In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, what are some quotes that compare Simon to Jesus of Nazareth?
This question is another way of asking, "What quotes show Simon is a Christ-figure?" Jesus of Nazareth, according to the New Testament, is the Messiah, or Christ, which literally means "the anointed one." The Christ brings truth and healing to his followers but is rejected by those he comes to save. He provides salvation by dying for the sins of his people. There are many parallels between Simon and Jesus in Golding's novel.
In chapter 3, there is a scene that parallels Jesus' feeding the five thousand: "Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down the the endless, outstretched hands."
In chapter 6, Simon is walking next to Ralph when he bumps into a tree, whereupon "Simon reeled and a white spot on his forehead turned red and trickled." The blood on Simon's head is reminiscent of the blood that tricked down Jesus' face when the crown of thorns was placed on his head.
In chapter 7, Simon acts as a prophet, like Jesus, telling Ralph, "You'll get back to where you came from."
Simon is portrayed as a healer in chapter 7, when Jack gets gouged by the passing boar. He says to Jack, "That's a wound... and you ought to suck it."
In chapter 5, when Simon tries to explain "mankind's essential illness," the other boys mock him: "the laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away defenseless to his seat."
In chapter 8, Simon has an encounter with the Lord of the Flies, which is Beelzebub, the chief of demons. This is similar to Jesus' temptation by the devil. Just as the devil wanted Jesus to forget about being the Messiah, the Lord of the Flies says to Simon: "Get back to the others and we'll forget the whole thing."
Language that Golding uses during the scene of Simon's murder is meant to bring to mind Jesus' crucifixion. First, Golding writes, "Simon was crying out something about a dead man on a hill." Although it refers to the dead paratrooper on the mountain, "dead man on a hill" conjures an image of Jesus' death on the hill of Calvary. Later Golding refers to Simon's "broken body," a religious term that Christians use during the sacrament of Eucharist or ordinance of Communion: the wafers are referred to as Jesus' "body which is broken for you."
These are some quotes that indicate how Golding subtly and carefully portrays Simon as a Christ-figure and compares him to Jesus of Nazareth.
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