Loss Of Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Essay

“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy,” (Golding 202). This quote occurs near the end of the novel, and is extremely important in clarifying two of the novel’s major themes: loss of innocence and “the darkness of a man’s heart.” At this point, Ralph realizes that he will never be the same innocent boy, and he will never forget his horrifying experience on the island. William Golding’s Lord of the Flies contains several dark themes throughout the novel. The book begins with an airplane crashing on a deserted island containing a group of only young boys. The pilot was killed in the crash, so there were absolutely no adults on the island, leaving the boys to do whatever they pleased. When the boys realize that the only adult was killed, they made failed attempts to set some rules to create order on the island to
At the beginning of the novel, the boys are innocent, and try to behave in a somewhat orderly way. But, as the novel progresses, the immature boys transform into bloodthirsty savages who seem to have little to no remorse. The savages have hunted, killed, and tormented animals for joy, and eventually they murder Simon and Piggy. Even the island seems to transform before them. At the beginning of the novel, the island is like heaven, but toward the close, it became hell. For example, when the boys first arrive, Simon finds a clearing, and it seems peaceful and beautiful. Later, when Simon returns, he finds a gory pig’s head on top of a stake in the middle of the clearing. They can no longer recognize each other’s humanity by the end of the novel. This loss of innocence and darkness of a man’s heart existed naturally within all of them the whole time, and the boys continuously battled it throughout the