Innocence In Lord Of The Flies

Innocence is something that can only be lost once. Within both The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley there are various characters that lose their innocence in very dramatic ways. A character can lose their innocence due to the death of someone else. They can also lose their innocence by just being looked at from a different perspective by others, this can be seen through the characters Bernard and Rachel. ADD ANOTHER TOPIC Someone who has lost their innocence changes their personality and perspective on life, which results in them acting in situations differently than they would before.

     As the boys on the island progress from well-behaved, orderly children longing for rescue to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters who have no desire to return to civilization, they naturally lose their innocence that they possessed earlier in the novel. But Golding does not portray this loss of innocence as something that is done to the children; rather, it results naturally from their increasing openness to the innate evil and savagery that has always existed within them.

Ralph represents order and discipline, while Jack represents an unhealthy drive for power and savagery. In the beginning of the novel, Ralph is voted the leader of the group and attempts to make life on the island disciplined and civilized, like their life in England. However, throughout the novel Jack rivals Ralph’s leadership role, attempting to overthrow him. As the boys’ savage impulses increase, more of them begin to side with Jack instead of going with Ralph. As Ralph loses his hold over the boys, almost all of them begin to act violently and barbaric. An example of this is when the children of the island murder Simon for no justifiable reason. Even Piggy and Ralph partake in the murder, showing that the violent human impulse is in

Although all of the other boys on the island are turning into savages, Simon does not follow. The other boys are becoming savages because it is instinct. Simon is not like the other boys, in this sense. Simon is a Christ-like figure, so he isn’t able to become savage. This island is a very harsh environment, so only the savage will be able to survive. The other boys are not always savage, as they have developed the savagery over time. Simon isn’t able to develop this and he isn’t able to survive on the island, just as piggy. Due to this Simon will not be able to survive. The novel is foreshadowing that Simon will not make it, as he has not turned savage “You’ll get back to where you came from” (Golding 111). This quote implies that other boys, such as Ralph, will get back and make it but Simon will not.

Jack and his chosen group of hunters all follow Jack and fail to follow Ralph’s command to keep civilization under control. Simon and his natural behaviors contrast with Jack as he sees the positive interests and goodness in civilization. Simon’s actions reveal his shy, yet kind, and non confrontational attitude which makes the importance of his character hard to notice. Simon is the mediator on the island, as he will never decline a request from the little children for food, an order from Ralph to help build shelters, and tries to keep the peace between the hunters and the civilized boys. Simon can be seen as the most compassionate character on the island as displayed in this quote: “Simon sitting between the twins and Piggy, wiped his mouth and shoved his piece of meat over the rocks to Piggy, who grabbed it. The twins giggled and Simon lowered his face in shame” (Golding 74). Jack, on the other hand, is most malicious towards Piggy as he eventually becomes consumed by evil and and will attempt to destroy all points of civilization and innocence left on the island. Innocence is bestowed upon nearly all the boys trying to keep civilization alive on the island and is despised by Jack and his highly influenced choir boys turned hunters.

Simon is the one boy who never participates in destructive behaviors and always contributes to the well being of the boys. He continues to work even after everyone stops, gives Piggy food when no one else will, and speaks his mind about the beast. He is also the only one to realize that the true beast is inside the boys. Simon’s moral compass, much like the superego, allows him to see the evil of mankind. Simon is whole-heartedly good. The superego attempts to lead a person to the morally right pathway, much like Simon aims to show Ralph how he can do what’s best for the tribe. The primitive nature of the others overpowers Simon’s internal good nature. Even after his death, Simon’s moral nature lives on through the boys similar to how the superego can continue to shine after a person follows the desires of the id.

Within the novel innocence is progressively lost through the boys. The boys were placed in a situation where they had no other choice but to grow up, and grow up fast. These boys were put in a very traumatic situation and they had to learn on their own and from each other how to survive and almost create a thriving society all on their own. Slowly they learn that their needs to be a leader, but there are no adults to precede the role of authority. Therefore the children resume power and take the role of authority. All these things make the boys lose their innocence and become very violent. No one is completely innocent and everyone has the ability to turn violent, this is demonstrated in William

Ralph, shyly admits that had lost several honourable friends due to the actions made by the group. It was first the death of Simon, when Ralph realized that the group was capable of almost anything. Simon, being mistaken for a ‘beast’, was killed in the boy’s mob mentality to kill whatever they were afraid of. “It was dark no one could see him, it was an accident, I don’t believe anybody meant to harm anyone, but it was still… murder” says Ralph.

Unlike most the other boys Simon retains civil. Simon displays his maturity through the sacrifices he makes Golding writes, “Someone's got to go across the island and tell Piggy we'll be back after dark." Bill spoke, unbelieving. "Through the forest by himself? Now?" "We can't spare more than one." Simon pushed his way to Ralph's elbow." "I'll go if you like. I don't mind, honestly” (Golding 117). Furthermore, Simon’s death displays the groups true maturity Golding writes, “Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in!” (Golding 152). This scene depicts the group killing Simon out of fear, this displays the island reveals their low maturity because they ignore reason and act in fear. Clearly the Goldings novel displays the island reveals maturity through

The mysteries of the island also had a huge impact on the actions of the boys. Because The tropical island, and England are two totally different environments there was not much know to the boys about the unfamiliar surrounding possessed by the island. The vines that hung from the trees caused the "littluns" to have nightmares because they reminded them of snakes, or "beasties". What was unknown to the boys caused great fear. This fear of the unknown caused differences amongst the boys which lead to their destruction. Since Simon knew that there was no such things as "beasties" He tried to dispel the mysteries of the mountain top, he is brutally murdered, due to the fear rooted in the mysteries of the island.

Simon and Piggy are brutally murdered by the power-hungry savage, Jack Merridew. The island is never the same after their departures. Ralph reflects on how much the island has crumbled when hiding from Jack and his tribe of savages, "The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon lay over the island like a vapor. These painted savages would go further and further" (Golding, 184). Both Piggy and Simon have such an important role in keeping the balance on the island. Piggy’s character is symbolic for knowledge and reason; Simon’s for faith and religion. Both of these righteous attributes are lost when the boys leave. Ralph loses all his leverage over the naive littluns when Simon and Piggy pass away. They join Jack’s silly tribe which leaves Ralph outnumbered and ideologically alone. Because of their departure, the basic principles of civilized life are forgotten and beastly savages take over the island. Shakespeare and Golding both emphasize the influence that characters have on the plot of the story. As soon as a significant character is taken away or changed in some way, the environment is reshaped either for better or for worse. The deaths of King Duncan, Simon, and Piggy in Macbeth and Lord of the Flies create consequences that gravely affect other characters, such as Macbeth and Ralph.

And later the death of Piggy too. When the boys kill Simon it shows us how insane and savages the boys have actually become. We see them kill an innocent boy who has done nothing wrong, and most of them do not even acknowledge it happening the next day. “Surrounded by a fringe of inquisitive bright creatures, itself a silver shape beneath the steadfast constellations, Simon's dead body moved out toward the open sea"(Golding 154). This quote really shows us what the boys have done, they have made a huge mistake, and the reality of what had happened the night before. Next is Piggy’s death, his death symbolizes the complete loss of order. "The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee: the conch exploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist….. Piggy fell 40 feet and landed on his back across the the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuff came out and turned red. Piggy's arms and legs twitched a bit, like a pigs after it has been killed"(Golding 181). When the conch is smashed it is a symbol of the little civilization they had getting destroyed. When Roger kills Piggy he turns into a crazed murder who no longer is sane. There is nothing to do to fix these boys, they will forever have to live with the consequences they have made on the island. As theses school boys have made two murder

When reflecting on one’s childhood, one either views it as a blissful time in their life, or a hellish society in which they suffered greatly. While both scenarios are very different from one another, it is arguable that both parties experienced a loss of innocence in this time frame.The loss of innocence is something which happens to everybody, sooner or later. Growing up in society, children are exposed to many different concepts. While these concepts play an important role in everyday life, some of them may end up destroying a child’s innocence. Dealing with other people and communicating properly play an essential role in everyday life, but people with malice on their agenda may end up destroying the innocence of others. Even something as simple as learning the countermeasures to deal with the malevolence of others causes a person to lose their innocence. In order to be successful in everyday life, it is necessary for one to confront the harsh reality of our world, which would destroy their innocence.

The kids were running around trying kill the beast. Simone was running in the forest alone and in the dark. The kids were chanting and one boy pointed at Simon running saying that he was the beast and the kids ran and killed him. When the boys realized who it was it was too late, Simon was dead. Ralph believed that it was a murder but Piggy believed that it was an accident. In my opinion Simon’s death was not a murder. The boys did not intentionally kill Simon’e so to me that's not murder. The boys have justification, they stuck on an island trying to protect themselves

To begin with, the death of Simon in Lord of the Flies illustrates innate human evil. Simon's death is preceded by Jack's tribe singing a savage chant. They violently murder Simon, mistaking him as the beast. Children's instantaneous instincts drove them to kill Simon. Engaging in an unplanned murder, these children effectively demonstrate that when they relinquish rationale which is a product of civilization, impulses lead them to act savagely. What is also significant in this scene is that Ralph and Piggy, the two characters mainly portrayed as being rational, join the cruel murder and even begin to express instinctive behavior from their inner self. It is irrational for any person and especially children, to commit murder. Therefore,