In
chapter nine,discovers the dead paratrooper's corpse at the top of the mountain and travels to
the beach, where the boys have begun a tribal dance as rains falls and lightning strikes. In the
midst of the storm, Simon stumbles onto the beach and is mistaken for the beast. The boys
quickly form a circle around Simon's body and proceed to brutally beat him to death. Following
Simon's tragic death, his body is peacefully washed out to sea by the current.
In the next chapter,is the only boy to acknowledge Simon's death and talk about the
events that transpired the previous night.immediately attempts to dismiss the topic and begins
making excuses for their actions. Ralph proceeds to tell Piggy,
"That was Simon...That was murder" (Golding, 224).
Piggy responds by telling Ralph that it was extremely dark and they
were too frightened to realize what they were doing. When Ralph continues to talk about their
vicious, brutal actions, Piggy insists that he was on the outside of the circle. Piggy also
tells Ralph that the entire incident was an accident and blames Simon for trying to scare
them.
Asbegin to walk towards them, Piggy asks Ralph to not let on that they
were involved in Simon's death but Ralph responds by saying, "But we were! All of us!"
(Golding, 226). Piggy then convinces Ralph that he was also on the outside of the circle and the
boys attempt to suppress the memory of the traumatic experience. When Samneric arrive, they also
refuse to take responsibility for their role in Simon's death.