Innocence In Lord Of The Flies Essay
In the text "Lord of the Flies"; written by William Golding, the presentation of the setting effectively developed the main themes of civilization and the loss of innocence. The physical location (the remote island) which this novel was set in helped serve the theme of constructing civilisation. However, as the stranded boys progressed on this island savagery overwhelmed their instincts and this helped develop the theme of loss of innocence.
"Lord of the Flies" was set on an isolated tropical island which has fresh water, fruit, wood for shelter and fire and no dangerous animal life. There were no other human inhabitants on the island and, it was suggested, there never had been. As Ralph, Jack and Simon climbed to the top of the hill for …show more content…
Golding showed us the strengths and weakness of the two sides as the boys tried to make decisions such as, who would keep the fire going, who would gather, and ultimately, who would lead. At first the influence of civilization is strong and the boys behaved in an orderly fashion however, slowly they grew savage and fond of blood and killing. In the text, after Jack hunted down their first pig for meat, this signified the beginning of this turning point, which their innate evil began to emerge. Later, the boys began hunting each other. This reform of power in the novel could be juxtaposed to the time when it was written. Golding published this novel in 1953, because the world had just been through the trauma of World War Two. The powers in the world revolutionised and Hitler's atrocities against the Jewish had come to light and the world asked itself "how could this happen in our so-called 'civilisation'". Looking back at the text, Golding himself wrote of his novel: "the boys tried to construct a civilisation on the island; but it broke down in blood and terror because the boys were suffering from the terrible disease of being human". From this we learn that civilisation could mitigate but never wipe out completely the evil that exists within all human
"Lord of the Flies" was set on an isolated tropical island which has fresh water, fruit, wood for shelter and fire and no dangerous animal life. There were no other human inhabitants on the island and, it was suggested, there never had been. As Ralph, Jack and Simon climbed to the top of the hill for …show more content…
Golding showed us the strengths and weakness of the two sides as the boys tried to make decisions such as, who would keep the fire going, who would gather, and ultimately, who would lead. At first the influence of civilization is strong and the boys behaved in an orderly fashion however, slowly they grew savage and fond of blood and killing. In the text, after Jack hunted down their first pig for meat, this signified the beginning of this turning point, which their innate evil began to emerge. Later, the boys began hunting each other. This reform of power in the novel could be juxtaposed to the time when it was written. Golding published this novel in 1953, because the world had just been through the trauma of World War Two. The powers in the world revolutionised and Hitler's atrocities against the Jewish had come to light and the world asked itself "how could this happen in our so-called 'civilisation'". Looking back at the text, Golding himself wrote of his novel: "the boys tried to construct a civilisation on the island; but it broke down in blood and terror because the boys were suffering from the terrible disease of being human". From this we learn that civilisation could mitigate but never wipe out completely the evil that exists within all human