Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

The Loss of Innocence: Lord of the Flies Theme Paper What line does a person have to cross before they no longer have their innocence? William Golding explores this question through his novel that studies the evils of humanity and mankind. Golding’s experience from serving in World War II provides him with the knowledge of human violence and the psychology behind it, allowing him to create a world in which unsupervised boys submit to their primal behaviors. Will any of the young boys ever be saved from the once utopian island that has seemed to plague almost every one of their minds with evil? In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of British schoolboys stranded on an island slowly descend from civilization into savagery, establishing

Near the end of the novel, one of the younger boys, Percival, who used to yearn for home, has now completely forgotten who he is, suggesting the loss of individuality and innocence. Although Percival didn’t participate in very many violent acts, the corruption that constantly surrounded him affected him in a way that nothing else could. The author states, ‘“I’m, I’m--’ But there was no more to come. Percival Wemys Madison sought in his head for an incantation that had faded clean away” (Golding 201). This quote reveals that Percival has been influenced so strongly by the evil on the island that he cannot even remember the “incantation” of his own name that he once used to comfort himself. Another example of memory loss among the boys comes from Ralph and his faltering hope for the boys’ possible rescue from the island. Golding writes, ‘“Well--what is the good?’ Ralph tried indignantly to remember. There is something good about a fire. Something overwhelmingly good” (Golding

His death is significant to the theme of the loss of innocence, as he is the very first killed on the island by the boys, although it was accidental. His character symbolized saintliness and human goodness -- losing the one person that still had these qualities suggests that the savages are now without much hope, and will continue their descent into savagery and evil. In contrast to Simon’s death, Piggy was killed deliberately. Golding writes, “High overhead, Roger, with a sense of delirious abandonment, leaned all his weight on the lever.The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist” (Golding 180-181). This piece of evidence illustrates how Piggy and the conch meet their end from the intentional push of the boulder by Roger. This was the very first intended murder, implying that the young boys no longer have any innocence left -- there is nothing more to lose. As the last sane character on the island, Piggy was the boys’ last hope of getting rescued or simply returning to