Note that the literal translation of the Greek word Beelzebub, a term used for the Judeo-Christian idea of Satan, is “lord of the flies,” and flies feast on dead animals and excrement. When Simon asks the assembly "What’s the dirtiest thing there is?" he looks for the answer “evil” but also included in that answer is decay and death. Ironically, Jack’s excretory answer is partially correct.
Jack provides more insight into the beast’s identity when he asserts that “The beast is a hunter,” unwittingly implicating himself as part of the problem, a source of the boys’ fears. His lust for power and authority causes him to commit and encourage savage acts against his own kind — an accurate measure of his depravity. Sitting in front of his tribe, “Power . . . chattered in his ear like an ape.” The figurative devil on his shoulder is his own animality, looking to master other creatures.
Golding pairs the devolution of Jack’s character with Simon’s hallucinatory revelation to paint a complete picture of humankind’s dark side — that which the boys call “the beast.”
