Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Explain the loss of innocence throughout the novel Lord of the Flies

The loss of one’s innocence or the coming of age is a normal occurrence that happens to

all at one point in time. Accordingly, the Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel that

demonstrates this coming of age through the story of a group of British boys who get stranded on

an island after a plane attempting to evacuate them from a war zone, crashes. These school

children all have a priority and that is to be rescued from the island. In order to do so, they all

have to develop and learn to use survival skills. These survival skills though, transition the boys

from innocent school children into savage beings who have lost all sense of civility. Golding

shows the

progression of the boys’ loss of innocence beginning with them realizing that there are

no adults or rules on the island. They eventually begin to become more intent on surviving due

fear, which in return reveals the horrors of savagery.

As any other child would be at the realization that there is a lack of authority and ruling,

the boys were initially ecstatic. In chapter 2, Fire on the Mountain, Ralph is heard to have said,

“This is our island. It’s a good island. Until the grown-ups come to fetch us we’ll have fun.” This

statement shows that Ralph, the elected leader, is more than ready and willing to enjoy himself

on the island. It additionally shows the innocence of the boys as they are still reliant on the adults

to come and save them. Some of their excitement of being alone is short-lived though, as the

boys decide that there should be rules played out in order to have a civil lifestyle with each other

on the island until help arrives. Jack, himself, ironically states that there should be consequences

in place for those who breach the rules. This deed of creating rules demonstrates the start of the

boys’ drift into adulthood; a foreshadowing of the coming of age.

The rules that the boys had set in place were mainly objectives that would allow them to

survive on the island until rescue arrived. Their attempts for survival played in with the fears

and

innocence that existed within. For instance, in chapter 3, Huts on the Beach, there is an

occurrence where Jack is hunting once again but is still unable to kill: “Jack himself shrank at

this cry with a hiss of indrawn breath; and for a minute became less a hunter than a furtive thing,

ape-like among the tangle of trees.” The innocence that Jack possesses causes him to fear the

sudden sound made by a wild animal and hinders his ability to kill a pig.

However, the fear that

exists within all the boys, as well as their urge to survive, becomes more intent when there is

speak of a beast at one of the meetings. In chapter 7, Shadows and Tall Trees, there is

commotion as to whether or not the beast is real. Jack, still hyped about finally being able to

have killed a pig, claims that he could hunt and kill the beast with or without any help. Him,

Ralph, and Roger soon depart together in search of the beast. When the trio witness the sight of a

dead man on the mountain, bowing, they immediately assume it is the beast and fear overtakes

them, causing the boys to run away. This fear signifies that although they may act tough, these

boys are still children and have never seen such unnerving sights in their lives. Having suddenly

seen the monstrous being, the three boys lose a part of their innocence.

After a conflict leads to the boys separating into their different tribes, they begin to lose

more of their sense of morality. In chapter 8, Gift for the Darkness, the hunters go out and kill a pig. Once they had slaughtered the pig, Jack says to the other hunters, “This head is for the

beast.

It’s a gift.” This action of leaving behind a bloody pig’s head on a stick as a peace offering

reveals that the hunters have already lost most of their innocence as they aren’t quite impacted by

the gruesome sight. The complete loss of innocence for all the boys, though, is when they all

participate in the killing of Simon. There were many factors that played into this incident such as

darkness, stormy weather, the chant, common fear of the beast, and the circumstance in which

Simon entered the circle. These all lead to the boys, including the “littluns”, to participate in, or

to witness, Simon’s murder. As Simon’s character epitomizes purity and innocence, his death

also represented the end of innocence and morality amongst the boys.

The progression of the loss of innocence is shown in the “Lord of the Flies” starting with

the boys realizing that there is a lack of authority and ruling on the island. They then begin to

make attempts for survival due to fear, and that exact urge for survival shows the boys the

horrors of savagery that exists within a human. The complete depletion of innocence occurs

through the killing of Simon. The boys all participate in or witness the circle where Simon was

brutally murdered because of assumption that he is the beast. This sudden vicious behaviour that

emerges, shocks some of the boys including Ralph, revealing what civilization hides away. At

the end of the novel, many of the boys weep for the ‘end of innocence’, a blatant statement,

noted by Golding, expressing the coming of age in children.