The character of Simon throughout Lord of the Flies is portrayed as being an innocent child, who, although the age of characters such as Ralph, Jack, and Maurice, maintains much more of a mental state akin to that of the younger children. Near the end of the novel, after Jack has split off from Ralph and Piggy and founded his band of boys, they decide to hold a feast. Jack invites Ralph, Piggy, and Sam and Eric to this feast, where they are roasting a sow that they have killed, and because they are starving, they agree to go. After everyone has eaten, a war dance is started, and escalates intensity as the island gets dark. Suddenly, Simon wanders into the circle of boys, and in a frenzy, they beat him to death. Although they are children, which means that they do not necessarily understand the full implications of their actions, and although it was an accident, this is the first time that anyone has purposefully killed a human on the island. Because Simon is such an innocent character, this truly represents a turning point in the novel, as everyone is affected by this event. Because there are no consequences, this triggers Jack and his group to become even more violent, to the point where they murder Piggy and hunt Ralph like an animal. For Ralph, Piggy, and Sam and Eric, this causes them to become much more weary of the world and of people at large.
Warning: Spoilers ahead
different uses in different scenario. The overall flaw of the island society in Lord of the Flies is that Ralph, Piggy, and Jack are not willing to come to terms with themselves as being equals. This leads to a series of attempts for control, but with only one of the three key aspects of government, all eventually fail.
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