Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Research Paper

In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a young boy named Ralph loses his innocence once he develops an awareness of the torment, evil, and pain around him.

At some point in all of our lives, we experience a moment where we must engage in an activity that challenges us as adolescents into becoming the older and wiser men and women that raised us. All young people experience a moment where they lose their sense of innocence, Ralph in Lord of the Flies experiences the loss of his innocence as he comes to face his inner and outer demons.

A group of young boys is stranded on a deserted island left to fend for themselves and plan their escape. The protagonist, Ralph, steps up to act as the leader of the group. Ralph represents responsibility and power but soon begins to withdraw into his mind as the suffering on the island is exacerbated. Ralph says, “even the sounds of nightmare from the other shelters no longer reached him, for he was back to where came from, feeding the ponies with sugar over the garden wall,” (Golding, 89). Life on the island deteriorates as a group of the boys separate themselves and become violent rebels whose main goal is to hunt food and have fun. Being rescued no longer concerns them.

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A result, Ralph, and these young boys are left feeling confused, and anguished. These emotions lead to the combat between savagery and civilization. Ralph attempted to lead the pack of young, violent boys on a foreign island. The time for loss of innocence is when one first expands their consciousness to the evil, misery and torment in the world around them. It is part of growing up, facing reality and accepting that this world is not a beautiful and simple place, but one full of mystery and unjust pain. For some of us, loss of innocence can be less traumatic. But for Ralph, loss of innocence meant so much more and was a major theme for his