Childhood. It lies in a harbor of innocence, anchored by naivete. The anchor is not pulled up when one reaches a certain age. The anchor is pulled up when a burden far heavier than the anchor itself is acquired; apprehending the evil that plagues our world. Evil disguises itself in all forms, one of which being tyranny. In the books, The Lord of the Flies and Snow Falling in Spring, the fist of totalitarianism crushes Ralph’s and Moying Li’s childhood along with their innocence.
Ralph's and Moying's innocence was secured by their trust in society. Before the cataclysm of the Red Guard movement, Moying looked up to grownups. She reminisces, "I trusted grownups in those days with all my heart." (pg. 1) As civilization erodes on the island, Ralph misses the guidance of grownups, believing all issues can be taken care of by them; "At home there was always a grownup. Please, sir; please, miss; and then you got an answer. " (pg. 127) Little does he know, the mishaps on the island corresponded to the flaws in society. Their trust in society was so strong so that when it was struck down with the truth, the blow had to be even harder.
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Moying witnesses egregious acts of the Red Guard, leaving her haunted with memories that reveal the atrocities of society. She questions the Red Guard’s cruelty, "His death also brought into focus questions that had disturbed me since the beginning of the Cultural Revolution...Why did so many people have to die?" (pg. 74) As Ralph agonizes over the hardships of the island, he realizes his once simple life is crumbling under the weight of the grim truth. "The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away." (pg.