During the
assembly held at night to put things back in order,opens up a discussion about "the
beast," hoping to settle the matter once and for all so that they can "start
again," and "be careful," and "be happy." However, the discussion has
the opposite effect as the possibility of a "beast from water" begins to seem
plausible. , who is more sensitive and discerning than the other boys, but who has difficulty
expressing himself in front of a group, rises to speak. He starts out by saying, "Maybe
there is a beast," and the other boys interrupt him. He finishes his thought awkwardly,
clarifying, "maybe it's only us." He is hoping to convey to the boys
"mankind's essential illness," the fact that if the boys are in danger, it is from
each other and from their own moral failures. His insights are spurned by the
others.
In the next chapter, as the boys are searching for the beast thathave
seen, Simon remains in doubt about its existence as a physical creature. Even when he tries to
imagine what type of creature it could be, "there rose before his inward sight the picture
of a human at once heroic and sick." Whether he has in mind a political figure from his
life back home, or , whom he has acknowledged would be a poor alternative to Ralph as chief, he
understands that humans are capable of producing far worse damage to society than beasts can.
That is why he mumbles to Ralph, "I don't believe in the beast." He believes the real
threat to the boys is the heart of evil that lies within each of them.
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