What is the purpose of Simon in Lord of the Flies?Please could you include quotes? Thanks.

Though Simon doesn't say very much for a good part of the
novel, he has a very significant role that is essential to the development of the plot
in Lord of the Flies.  Comparitively, and on a very basic
level, Simon is the only one of the boys who is able to resist the savage behavior that
inevitably overtakes the rest of the boys (even Ralph, at one point) on the
island. 

More specifically, many critics see Simon as a
Christ figure; he is one with nature, is inherently good, and dies trying to save the
boys by reporting to them that there is no beast on the island.  Simon's encounter with
the lord of the flies can be compared to Jesus's encounter with Satan. (One name for a
demon in the Bible is Beelzebub, which, translated, means "lord of the
flies"). 

Golding's description of Simon's death is vivid
in its imagery:

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The water rose farther and dressed Simon's coare
hair with brightness.  The line of his cheek silvered and the turn of his shoulder
became sculptured marble. The strange attendant creatures, with their fiery eyes and
trailing vapors, busied themselves round his
head. 

Here, the fireflies
Golding describes seem to create a halo around Simon's head, and Golding further
describes the peace and tranquility of the world (as represented through this scene) to
stress the importance and beauty of Simon's character.  Ultimately, without Simon, the
boys have no hope of being saved from themselves.