More handpicked essays just for you.
Lord of the flies characters analysis essay
Literary analysis lord of the flies
Character analysis in Lord of the Flies
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Erin Ritchie
ENG 2DP
Ms. Russell
November 28, 2016
The Evil Within
The Theme of Loss of Innocence
In
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies
As people grow up they will meet diverse groups of individuals, experience a number of different things and encounter a series of variant situations that will all eventually cause them to lose their innocence. Throughout William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, the innocence of the boys on the island slowly deteriorates and by the end is lost completely as they are forced to endure many situations where their perception and embodiment of evil is tested. Piggy, Ralph and Jack’s loss of innocence affects them differently because of the varying ways they react to the problems and circumstances they encounter
…show more content…
on the island. Piggy is the most responsible and intellectual boy on the island, and mainly loses his innocence through witnessing the other boys’ acts of savagery. Piggy represents the Superego and, according to Freud’s theory, it symbolizes morality. Although his innocence is quite (Ritchie 2) adult-like, it is still very apparent in the beginning of the novel. Piggy’s innocence first begins to decline during the signal fire when he is forced to act much more mature than the other boys because of their young and childlike tendencies, “‘But the first time Ralph says “fire” you goes howling and screaming up this here mountain. Like a pack of kids!”’ (Golding 45) When the boys decide to build a signal fire on top of the mountain, they lose insight of the purpose of the fire and are instead motivated to keep the flames growing higher and higher. Since the other boys are all preoccupied by the excitement of the fire, Piggy is the only boy who notices the danger, “‘...little ‘uns was wandering about down there where the fire is. How d’you know they aren’t still there?’... ‘That little ‘un-’ gasped Piggy- ‘him with the mark on his face, I don’t see him. Where is he now?”’ (Golding 46) When Piggy notices the disappearance of a little ‘un, he loses some of his innocence because he realizes that someone potentially died right in front of him. Piggy represents his role of the Superego after Jack and his hunters raid Ralph’s camp. He is extremely moralistic compared to the other boys because of his realization that they do not care about the same things that he does, which shows Piggy their savagery. The night after Ralph and Piggy attend Jack’s feast and the hunters kill Simon, the hunters come to the beach to destroy the camp and steal Piggy’s glasses. Piggy shows his innocence when he believes that all of the other boys respect and cherish the conch the way he does, “The conch still glimmered by the chief’s seat… ‘I know, they didn’t take the conch. They came for something else.”’ (Golding 186) His mind loses its purity when he comes to terms with the fact that the other boys do not value rules and civility. Finally, Piggy’s innocence and values are destroyed along with the conch, as well his own life. The day after Jack and his tribe raid Ralph’s camp, Ralph and Piggy go to Castle (Ritchie 3) Rock to try and remind him of the importance of moral and civility. Piggy continuously attempts to convince the others of the positive aspects of rules and order, “‘Which is better- to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?”’ (Golding 200) but he is unable to do so because the boys have already drifted far away from their innocence. It is somewhat symbolic that Piggy dies along with the conch, almost as if his character could not exist without it, since he is extremely dependent on what it epitomizes, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist.” (Golding 200) Even though Piggy did not give in to his inner-evil, witnessing others doing so caused him to lose his innocence. Ralph loses his innocence through viewing the others’ acts of savagery, as well as his experiencing his own.
Ralph’s loss of innocence is first demonstrates when the boys first realize that they are all alone on a deserted island and then appoint Ralph as their chief, which causes him to take on an adult-like leadership role, “‘Seems to me we ought to have a chief to decide things’... ‘I’m chief then.”’ (Golding 19) After Ralph and Piggy discover the conch shell, Ralph blows it to summon any other human life on the island to the platform, where they hold their first meeting. Ralph believes in parliamentary procedures and has a maturity about him that makes the other boys want him as their leader. This causes him to take on more responsibility and attempts to do things the way adults would. Also, he can’t stay behind and play like the other children do, instead he must explore the island, “‘I’ve got to have time to think things out. I can’t decide what to do straight off… we’ve got to decide if this is an island… three of us will go …show more content…
on (Ritchie 4) an expedition and find out.”’ (Golding 20) However, even though Ralph is enemies with the hunters and is extremely against their rules and values, his inner-savage comes out in the excitement of the pig hunt.
During Ralph’s first time pig-hunting, he is able to wound a pig and is exceedingly exhilarated by it, “Ralph was full of fright and apprehension and pride. ‘I hit him! The spear stuck in-”’ (Golding 124) The boys later lose control of their morality when they recreate the pig hunt with a boy named Robert acting as the pig. Ralph gets caught-up in his destructive mindset after experiencing what it feels like to go hunting, and loses control of himself, “Ralph, carried away by a sudden thick excitement, grabbed Eric’s spear and jabbed at Robert with it… Ralph too was fighting to get near, to get a handful of that brown, vulnerable flesh. The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.” (Golding 125) Nonetheless, he is still very in-tune with his civility and is able to regain himself and remind the other boys that it is just a game. Towards the novel’s climax, Ralph comes to terms with all of the horrors he encountered and crimes that were committed on the island. Right after Piggy’s death, Jack and his tribe decide that Ralph needs to die so they set the forest on fire and chase him through the jungle to kill him. Once Ralph reaches the beach, he sees a naval officer who has come to rescue them after seeing the fire. Ralph is not even fazed by the fact that two of
the boys have died, even though this would cause panic for a normal child, “‘Nobody killed, I hope? Any dead bodies?’... ‘Only two. And they’ve gone.”’ (Golding 223) At the end of the novel, when Ralph is able to come to terms with the events that have taken place on the island, “Ralph wet for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (Golding 225) Ralph cries for the innocence that he lost, knowing he can never retrieve it again. (Ritchie 5) Although Ralph represents the Ego which showcases reality, he subjects himself to his own savage and evil instincts at times. Throughout the novel Jack progresses from a civil, well-behaved boy hoping for rescue to an animalistic, blood-thirsty savage waiting for his next kill. It is evident even from the beginning that Jack is the main antagonist of the novel and will be one of the first boys to lose his innocence, especially when he decides to create a mask for himself. He first paints his face to create a camouflage that he can hide behind before he kills his first pig, “Jack planned his new face… the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness.” (Golding 66) Jack is able to hide his true-self and innocence behind the mask. The mask represents savagery and after wearing it for so long Jack begins to act like a savage. The other boys also have insight into the real meaning behind the masks, “They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought.” (Golding 191) The masks allows Jack and the other boys to let their inner-beasts out, as well as compress their humanity and civility. Jack’s obsession with hunting and killing pigs in brutal and sadistic ways is the key principal to his loss of innocence. During one of Jack and his hunters’ most barbarous kills yet, they decide to cut off the pig’s head and leave it as an offering to the beast, “This head is for the beast. It’s a gift.”’ (Golding 151) Jack is presenting the beast with a gift because he feels they are equals and on the same level, since Jack has become a beast as well. In the beginning of the novel when Jack stalked his first pig, he hesitated and did not hurt it. But after several times of attacking the innocent creatures, he is able to release his inner-evil (Ritchie 6) and abandon all thoughts of compassion and civility, “The spear moved forward inch by inch and the terrified squealing became a high-pitched scream. Then Jack found the throat and the hot blood spouted over his hands. The sow collapsed…” (Golding 149) Before Jack arrived on the island, he could be recognized as a proper English boy, but shows that he is extremely menacing and volatile. Jack’s last act of savagery before they are rescued is when he abandons all thoughts of friendship as well as respect and consideration for others when he tries to kill Ralph. After Ralph and Piggy go to Jack’s camp in attempt to reason with him, Piggy is killed, and Jack decides that Ralph needs to die as well because he cannot have Ralph competing for the role of chief on the island. “Viciously, with full intention, he hurled his spear at Ralph.” (Golding 201) Jack does not even think about killing anymore and proves how dangerous he is and that he has allowed the evil presence within himself to take full control and remove his innocence. Jack is not even aware of the evil that is inside of him, “He obeyed an instinct that he did not know he possessed.” (Golding 201) and demonstrates that he relies on his savage instincts to make decisions. Unlike the other boys, Jack’s loss of innocence and descent into savagery is shown through his embodiment of evil. And since he can be seen as the Id from Freud’s theory, he demonstrates that he relies on his natural human instincts to get through his time on the island, whether those instincts be positive or negative. In conclusion, the characters Piggy, Ralph and Jack in William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies do not lose their innocence from the natural ways a child does when growing up, but by being exposed to the savage and evil side that has always been apart of them. The boys had no (Ritchie 7) way to prevent their fates, because everyone perceives evil and acts upon it in different ways, even though all humans have the same amount of evil within. Piggy’s perception of evil, Ralph’s thoughts and actions towards it and Jack’s destructive nature caused them to lose their innocence. Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. Faber and Faber: London, 1954. Print.
Ralph’s loss of order results in the inability for him to be trusted by the littluns, eventually leading to his fall from authority as a leader. Jack’s aggressive presence creates a common fear among the boys, and fear is the primary reason for his gain of control over both them and the island. Using his selfishness and impulsiveness in order to take advantage of the boys’ innocence, Jack develops leadership qualities which emphasize Ralph’s insecurities regarding his ability to obtain power. This emphasis brings Ralph to disappointment in himself and in the island’s corruption. Unknowing of how to react to their loss of sophistication, Ralph is left with only “his fading knowledge of the world” (Golding 162). His failure to obtain the role as a leader leaves him unable to fix the savage mistakes in the boys whom are now ignorant to the idea of a properly civilized society. The ideas of power and earning superiority over Jack distract Ralph, demonstrating his distinct values as an individual. Although the principles by which he lives are conducted under circumstances revolved around escaping the island, his individualistic approach to survival opportunities being evident through the isolation of Piggy. It is only when his death is upon Ralph that Piggy’s existence is recognized, confirming his value of self-involvement over companionship. The older boys see immaturity in the littluns because of their age and, consequently, lack of independence. Their weakness causes them to follow Jack even though they are fearful of his intimidating appearance and his potential as a powerful, evil force. Therefore, because of the littluns’ vulnerability, Jack is able to develop power in evil, resulting in
Ralph’s power at the beginning is secure but as the group succumbs to their savage instincts, Ralph’s influence declines as Jack’s rises. This is due mainly to the cruelty and violence that goes on in the story. This cruelty reveals that Ralph’s commitment to civilization and being rescued is so strong that he will not allow himself to change his morals and become cruel like the others. The cruelty in this novel also shows that Ralph is a very intelligent character. His intelligence can be proven because there was a point in the novel when he hunts a boar for the first time and he experiences the thrill of bloodlust. He also attends one of Jack’s feast where he is swept away by the frenzy and participates in the killing of Simon. This is a very tragic moment for Ralph because this is when he realizes the evil that lives within himself and every human being. It is the cruel acts that happen in this novel that reveals Ralph’s character of being intelligent and being able to think deeply about human experiences. He even weeps when getting saved because of his knowledge about the human capacity for
At the beginning, clearly Ralph feels that Jack is an ally, a companion; not a rival for leadership, "Ralph found himself alone on a limb with Jack and they grinned at each other ... that strange invisible light of friendship". The chosen leader of the group, Ralph tried to lead the stranded boys into some kind of order. The authority of Jack and the sensibility of Piggy easily sway him. When Ralph first meets Piggy, he sees him as a lower person who should be ridiculed. He starts off by asking for his name and he is told that people used to make fun of
They continue walking and Ralph spots a shell. That Piggy explained it’s so expensive and fragile. Piggy came up with the idea of using the shell to attract others attention. He says, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us- (Golding 16).” If it wasn’t for Piggy’s brilliant idea the boy’s would've never had a meeting to meet each other and have a start to a plan where they can possibly be rescued. However Ralph doesn’t keep his word that he wouldn’t say anything. Ralph said “He’s not Fatty, his real name is Piggy (Golding 21).” Then everyone starts to laugh and he makes Piggy feel bad. Ralph’s feelings towards Piggy change in a matter of seconds, just to fit in with the crowd. Although Piggy was treated bad by Ralph, he still voted for him to be chief. Later on, since Ralph was
“I think that’s the real loss of innocence: the first time you glimpse the boundaries that will limit your potential” (Steve Toltz). In the previous quote, Steve Toltz discusses the transition from innocence to corruption. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies illustrates the loss of innocence through various characters: Jack, who struggles with pride and a thirst for power; Roger, who revels in the pain of others and uses fear to control the boys; Simon, who represents the demise of purity when humans are at their most savage; Ralph, who illustrates the struggle people endure when attempting to be civilized near the savage; and Piggy, who suffers because he has the only technology necessary to survive. Golding enforces the theory that true innocence will often pay the price to sustain true evil by arranging the characters' personalities and actions in a way that correlates to the effects of Darwin's evolution theory, "survival of the fittest" (). Jack is a good example of this as he exerts power over the weak and uses his skills in hunting to survive. The thirst to prove his masculinity overrides his innate purity, effectively corrupting him. Jack’s loss of innocence begins a domino effect that begins to influence the others.
“Innocence ends when one is stripped of the delusion that one likes oneself.” ― Joan Didion, On Self-Respect. In the book, The Lord of the Flies, a group of kids crash on an island and have to fend for themselves. Innocence is in the crashing of the plane because it is when the boys realize that they have to do things alone now. They had to work together to set up a nice society and to keep everything running good. However they lost their innocence with their actions. First it was killing the mama pig and hunting for her. Then moved on to the death of simon and that they killed him. Also chasing Ralph and going savage and then killing Piggy.
Loss of innocence occurs throughout the novel. Piggy realizes the change between innocence and savagery when he questions, “What are we? Human? Or animal? Or savages?” (Golding 79). Simon soon follows when he states, “What I mean is…...maybe it’s only us” (Golding 89). Both boys realize the true beast is the group and they end up paying for the uncontrolled actions of others with their lives. The drastic change between civilization on the island causes the group to become savage and feed off of violence. When Golding writes, “Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy” (Golding 202), Ralph shows his understanding that they need adult authority in their lives and Piggy was the one trying to warn him. Ralph starts to think, “The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (Golding 91), when the group starts to lose innocence along with civilization. The late realization adds to the theme of civilization vs savagery and drives the plot to loss of
Ralph is described as looking down at his appearance and thinking back to how civil he looked and was before the plane crash. “He discovered with a little fall of the heart that these were the conditions he took as normal now and that he did not mind.” (110) Ralph has become accustomed to his new way of living which shows how his human nature has adapted to its surroundings and the fact that he doesn’t mind shows the downfall of his hope of getting rescued. As the main group of boys is corrupted and separates into two groups, Ralph blows the conch one last time to bring together the last few boys remaining under his leadership to discuss what they should be focused on to get rescued quickly. Ralph states that “the fire’s the most important thing on the island, because, because-” ‘He paused again and the silence became full of doubt and wonder. Piggy whispered urgently.’ “Rescue.” (145) The dialogue between Ralph and Piggy is an iconic scene in the book because it shows the boys’ decline in their humanity and the loss of importance of being rescued. Ralph’s stuttering symbolizes the importance of being rescued getting put on hold. Piggy, the only boy with a sense of clarity of the situation, has to remind Ralph what the most important idea
The loss of one’s innocence or the coming of age is a normal occurrence that happens to
Ralph is the tribes only victim remaining and they send boulders tumbling through the forest as well as armed tribal members with spears to kill him. These boys have been away from their usual everyday lives for a substantial amount of time, allowing them to make decisions that they may not regret. It is awful that human nature motivates people towards human destruction for their own pleasure or growth in power. Ralph told Piggy before he was thrown off a cliff, “I’m frightened. Of us. I want to go home. Oh God, I want to go home.” (157) Ralph realizes how the other boys on the island have had their minds altered by Jack. Other than Ralph participating in one of Jack’s rituals, he has kept his hands clean for the good of the island and is seeing everyone around him get killed or changing to savages. Ralph’s realizes he is their last objective to defeat for total power and he runs for his life, running into a navy officer with the whole island in flames and brutes on his heels. Ralph is in a large sense of relief by civilization and order being reintroduced to the island. The masked tribal members were hit hard as well with the sight of the crewman. Golding describes their actions as, “Infected by that emotion, the other little boys began to shake and sob too.” (202) Reality finally hit the boys on the island that everything they have done up to that point has been inhumane. They know they have done many horrifying actions, but at the time were caught up in their natural human drive of evil. Those who survived the cruelty realize they have allowed themselves to change into a person of complete
In the novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, throughout their time on the island, the children go from civilized men to savages in seconds, many loose their innocence as they crashed onto the island. The characters from the novel are taken away from the influence of society. They lose their innocences as they convert into darker ways, to show who is in charge of the island by killing their friends and animals. Ralph and the others go through traumatic situations and try to survive on the island. Many of the chaos was caused by Ralph and Jack feuds on who has the most control over the other boys. In this novel the children have to adapt to their surroundings without any guidance, which led them to lose their innocence.
In the novel, Lord of The Flies, the notion, loss of innocence caries progression, as the boys were obligated to adapt to the grim, unforgiving environment, in which the story intervenes. In society, innocence is associated with ignorance, and it is bounded by the beliefs of people, and what they hold as revered. Loss of innocence can be seen as a singular event or a gradual disposal of events that may unfold in someone’s life, or even a series of events into adulthood seen as the norm for people growing up. Golding portrays loss of innocence through symbolism, and he uses simple concepts like killing in order to signify how once blames children are now involved in what society views as the worst infraction, that is still plausible. In modern
Ralph displays this necessary mature human wisdom as a leader by pushing towards the betterment of the boys' society since the moment they were stranded on the island. “Which is better, law and rescue, or hunting and breaking things up?”(p. ?????) says Ralph. He knows if a group of young children are to outlast an unknown situation where “between life and death” is a literal statement; stability and order are crucial for survival. Rules and a slight form of government are the first elements he brings to this society. “I’ll give the conch to the next person to speak.
In Lord of The Flies by William Golding, childhood is portrayed by innocence and a sense of wonder but is also portrayed by times of tribulation and terror.
Ralph reflects upon the boys’ actions and recognizes that they all have lost their innocence, which can be interpreted as maturing and being exposed to the savagery within human beings. A loss of innocence is a major theme addressed by Golding in The Lord of the Flies, and is evident throughout much of the novel.