Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies, By William Golding

They are lost and alone, no one around, just them, the ocean and a tropical paradise. With no civilization, no regulations, or even mild things like a place to sleep, the young boys will find find out what they must do to survive alone in the unknown. In the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding the theme loss of innocence is clearly demonstrated throughout the book. The proper British boys were on a plane that crashed onto a tropical island. Without adults and the oldest boy being twelve, the boys must learn to survive themselves. Without civilization and authority to guide them, they turn to savagery and violence. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding portrays loss of innocence by exhibiting how people change when they realize what they

Simon is the Christ-like figure of the story and best represents purity and goodness. All through the book Golding reiterates the idea of a beastie, and turns out the beast is inside everyone. This illustrates the evil of human nature, but the death of Christ saves everyone from the beast inside. ‘“You’ll get back to where you came from…. You’ll get back all right. I think so, anyway’” (111). This one little quote speaks volumes, it almost seems like Simon knew he wasn’t going to make it back home to England. He could’ve said something like, “We will make it back home,” or at least something along those lines, but he didn’t! This is just one example of the parallelism between Jesus and Simon, because like Jesus, so in a way Simon knew that he was going to die. During Simon’s final moments, he was trying to tell the other boys that there is no real beast, but the boys were so focused on killing “the beast” they didn’t realize they were killing Simon. The deaths of Jesus and Simon were unjust, and even when humanity was filled with darkness and evil they were still that ray of holy

William Goldning’s Lord of the Flies is an allegorical novel where literary techniques are utilized to convey the main ideas and themes of the novel. Two important central themes of the novel includes loss of civilization and innocense which tie into the concept of innate human evil. Loss of civilization is simply the transition from civilization to savagery; order to chaos. The concept of loss of innocense is a key concept to innate human evil because childhood innocense is disrupted as the group hunted animals and even their own. Through the use of literary techniques these ideas are seen in the passage where Simon confronts the “Lord of the Flies.”

In Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, childhood and adolescence can be interpreted as a time of not being in full control of your instincts and barbaric impulses and not being mature enough to be civilized. Golding achieves this by using symbolism in his characters and showing the consequences of the boys making an impulsive decision.

     Simon’s encounter with the Lord of the Flies in chapter nine can be seen as a parallel to Jesus’ confrontation with Satan in the desert. Simon and Jesus were both challenged by evil but overcame it. Although, the Lord of the Flies would reveal to Simon that it is the evil within the boys, “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you?” (Golding 143). From this, he reaches an epiphany and later leaves to tell the other boys. While returning to tell the boys, Simon is hit in the side by a spear. Jesus was also stabbed in the side before his crucifixion.

Human’s innate behavior after the constraints and expectations of society disappear is the recurring theme centering the characters. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies uses the righteous Simon to highlight Jack and his evil role throughout the novel of savagery and civilization. The foil characters in Lord of the Flies exhibit the contrasting ideals and characteristics, the dissimilar symbolism of both characters, and the circumstances which lead both characters to follow one’s natural tendencies. To emphasize the message of Lord of the Flies, two young innocent boys will gradually begin to show their individualism.

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

Simon shows his individuality and cravings for tranquility and cognizance also through his participation with others. One instance when he truly displays this is when he was picking fruit from the “littluns”. The “littluns” and “lugged them towards the trees” and “Simon found for them the fruit they could not reach” (Golding,56). He feeds them alone and “when he had satisfied them”he “turned away from them and went where the just perceptible path led him” (Golding,56). This shows how through his clarity with nature and himself, he helps others and continues to portray that he prefers to think, act, and help others by himself. He also shows his individualism when he reacted to the death of the pig. With the chaos going around him, Simon isolates himself and “lowered his head, carefully keeping his eyes shut, then sheltered them with his hands” next to the pile of guts Jack and Roger left after penetrating the pig’s head with a stick (Golding,138). He ignores everything around him and tries his best to hide away from the monstrous actions the other boys are committing. This also supports the idea that he favors time alone in his own thoughts in peace rather than facing his fear. In

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

"...I live with regrets - the bittersweet loss of innocence - the red track of the moon upon the lake - the inability to return and do it again..." (John Geddes) This quote illustrates how the boys in the Lord of the Flies by William Goulding would feel leaving, they will live with regret for what happened on the island for the rest of their lives. For on the island is where they lose their innocence at such early ages. In the Lord of the Flies, one of the major themes is the loss of innocence. The boy’s loss of innocence is displayed throughout the novel as they shed their clothes, through the killing of the pigs, and kill Simon and Piggy.

The revelation made by the Lord of the flies expresses loss of innocence in Simon. During a mirage, Simon hallucinates that the sow head on the stick came to life and spoke about innate hatred born in all people. The Lord of the Flies says, “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you” (Goulding 143). This quote shows that sin is a part of us and always will be. Goulding made the point very clear by having the Lord of the Flies divulge such a dark message because he was symbolic of hatred and the devil. The conversation Simon had with the Lord of the

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.

In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Simon represents the innate morality of humans, acting as a Christ-like figure, while Roger embodies the all present cruelty and inherent sadism of individuals. Throughout the novel, Simon remains unchanged in terms of morality, as others slowly turn to savagery and hunting, as can be seen when Jack’s group become, “demoniac figures with faces of white and red and green.” Instead Simon finds a quiet spot “in a little cabin screened off from the open space by a few leaves.” By “holding his breath, he [cocks] a critical ear at the sounds of the island,” using his secret cabin to meditate. Coupled with his deep connection to nature, Simon is revealed to be a Christ figure. When left alone with the

Simon’s character is different from the boys on the island. After learning about Golding’s past I believe Simon represents hope for Golding and is someone he has always aspired to be. The characters in this book are in every one of us, but it is who we chose to be, that defines us. Simon was the only one able to recognize the truth about the beast. Through Simon, Golding’s message was that fear and shame are the biggest obstacles, but it is how we chose to overcome these beasts that matter. Simon was the only one who knew the truth, but after the boys kill Simon, it

Simon is corrupted by uncontrollable forces like nature and the actions of the people around him. In the beginning of The Lord of the Flies, Simon is the positive and helpful character: “Simon found for [the litteuns] the fruit they could not reach, pulled off the choicest from up in the foliage, passed them back down to the endless, outstretched hands” (Golding, 57). In this quote, Simon helps out the littleuns which none of the other biguns on the island do, showing his kindness and compassion. However, later in the novel, that kindness and compassion is eroded when he is laughed at for his honest suggestion: “’What’s the dirtiest thing there is?’ …. Simon’s effort fell about him in ruins; the laughter beat him cruelly and he shrank away