Selflessness In Lord Of The Flies

Simon and Jack are complete opposites of human nature; one being the “God” of the group of boys and the other being self-centered and violently driven. Although these two boys share different characteristics, they define Golding’s message about human nature, specifically on aggressiveness, selflessness, and independence. Even though Jack is only a young boy, he emits an aura of brutality and aggressiveness.“He snatched his knife out of the sheath and slammed it into a tree trunk. Next time there would be no mercy. He looked round fiercely, daring them to contradict” (31).Through his violent behavior, Jack conveys his attitude about showing no mercy to anyone, and that Golding was foreshadowing the murders Jack would commit later on in the …show more content…
They talked, cried out unintelligibly, lugged him toward the trees. Then, amid the roar of bees in the afternoon sunlight, Simon found for 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. The littluns watched him inscrutably over double handfuls of ripe fruit”(56). Although the littluns are useless in either the building of shelters or hunting, they decide to pick fruit for their only supply of food. Nonetheless, Simon decided to help reach out in place of the littluns’ short, little arms. “Simon, sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it. The twins giggled and Simon lowered his face in shame” (74). Simon puts himself in front of others, thinking about others more than himself. By doing so, Simon conveys his selflessness, caring more for the others’ well-being rather than his own. “They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned. At last Simon gave up and looked back; saw the white teeth and dim eyes, the blood -- and his gaze was held by that ancient, inescapable recognition. In Simon’s right temple, a pulse …show more content…
Jack shows it by forming his own hunting group and kill for enjoyment. Simon, on the other hand, depicts this by spending time by himself and thinking about their time on the island. “‘Tomorrow,’ went on the chief, ‘we shall hunt again.’ He pointed at this savage and that with his spear. ‘Some of you will stay here to improve the cave and defend the gate. I shall take a few hunters with me and bring back the meat. The defenders of the gate will see that the others don’t sneak in” (160).
For this quote, Jack already created his own tribe in an area called Castle Rock. This area features a fortress-like geography, letting Jack have a sense of “war”. He commands his “boys” to do exactly what he demands, and will not anyone slip through his plan. “Simon stayed where he was, a small brown image, concealed by the leaves. Even if he shut his eyes the sow’s head still remained like an after-image. The half-shut eyes were dim with the infinite cynicism of adult life. They assured Simon that everything was a bad business”(137). On the contrary, Simon spends time on his own thinking about their future and real side of human nature. He can already predict what is ahead of them and the turning point during their stay on this island. The image of the sow’s head affect him so much it is like an engraving onto his

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