Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Essay

763 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character development of lord of the flies

In today’s world we still will cite William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies when talking about power and human decency. When the boys first discover they are alone on the island they try to maintain order and civilization. But not long after the boys lose their innocence and start out on a savage track. A struggle for power between Jack and Ralph causes the boys to choose sides and everything to fall apart. The destruction of innocence and the struggle for power cause the complete breakdown of all sense of decency and human compassion. One of the major themes of the Lord of the Flies is the loss of innocence. When the boys first get stranded on the island they are all good London school kids being shipped away from a war, they are all still innocent.William Golding does not portray this loss of innocence as something that is done to the children instead it results naturally from their increasing openness to the innate evil and savagery that has always existed within them …show more content…

At first Jack is unable to kill a pig while hunting "I was just waiting for a moment to decide where to stab him,”(Golding 12%). This shows that at the beginning of the book the idea of killing is not something anyone desires to do, but this soon changes. The epitome of the boys savage ways is when everyone participates in the killing of Simon, who was just trying to explain what the Lord of the Flies of the flies was saying (Henningfeld). The killing continues as the boys on Jack side become more and more rogue. When Ralph and Piggy go up to castle rock the voice of reason is lost in Piggy "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee: the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist,” (Golding 89%). When Piggy is killed the conch is also destroyed which symbolises the loss of order and control, at this point the boys have lost any sense of human

Show More
Related

  • Hunger Game Vs The Hunger Games

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Lord of the Flies the major theme shown throughout is innocence. For the duration of the novel the young boys progress from innocent, well behaved children longing fir rescue to bloodthirsty savages who eventually lose desire to return to civilisation. The painted bloodthirsty savages towards the end of the novel, who have tortured and killed animals and even their friends are a far cry from the sincere children portrayed at the beginning of the novel. Golding portrays this loss of innocence as a result of their naturally increasing opened to the innate evil that exists within all human beings. “There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast. . . . Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! . . . You knew, didn’t you? I’m par...

    Read More

  • Lord Of The Flies Comparison Essay

    1095 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Lord of the flies, William Golding illustrates the decline from innocence to savagery through a group of young boys. In the early chapters of The Lord of the Flies, the boys strive to maintain order. Throughout the book however, the organized civilization Ralph, Piggy, and Simon work diligently towards rapidly crumbles into pure, unadulterated, savagery. The book emphasized the idea that all humans have the potential for savagery, even the seemingly pure children of the book. The decline of all civilized behavior in these boys represents how easily all order can dissolve into chaos. The book’s antagonist, Jack, is the epitome of the evil present in us all. Conversely, the book’s protagonist, Ralph, and his only true ally, Piggy, both struggle to stifle their inner

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Analysis

    1158 Words  | 3 Pages

    As much as everyone would like to believe that all people are inherently good, the illusion of innocence that is often presumed throughout childhood makes the revelation of human nature especially hard to bear. Arthur Koestler said, “Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion”, and this one is certainly a very hard reality to cope with. In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author William Golding tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who crash land on an uninhabited island in the midst of a world war, and how they regress from civilization to savagery. By conveying Ralph’s reactions to the deaths of Simon and Piggy, providing detailed, symbolic imagery of the cliffs and the lagoon, and showing Ralph’s despair at his new understanding

    Read More

  • Immorality of Human Nature Depicted in Golding's Lord of the Flies

    922 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Lord of the Flies, William Golding expresses the idea that humans are naturally immoral, and that people are moral only because of the pressures of civilization. He does this by writing about a group of boys, and their story of survival on an island. The civilized society they form quickly deteriorates into a savage tribe, showing that away from civilization and adults, the boys quickly deteriorate into the state man was millions of years ago. This tendency is shown most in Jack, who has an animalistic love of power, and Roger, who loves to kill for pleasure. Even the most civilized boys, Ralph and Piggy, show that they have a savage side too as they watch Simon get murdered without trying to save him. Simon, the only one who seems to have a truly good spirit, is killed, symbolizing how rare truly good people are, and how quickly those personalities become corrupted.

    Read More

  • What Is The Evil In Lord Of The Flies

    796 Words  | 2 Pages

    The issue on whether man is good or evil has been debated over several generations. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a group of young boys are stranded on an uninhabited island. In the beginning, the boys have fun and are carefree while adventuring on the island. With no adults around to tell them how to behave, the boys declare war on one another and face several conflicts. These conflicts provide Golding with the opportunity to explore the idea that society restrains the evil intentions of human nature.

    Read More

  • Code Of Conduct In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    684 Words  | 2 Pages

    All around mankind's history, it has been seen of both civilized and uncivilized humans,from the day a human is born one is hardwired with specific personality traits.Traits both good and bad and traits that may have been influenced or personally derived. But,either good or bad humans have the capacity to perform whichever .This concept is seen in William Golding’s piece of Lord of the flies in which provides a clear and justified understanding of how human’s conduct.The novel delineates a story of a group of young english boys during a war,who are on an unlivable island with just themselves and no authority.William Golding reveals that when humans are removed from authority man's evil instincts are revealed thus causing civility to fall.This message is exemplified by the boys who demoralize aspects of human nature beyond civilized humans as they are put in a society where there are no rules nor civility set.

    Read More

  • What Is Ralph's Descent Into Savagery In Lord Of The Flies

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is a novel about human nature and the functions of society. One of the main characters in this novel is Ralph, who is chosen to be the leader of a group of boys. He assigns tasks to the boys and tries to keep them accountable for it. However, the boys begin to slack because they can no longer see the point of these tasks and rules. As a result of the constant slacking the boys soon turned into savages. Ralph’s struggle to maintain order amongst the boys shows how without rules it is human nature to descend into savagery due to the avoidance of authority.

    Read More

  • Order Versus Chaos in Lord of the Flies

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, he portrays the theme of innocence to evil to prove that everybody has the potential to release the savagery within them. The boys lose their sense of control from their beginnings on the island, to the breakdown of their society, to the tragedies that unfolded their civilization. A final thought on why it gets as chaotic as it does is that they had no grownups around them to keep order safe and sane, and to protect them. Also every single argument they had never got resolved which makes matters much worse. William Golding uses the murders of all the pigs, Simon and Piggy to show how different the boys have become since they landed on the island. A few words to describe the boys throughout their progression on the island is either savages or barbaric.

    Read More

  • True Portrayal of Children in Lord of the Flies

    1438 Words  | 3 Pages

    True Portrayal of Children in Lord of the Flies & nbsp; In the novel The Lord of the Flies, by. William Golding, one can see how children react to certain situations. Children, when given the opportunity, would choose to play and have fun. rather than to do boring, hard work.  Also, when children have no other adults to look up to, they turn to other children for leadership.  Finally, children stray towards savagery when they are without adult authority. Therefore, Golding succeeds in effectively portraying the interests and attitudes of young children in this novel.

    Read More

  • Childhood In Lord Of The Flies Essay

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the representation of childhood as times of tribulation and terror along with the community accepted portrayal of innocence shapes the theme of civilization vs savagery.

    Read More

  • Essay On Man's Capacity For Evil In Lord Of The Flies

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Golding’s Lord of the Flies portrays the lives of young British boys whose plane crashed on a deserted island and their struggle for survival. The task of survival was challenging for such young boys, while maintaining the civilized orders and humanity they were so accustomed too. These extremely difficult circumstances and the need for survival turned these innocent boys into the most primitive and savaged mankind could imagine. William Golding illustrates man’s capacity for evil, which is revealed in man’s inherent nature. Golding uses characterization, symbolism and style of writing to show man’s inhumanity and evil towards one another.

    Read More

  • Morality In William Golding's Lord Of The Flies

    1339 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine the world without judgement, rules, and those who enforce them, the key principles in a civilized society. How long would it take until desires and craving rebel against morality? With an authoritative power ceasing to exist, civilization would turn to chaos as the glory and thrill of savagery override ethics. In his novel Lord of the Flies, Golding demonstrates that without the restrictions of society, human instinct causes the boys to defy and shun social morals.

    Read More

  • The Fall of Innocence in Lord of the Flies by William Golding

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    It’s one of the most famous stories to ever exist, the story of how two people changed what defines us as humans. It’s the story of Adam, Eve, a serpent, and the unbecoming of mankind, the Fall of Man. This iconic account has been the premise for many works over the centuries. Today, Lord of the Flies by William Golding is considered one of the most influential novels of our time, not only for its adventurous story of stranded boys on a lost island, but also because of its allegorical tale of the true fault in man’s soul. William Golding leans heavily upon the Biblical account of the Fall of Man to highlight man’s depravity in his novel, Lord of the Flies.

    Read More

  • Lessons Taught By William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Golding’s Lord of the Flies shows man’s inhumanity to man. This novel shows readers good vs. evil through children. It uses their way of coping with being stranded on an island to show us how corrupt humans really are.

    Read More

  • Loss of Innocence in Lord of The Flies by William Golding

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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.

    Read More

More about Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Essay

Open Document