Innocence In Lord Of The Flies

“Kill the Pig, Cut his throat, Kill the Pig, Bash him in.”(Golding 114) Upon hearing this phrase, an ordinary person may imagine an endless amount of things; but it is highly unlikely that an image of a group of little boys would pop up. Children usually represent purity and innocence, but is that really true? William Golding’s Lord of the Flies shows how quickly one descends into the darkness of human nature when rules and societal expectations diminish through Jack’s desire to hunt and kill the pig, and through Roger’s disregard for Piggy’s life at Castle Rock.

To further understand, the reader must look at the beginning of the story, when the boys had crashed on this uninhabited island. Jack had thought of killing pigs but could not act

Jack's pride and joy in the kill, which urges him to describe the scene to others, shows his dark side of human nature. He also “twitches” as he talks about the scene of the kill, which reveals that a part of him resists his actions, but this instinct disappears as he kills more pigs. Rogers' progression into darkness subsides Jacks. His character isn’t necessarily prevalent in the novel, but his actions have a greater significance which help the reader further their understanding of the rapid descent into darkness. In chapter 11, Roger throws his humanity away when he starts pushing big boulders down at Ralphs group:“Someone was throwing stones: Roger was dropping them, his one hand still on the lever.[...]High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.” (Golding 180) This event, much the same as the previous occurrence of him throwing rocks, had the intent to kill behind it, which he does as one of the rocks squashes Piggy. Moreover, he has a sense of “delirious abandonment,” proving his disregard for repercussions and his false belief that he can do whatever he wants. Both of these events were entirely contrary to the beginning, from when the boys still had some semblance of social norms