Naval Officer In Lord Of The Flies Essay

The naval officer in chapter 12 of Lord of the Flies can be perceived in multiple different ways. Some may say that the naval officer was the savior, and that without him the boys would have never been able to leave the island. Others believe that he was the indirect cause of the island’s destruction and possible demise. Golding added the naval officer into the novel for a purpose, and not just to show that the boys got rescued. We will explore the importance of the naval officer and what his importance to the book really was. In the novel the naval officer shows up at the end of chapter 12 to rescue the boys on the island. He is described as wearing “a white-topped cap, and above the green shade of the peak was a crown, an anchor,

They believe that the naval officer was the indirect cause of the island’s destruction. The officer can be perceived as being a dues ex machina, this is somebody who resolves a problem that seems impossible to solve and seems like it has no solution. He is also described as having weapons and violent traits to show that he isn't just their rescuer and “savior” but he also has a violent and preparing to go to war. The naval officer tells Ralph “I should have thought that a pack of British boys—you’re all British, aren’t you?—would have been able to put up a better show than that—I mean—” (Golding 290). He is disappointed in the boys because he expects British people to act more civilized in a situation like this, and not kill two of their own men. This quote also demonstrates again and highlights that the naval officer obtains violent traits and is upset with what the boys have done. Additionally, this is ironic because he is presumably just as violent as they have been. Moreover, the naval officer can be observed as being a violent and malicious character, who may have saved the boys’ lives but by doing so was also the indirect cause of the inevitable destruction of the island.

Holistic Thesis: In chapter 12 of the novel the naval officer who saves the boys from the destruction they were causing upon themselves should be viewed as a savior figure and the reason that they did not all die on that