wgolding.lordoftheflies-第38章

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　with　taste　and　liveliness；　the　talk　is　natural；　the　descriptions　of　scenery　enchanting。　It　is　certainly　not　a　forting　book。　But　it　may　help　a　few　grown…ups　to　be　less　placent　and　more　passionate；　to　support　Ralph；　respect　Piggy；　control　Jack　and　lighten　a　little　the　darkness　of　man's　heart。　At　the　present　moment　（if　I　may　speak　personally）　it　is　respect　for　Piggy　that　seems　needed　most　I　do　not　find　it　in　our　leaders。
　
　King's　College　
　Cambridge　May　14；　
　1962
　
　
　
　
　
　Simon1
　DONALD　R。　SPANGLER
　
　IN　Lord　of　the　Flies　the　character　Simon　has　about　him　a　general　aura　of　saintliness。　Critics　have　suggested　that　Simon　is　a　Christ　figure。　And　William　Golding；　on　the　artist's　part；　has　said　that　he　intended　to　present　a　Christ　figure　in　the　novel；　intimating　that　Simon　is　the　character　he　meant　so　to　present。2　Accordingly；　it　might　be　of　value　to　examine　what　textual　evidence　there　is　to　document　the　function　of　Simon　as　a　Christ　or　〃saint〃　in　Lord　of　the　Flies。
　Even　before　identified　by　name　Simon　is　introduced　as　the　choir　boy　who　had　fainted；　an　oblique　bit　of　characterization　that；　in　retrospect；　is　seen　to　have　impressed　upon　the　reader　the　hallucinatory；　and　hence；　mystical…religious　proclivities　of　a　boy　who　is　subject　to　〃spells。〃　His　name；　when　we　are　given　it；　reveals　in　its　etymology　the　distinguishing　〃attunedness〃　of　the　mystic…Simon；　〃the　hearkening。〃　And　the　Mother　Goose　appellative；　simple；　hints　of　the　〃holy　idiot〃　folk…type。
　Simon　is　skinny；　a　trait　that；　in　a　child；　suggests　the　adult　correlative　of　ascetic　self…abnegation。　A　〃vivid　little　boy；〃　his　face　〃glows；〃　radiant　after　the　manner　of　nimbus　and　halo。　Jungle　buds　rejected　by　the　others　because　inedible；　Simon's　religious　imagination　sees　as　〃candles。〃　（The　buds　open　at　night　into　aromatic　white　flowers；　whose　scent…　incense…prayer…and　color…white…innocence…confirm　the　value　that　he　singularly　had　sensed　them　to　have。）3　And
　
　1。　This　article　was　written　for　this　volume。
　2。James　Keating；　〃Interview　with　William　Golding；〃　May　10；　1962。　See　p。　192　in　this　volume。
　3。The　buds　also　appear　in　Ballantyne's　The　Coral　Island；　but　significant　here　is　the　rejection　of　them　by　everyone　but　Simon。
　
　when　the　lethargic　Piggy　fails　to　help　gather　fire　wood；　Simon　defends　him　to　the　others　by　observing　that　the　fire　had　been　started　with　Piggy's　glasses；　that　Piggy　had　〃helped　that　way；〃　a　ratiocination　on　Simon's　part　the　casuistry　of　which　is　surely　offset　by　its　overriding　passion。
　In　the　scene　in　which　Simon　〃suffers　the　little　children　to　e　unto　him；〃　Golding's　description　unmistakably　evokes　the　Biblical　accounts　of　Christ　amid　the　bread…hungry　masses：
　
　Then；　amid　the　roar　of　bees　in　the　afternoon　sunlight；　Simon　found　for　them　the　fruit　they　could　not　reach；　pulled　off　the　choicest　from　up　in　the　foliage；　passed　them　back　down　to　the　endless；　outstretched　hands。　When　he　had　satisfied　them　he　paused　and　looked　round。
　
　In　this　passage　and　elsewhere　Simon's　abstinence　from　eating　meat　contributes　to　the　impression　of　his　saintliness；　particularly　since　the　novel　implies　that　the　hunt　for　meat　as　food　disguises　the　blood…lust　to　kill　for　killing's　sake；　and　further；　that　carnivorousness　is　linked　with　carnality　（by　the　symbolic　coitus　of　the　sow　killing）　；4
　As　a　repeated　object　of　ridicule；　snickered　over　and　laughed　at；　Simon's　predicament　recalls　the　New　Testament　details　of　the　centurions'　mocking　of　Jesus。　And　as　Golding　has　pointed　out；　the　Biblical　temptation　of　Christ　has　its　parallel　in　Lord　of　the　Flies；　in　the　confrontation　between　the　boy　and　the　〃beast；〃　between　Simon　and　the　sow's　head；　which　tries　to　while　him　into　placency。
　To　Ralph；　Simon　prophesies　that；　〃　'You'll　get　back　where　you　came　from；'　〃　and　by　excluding　himself　from　the　predicted　rescue；　prophesies　in　that　same　breath　his　own　fate；　not　to　be　rescued。　Not　to　be　rescued　is　not　necessarily　to　die；　but　the　attendant　analogues　being　what　they　are；　there　seems　to　be　a　clear　correspondence　between　Simon's　foresight　and　that　of　Christ；　as　accounts　hold　Christ　to　have　anticipated　the　imminence　of　his　〃hour。〃
　Images　of　Gethsemane　and　Golgotha　amass　in　the　description　of　Simon's　agony　in　his　thicket　sanctum；　transfixed　by　the　impaled　head…the　apparition　of　the　beast　in　the
　
　4pare　E。　L。　Epstein；　〃Notes　on　Lord　of　the　Flies〃　p。　280　in　this　volume　and；　further；　Golding's　own　remarks　in　the　interview　with　James　Keating；　p。　195　in　this　volume。…Eds。
　
　forest　that　induces　in　Simon　his　apprehension　of　the　beast　in　man's　heart；　the　boy…mystic's　vision；　to　paraphrase　Richard　Wilbur；　of　how　much　we　are　the　beast　that　prowls　our　woods。　The　incidents　of　Simon's　kneeling　and　sweating　accord　directly　with　the　story　of　Gethsemane；　moreover；　Gold…ing's　description　reinforces　those　associations　by　half　raising　popular　pictorial　renderings　of　the　person　of　Jesus　and　of　the　Agony　in　the　Garden：　Simon　kneeling　in　an　〃arrow　of　sun；〃　with　〃head　tilted　slightly　up；〃　sweat　running　from　his　〃long；　coarse　hair。〃　（The　deft　advantage　to　which　Golding　here　puts　calendar…art　graphics　is　noteworthy。）
　As　the　thicket　is　the　setting　for　incidents　that　recall　Gethsemane；　it　is　the　setting　also　for　events　that　evoke　images　of　Golgotha。　Simon　falls；　in　accord　with　gospel　accounts　of　Jesus'　ascent　to　the　cross；　and　losing　consciousness；　regains　it　only　after　shedding　blood；　the　nosebleed　of　the　boy　analogous　to　the　lance…wounding　of　Jesus　in　the　details　of　the　crucifixion。
　It　is　as　sacrificial　victim；　however；　that　Simon　most　clearly　emerges　as　a　Christ　figure。　A　lad　whose　feet　〃left　prints　in　the　soil〃　（the　dirt…road　treks　of　the　teaching　Master？）；　he　is　described　as　〃burned　by　the　sun；〃　not　tanned　to　gold　like　the　other　boys；　but　burnt；　offering…like。　When；　after　he　has　received　the　revelation　that　the　〃beast；〃　the　〃thing〃　really　to　fear；　is　man's　nature；　it　is　with　Christ…like　resignation　to　inevitability　（〃What　else　is　there　to　do？〃　/〃Let　Thy　will　be　done。〃）　that　Simon　sets　out　to　discover　what　the　〃beast　on　the　mountain〃　really　is；　since　it　is　not　a　thing　to　fear。　When　he　finds　the　body　of　the　chutist　and　disentangles　the　lines；　Simon　is　seen　as　ministering　to　the　dead；　mitting　the　body　to　the　earth　so　that　the　processes　of　deposition　can　plete　the　return　〃to　earth。〃　However；　because　the　wind　takes　hold　of　the　chute　and　carries　off　the　corpse；　Simon　bees　the　exorcist　from　the　island　of　the　false　menace；　the　mistakenly　feared　dead　man。　（Golding　recollects　in　the　Keating　interview…after　explaining　that　his　memory　of　the　novel　might　be　blurred…that　Simon　releases　the　body　〃so　that　the　wind　can　＇italics　mine＇　blow　this　dead　thing　away　from　the　island；〃　implying　intention　on　Simon's　part。）　In　any　event；　Simon's　Christ…role　is　confirmed　when；　following　his　discovery　that　the　〃beast　on　the　mountain〃　is　only　the　dead　airman；　Simon　es　down　from　the　mountain…the　〃heights　of　truth〃…to　save　the　boys　from　their　false　fears　and　to　turn　their　sights　inward　upon　their　own　behavior；　sharing　the　knowledge　that；　while　the　dead　are　not　to　be　feared；　the　live　are。　（It　might　better　be　said　that；　while　the　dead　are　not　to　be　feared；　the　killed　are。）
　The　responsibility　for　the　martyrdom　of　Simon；　like　the　responsibility　for　that　of　Jesus；　can　be　ascribed　either　to　secular　or　sacred　interests。　At　first　the　tribe　maintains　that　it　was　not　Simon　they　had　killed；　but　the　terrorizing　〃beast〃　and　Simon　is　made　a　scapegoat；　the　capital…punishment　of　whom　satisfies　the　established　state　（the　tribe）　by　eliminating　a　supposed　enemy。　Later　on　the　boys　admit　that　it　was　not　the　〃beast〃　that　they　had　killed；　but　Simon；　rationalizing　that　the　human　sacrifice　will　finally　appease　the　〃beast；〃　which　they　have　been　placating　with　pigs'　heads；　and　Simon　is　made　a　human　offering；　the　immolation　of　whom　assuages　the　established　god　（the　〃beast〃）；　the　priests　of　which　the　〃celebrants〃　of　the　sacrificial　feast　bee。
　However；　the　analogue　between　Golding's　Simon　and　Christianity's　Saviour　stops　short　of　soteriology。　Only　Simon　has　hearkened。　From　his　life　and　death　no　help　accrues　to　that　microcosm　of　humanity；　on　its　island　Earth　in　a　space　of　sea；　lost；　and　in　need　to　be　〃saved。〃　Upon　Golding's　Simon　Peter　no　church　is　founded；　no　mechanism　for　salvation。　In　fact；　the　implication　of　the　novel　is。　that　the　beast　in　man　can　never　be　recognized　because　it　causes　imagined　〃beasts〃　forever　to　be　misidentified　and　slain　before　identified　correctly；　so　that；　unrecognized；　the　beast　endures。　The　beast　is　man's　inability　to　recognize　his　own　responsibility　for　his　own　self…destruction。
　Of　course；　what　constitutes　self…destruction　the　centuries　have　quarreled　over。　（What　〃good〃　is　really　evil；　what　〃evil〃　really　good？　Does　man　destroy　himself　in　being　himself；　or　in　trying　not　to　be　himself？　What　is　his　nature；　for　him　to　be　guilty　in　response　to；　innocent　in　accord　with；　or　guilty　in　accord　with　and　innocent　in　response　to？　The　physics　and　metaphysics　of　〃self〃　produce　the　paradoxes　of　guilt：　does　man　react　to　a　basically　innocent　nature　with　misguided　guilt；　or　react　to　a　basically　guilty　nature　with　unrecognizing　innocence？）　Apollo　and　Dionysus　still　wrestle。　Nevertheless；　whatever　in　man　is　to　blame；　what　is　to　blame　is　something　in　man。　It　is　the　shifting　by　man　of　responsibility　onto　〃beasts〃　outside　himself；　his　refusal　to　confront
　his　own　nature；　that　the　sow's　head　symbolizes　and　Golding　excoriates。
　What　finally　happens　to　Simon　the　saviour　the　four　paragraphs　closing　Chapter　Nine　relate；　in　detailing　the　disposition　of　Simon's　body。　These　paragraphs　emphasize　the　material　assimilation　of　the　corpse　back　into　the　material　universe。　It　is　true　that　the　last　glimpse　Golding　provides　of　the　body　is　that　of　its　drifting　〃out　to　sea；〃　in　the　ancient　symbolic　act　of　the　soul's　〃crossing　over；〃　but　the　absence　of　evidence　that　Simon　is　to　have　a　conscious　afterlife；　that　he　will　remain　in　any　way　intact　as　a　person；　makes　the　decorporealization　seem　very　permanent。　The　body　glows　ironically；　with　the　luminescence　of　scavengers；　metamorphosing　it　into　the　subhuman　world　of　ragged　claws。　Even　as　Simon's　body　is　seen；　at　the　close　of　Chapter　Nine；　to　be　a　〃silver　form　under　the　steadfast　constellations〃　（the　body　to　disintegrate；　the　stars　to　prevail）；　the　intimations　of　immortality　are　quite　evanescent。　The　romantic　metaphor　of　its　being　a　star　obviates　the　urgent　practicalities　of　the　Christian's　〃getting　into　heaven；〃　Simon's　soul　（breath…spirit）　leaves　him　with　a　last　gruesome　〃plop。〃　At　best　the　prospect　seems　to　be　the　certainly　non…Christian　one　of　Simon's　disembodied　spirit's　remaining　forever　disembodied。　The　drift　of　these　paragraphs　of　Lord　of　the　Flies　seems　to　counter　the　Christian　anticipation　of　an　eventual　hylozoic　reunion　of　human　body　and　soul。　And　though　the　reader's　sympathies　yearn　that　the　beauty　of　Simon's　spirit　preclude　its　extinction；　that　beauty　in　the　end　only　makes　the　oblivion　Simon　es　to　more　poignant。
　
　
　
　
　
　The　Coral　Island　Revisited1
　CARL　NIEMEYER
　
　ONE　interested　in　finding　out　about　Golding　for　oneself　should　probably　begin　with　Lord　of　the　Flies；　now　available　in　a　paperback。　The　story　is　simple。　In　a　way　not　clearly　explained；　a　group　of　children