Question

"Here the littluns who had run after him caught up with him. They talked, cried out unintelligibly, lugged him toward the trees. Then, amid the roar of bees in the afternoon sunlight, [he] 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." Who is HE in this chapter, and this quote is an example of what literary device

Answer 1

Answer:

The "he" in the passage is Simon.

This quote is an example of symbolism.

Explanation:

William Golding's Lord of the Flies tells the story of a group of British boys stranded in a deserted island, and left to fend for themselves for survival. The story revolves around the theme of savagery and the struggle for power, away from a civilized world.

The classification of the group into "biguns" and "littluns" represents the strong and the weak, the older and the younger ones. Simon represents the middle ground of civilization and nature in one. As their stay in the island gets longer and they began to lose their sense of civilization, Simon represents the goodness remaining in a human. He felt the need to help the younger boys, thus pulling "off the choicest (fruit) from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless outstretched hands". He is the remaining presence of goodness or humanity in the island, exerting kindness to others and helping those in need before his own needs.

This excerpt is an example of symbolism where Simon symbolizes the good, civilized world among the savagery of the other boys.