, in Simon's mind, it became the "Lord of the Flies".
Simon hallucinates that the "Lord of the Flies" is speaking to him, calling him "an ignorant, silly little boy." The head told him that it was part of him and that there was no escape, and Simon had another fainting episode.
A blood vessel bursts in his nose, the epileptic fit ends, and he sleeps for a time. When he wakes up, he continues his journey up the mountain. He makes it up the mountain and finds the dead body that was nodding because the parachute that was still attached was catching in the wind. The other boys needed to know the truth about the beast, so Simon goes back down the mountain to tell them.
Meanwhile, the boys are all at Jack's, and they are feasting and dancing around the fire. Something comes out of the jungle, and the boys work into a frenzy thinking it is the beast. They stab the creature and push it off a cliff into the rocks. The beast was Simon, who had come to tell the others of his discovery.
Symbolism of Simon in Lord of the Flies
In Lord of the Flies Simon's character symbolizes goodness, and he is often compared to the Biblical figure Christ. His character acts as an allegory, which is a deeper or hidden meaning. In his case, Simon is an allegory of saintliness and human goodness.
Simon does not bully nor give into savagery or violence, which all of the other boys do. He is kind, such as in his tenderness towards the littluns, and he often volunteers and sacrifices his time and energy for the good of everyone. Simon is also exceedingly wise. He is the only one to realize that the beast the boys are scared of is not a creature that lives in the forest.
There is also a mystical aspect to Simon's character. He seeks seclusion so he can meditate on his own thoughts. Twice in the novel, Simon has epileptic fits, and in the second, he hallucinates the "Lord of the Flies" is talking to him.