The pull to do something that we know we shouldn’t is a constant in life, and when we give in we often find the situation backfiring. As we deal with the repercussions, those who told us better feel superior and often say that it’s karma. The term karma is rooted in religion, referring to a Hindu and Buddhist concept which says that a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence decides his or her fate in future existences. Over time, karma has been incorporated into common vocabulary, and is now generally understood to describe the observation that a person’s actions, good or bad, will have consequences. This circular view of the universe has persisted in popular belief for centuries, and is present in William Golding’s Lord of
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Simon’s death comes towards the end of the novel, by which point many key components of civilization have ceased to exist on the island. Most of the group has joined Jack’s tribe and succumbed to the barbaric nature that their unstructured civilization fosters, with Piggy and Ralph being among the few holdouts who attempt to maintain their morality and individuality. They hate the idea of surrendering by joining Jack’s tribe, and in fact only go to the feast, in Piggy’s words, “to make sure nothing happens” (Golding, 148). But once there, they find a situation frenzied by meat and a storm, and are overwhelmed by the excitement and the appeal of being part of a group. They become “eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding, 152). The group begins to dance and chant, and a weakened Simon is caught in the crowd when he crawls onto the beach. The boys “leapt onto [Simon], screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding, 153). After Simon is murdered, Golding once again shows the island to be living sentient character, mourning its favored force of good and morality and punishing the group for their wrongdoing. The clouds open and “let down rain like a waterfall,” suggesting that the island is crying; and yet in this grief there is a distinctive sense of vengeance, as the boys are struck by the fierce water and rendered unable to see. This is the final major event in the novel to indicate the existence of karma, as the boys suffer the consequence of what they did to Simon with his blood still fresh on the
Simon’s death comes towards the end of the novel, by which point many key components of civilization have ceased to exist on the island. Most of the group has joined Jack’s tribe and succumbed to the barbaric nature that their unstructured civilization fosters, with Piggy and Ralph being among the few holdouts who attempt to maintain their morality and individuality. They hate the idea of surrendering by joining Jack’s tribe, and in fact only go to the feast, in Piggy’s words, “to make sure nothing happens” (Golding, 148). But once there, they find a situation frenzied by meat and a storm, and are overwhelmed by the excitement and the appeal of being part of a group. They become “eager to take a place in this demented but partly secure society” (Golding, 152). The group begins to dance and chant, and a weakened Simon is caught in the crowd when he crawls onto the beach. The boys “leapt onto [Simon], screamed, struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws” (Golding, 153). After Simon is murdered, Golding once again shows the island to be living sentient character, mourning its favored force of good and morality and punishing the group for their wrongdoing. The clouds open and “let down rain like a waterfall,” suggesting that the island is crying; and yet in this grief there is a distinctive sense of vengeance, as the boys are struck by the fierce water and rendered unable to see. This is the final major event in the novel to indicate the existence of karma, as the boys suffer the consequence of what they did to Simon with his blood still fresh on the