Broken childhood: The erosion of innocence. Innocence is something that can be taken for granted. When innocence is threatened, it can reveal darkness within humans. In William Goldings Lord of the Flies, loss of innocence is represented in characters like Jack, Ralph, Piggy, and Roger. Initially, the boys were stuck on the island. Innocent, yet civil, but still craving adventure on this island with no parental vision. However, after being confronted with reality, the sense of adventure turns into a sense of survival, power, and bloodlust. Furthermore, true colours begin to show, portraying that children are able to become evil and twisted. Therefore, loss of innocence can lead to madness, and leadership. This is seen through Ralph as he becomes …show more content…
Ralph bringing the group to listen and act accordingly reestablishes a sense of community. Ralph shows qualities of leadership by staying calm, unlike Jack, who descends into madness when under pressure. In summary, Ralph conveys his newly developed leadership skills by showing authoritativeness, being a quick thinker, and understands that disorganization can lead to chaos. Secondly, Jack’s relentless search for power and dominance alongside his disbelief in democracy and distaste for youthfulness points to his descent into insanity, and dictatorship on the island. He is always trying to overthrow Ralph, but at the cost of purity. It can be noted that Jack always wants to be in power. As the group is picking who will be leader, Jack “‘ought to be chief’- ‘because I chapter chorister, and head boy. I can sing in C sharp.’”(Gold 22). Jack shows how he is a natural leader because he is not afraid to take the responsibility. His experience with the choir gives him leverage as well, as the other boys fear for him, which aids in Ralph's eventual termination. It also shows his entitlement because he thinks he should be a leader