Lord of the Flies: The end of innocence Essay

Lord of the Flies. The balance of innocence and the darkness of troopss heart. Do you agree that these atomic number 18 the central concerns of Goldings raw? Please justify your answer making c move back reference to the text.In his novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding raises the issue of the end of innocence and the darkness of mans heart in his portrayal of certain characters. However, he contrasts such characters with those who sustain the human spirit, that is, a humanity and decency that can survive the most utmost(a) circumstances. By contrast characters of goof and Ralph, Golding raises the theme of dependable versus evil, loss of innocence, the make out for power and his central concern seems to be that there is a switch off veneer between civilised man and the fierce.Though Ralph turns out to be a good leader because of his moral principles, initially the boys choose him all over Jack because of his appearance you could see now that he could have do a boxer. How ever, as leader, Ralph is faced with adult problems which force him to lose his innocence and develop as a character. For example, Ralph reveals Piggys wee-wee to the others after Piggy had asked him not to, but he experiences empathy towards him Ralph, looking with more understanding at Piggy, saw that he was hurt and crushed. This causes him to mature and cherish Piggy with more respect. Ralph attempts to maintain order among the boys by constructing a rotary of rules. For example, the fact that one must be holding the conch to speak.The conch represents a sniff out of order and democracy among the boys and Golding describes it as precious and valuable yet finespun. The fact that the rules get ignored gives a sense that Ralph is losing power and the boys are gradually deteriorating into savages. The idea of the loss of order is reinforced by Golding when Ralph notices that the conch is losing its shine. By the end of the novel, Ralph is the only one not to degenerate into a savage and retains his dignity. This is demonstrated when Samneric wanted to wear paint but Ralph refused to wear it we wint wear paint because were not savages. His fight for good against evil leads him into a situation quite beyond him because the standards he represents are crushed in a world run by Jacks kind of rules.Jack epitomizes the corrupt dictator in society. From the very beginning he is illustrated as a sinister character through and through Goldings use of diction such as dark, apparition and evil. He also shows malice towards Piggy, shutting him up when hes got the conch Shut up fatty this shows his disregard of the rules which pushes him to savagery. On the field day somewhat the island he found a hoglet. Jack was on the come in of effaceing it when he realized the enormity the downward stroke would be and let it get away, but afterwards he said, Next cartridge clip there would be no mercy which is a turning load for Jack as he is now prepared to kill. The image of the pig can be linked to the character, Piggy, and Jacks determination to kill the pig foreshadows his murder of Piggy.This is ironic since Jack was introduced as a choirboy and it reveals that we are all capable of evil. Unlike Ralph, Jack degenerates as a character, bonny an ape-like savage with a lust for killing. He attempts to assert his power and reverse the order when he tries to eliminate the submit for the conch We dont need the conch anymore. After he becomes chief, he abuses his power. For instance, he makes his seat into a tummy and he takes Piggys glasses by force You came around like a thief and stole Piggys glasses. He also managed to corrupt the others through his use of paint the mask compelled them and the recompense of meat.Goldings central concern seems to be that there is a pure veneer between civilised man and the savage. He shows us that the end of innocence and the darkness of mans heart is not relevant to everyone in the novel, for example, R alph, Piggy and Simon are good characters, who possess the human spirit, in that their humanity and decency survive under the most extreme conditions. By contrasting characters, such as Ralph and Jack, Golding raises themes of good versus evil, loss of innocence and the struggle for power.