Lord Of The Flies Innocence Quotes

Edna St. Vincent Millay once said“Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies”("Quotes About Loss Of Innocence") .In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, these kids have destroyed their childhood by committing murder after being marooned on an island for weeks. No adults are to be found, so the children have begun to run amok all around the island and tensions run high between them. The boys are forced to make their own society and their own rules. Their innocence can be questioned when they first kill the pig. The turning point in their loss of childhood and innocence was when they murder their first victim. When Simon dies, all innocence is lost on the island which reinforces Golding’s theme that when innocence is gone, irrational thinking and violence will occur.

Simon was the epitome of innocence, because he never wanted to hurt anyone. He also tried to be on everyone’s side and looked out for the rest of the group. He believed that everyone had the best intentions, and was intuitive to the other’s emotions. For example, after Piggy confronted Ralph, Ralph was embarrassed, so Simon tried to help by, “stroking Ralph’s arm shyly”(Golding 25). He wanted to let Ralph know that he thought he made the right choice and was willing to support him. Later on, when Ralph was stressed, because there was no smoke Simon attempted to calm him, “Simon put out his hand, timidly, to touch Ralph”(67). He wanted to let him know to calm down, because it was all gonna be okay. This is the guy’s equivalent of a hug when someone is freaking out. Ralph needs Simon to remind him that someone is there supporting him, even when he feels like he is alone. Simon was always able to understand the other’s emotions and try to relieve their worries like when he comforts Ralph about returning home, “Simon nodded. ‘All the same. You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway’”(111). He wants to reassure Ralph that he knows that