Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies

Lost on the Island, Loss of Innocence

Golding wrote Lord of the Flies to portray World War II’s destruction on to mankind that he himself experienced first-hand during the war. "The world, that understandable and lawful world, was slipping away” (82). War and violence ruined the civilized, British world that the boys in his novel had once lived in; Jack’s aggressive means ruined the semi-civilized tribe at the lagoon. Therefore, since the boys were accustomed to such cruelty back at home, they mirror the brutal actions on the island. In Lord of the Flies, Golding uses the contrast between characters, symbols, and locations on the island to show that in a world where violence and war are prominent, an individual often loses their sense of

innocence.
Throughout Lord of the Flies, Jack, Roger , and the hunters primarily show their loss of innocence and childhood through their violent and savage acts. At the beginning of the novel, Roger, as well as Jack and the hunters, behave in a fairly innocent manner because, “[Roger’s] arm was conditioned by a civilization that knew nothing of him and was in ruins” (52). Because Roger grew up in Great Britain, he knew if he did something wrong, there would be a consequence. But, as time progresses, the boys realize that they are on an island where no punishment is given for bad behavior. The boys begin to take advantage of their unsupervised environment, and they turn to violence and barbarity. Though there were at first some smaller indications of savagery, such as shedding their clothes and being naked and hunting instead of working, the killing of the sow displays the first action of utmost cruelty. If the boys were acting their own age, they would have just quickly just brought an end to her life, but the savages did not just kill the sow for food, they killed her to watch her suffer in pain, and they enjoyed bringing harm upon her:
Roger ran round the heap, prodding with his spear whenever the pig flesh appeared. Jack was on top of the sow, stabbing downward with his knife. Roger found a lodgment for his point and began to push till he was leaning with his whole weight. 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 under them and they were heavy and fulfilled upon her(120).
The sow’s death ignites the fall of mankind in Lord of the Flies. “The beginning is full of promises,” states literary critic, Talon, describing childhood and the arrival upon the island, “the end is a catastrophe” (Talon).
On the contrary, Golding shows the existence of innocence through Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and the littluns. Despite the actions of the other kids, Simon, Ralph, Piggy, and the littluns maintain their morals. Even though the other boys were being reckless, Piggy shows his perseverance of innocence by stating, “‘You can take spears if you want but I shan't. What's the good? ’” (154). Such as acknowledging the fact that the boys were unnecessarily using their spears, Piggy shows strong evidence of superego throughout the novel. He maintains his morals taught in Great Britain and tries to remind the boys of their own. In addition, regardless of all the horrifying events that Ralph had experienced, at the end of the novel, his innocence is still prominent: “The tears began to flow and sobs shook him. He gave himself up to them now for the first time on the island; great, shuddering spasms of grief that seemed to wrench his whole body...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” (182). The ending of the book brings the readers back into realization that these are still children on the island who have been doing all these terrorizing actions to one another.
Likewise, the disparity between the flies and butterflies presented in Lord of the Flies offers significant evidence of the development of savagery and the fall of mankind in relation to the novel.

When presented, the butterflies symbol peace and calmness to Simon: “Nothing moved but a pair of gaudy butterflies that danced round each other in the hot air...The deep sea breaking miles away on the reef made an undertone less perceptible than the susurration of the blood” (47). Simon uses his special place where the butterflies live to escape from the other boys’ destruction. Yet, when Jack and the hunters kill the sow in Simon’s special place, the butterflies are subdued by flies that surround the sow’s head. The flies represent evil because they appear as a result of the head of the Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies is misinterpreted as the beast to the boys, which, “represents the inner savagery of the boys” (Lorher) because the beast is actually in themselves. Therefore, the beginning of the novel is understood as being good and innocent, full with butterflies, while the end, is considered to be dark and evil, full with

flies.
Similarly, the presence of body paint and the absence of clothing displays the deterioration of the boys into uncivilized ways, causing their innocence to perish.

Toward the beginning of the novel, Jack and the hunters are dressed in their choir clothing, but they remove their clothing and paint themselves when they are affiliated with savage, uncivilized actions, such as hunting: “Jack planned his new face. He made one cheek and one eye-socket white, then he rubbed red over the other half of his face and slashed a black bar of charcoal across from right ear to left jaw”(53). When Jack hunts, he removes his signs of civilization and transforms into the beast of the island to hunt. It is ironic that Jack becomes a beast in order to “kill the beast”. Also, nakedness is associated when Jack leaves Ralph’s tribe and becomes the strict leader of his own: “The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him” (143). When the boys are painted and naked up they are viewed as frightening people who do not negotiate with others. The naked boys bring fear upon the innocent. As Sam timidly stated when they were going to approach Jack at the top of Castle Rock, “‘He’ll be painted, you know how he’ll be-’” (154). The presence of paint is the physical appearance of savage

means.
Finally, the location of the boys on the island plays a major role in the activities that the boys are participating in, either violent and savagery acts or childish and moral acts. The lagoon is seen as a place of (somewhat) order and innocence. Because the lagoon is the location of the first meeting called by the conch, it is facilitated with play and Ralph, Simon, Piggy, and the littluns. Opposing the lagoon is Castle Rock. Castle Rock is where Jack and his hunters settle after they leave Ralph’s tribe, and it is viewed as the location where the killing of pigs, Simon, and Piggy, occurs and actions of uncivilized manner. Castle Rock is connected with Jack and his evil ways: “Far off along the bowstave of the beach, three figures trotted toward the Castle Rock... The chief led then, trotting steadily, exulting in his achievement. He was a chief now in truth; and he made stabbing motions with his spear. From his left hand dangled Piggy’s broken glasses” (151).
Overall, the contrast of innocence and savagery is prominent in Lord of the Flies. Golding portrays the effects that war has on a nation, such as World War II. Also, Golding uses children in his novel to clearly express the natural transition from innocence to savage, the fall of mankind.While on the island, the boys lose their childish-means and their wholeness, they “astray from the simplicity and purity” (Corinthians 11:3).