In modern society, adolescents cannot wait to mature and enjoy the perks of adulthood, but they are often unaware of what it costs to lose their innocence. Just like children in the real world, the boys from Lord of the Flies mature and lose their naivety, optimism, and other markers of their childlike mindset. Golding uses the boys as an example to convey his opinion of what really causes this loss of innocence. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, he shows that understanding the reality of death causes the change from innocence to maturity. William Golding’s character development of Ralph, and his use of the motif, death, are prime examples of the ways he develops his point. One way Golding proves that understanding the possibility
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In Lord of the Flies, there are multiple instances of death woven throughout the book. When the boys first realize that they need to be rescued in order to survive, they decide to light a signal fire on the top of the mountain to draw attention from any passing ships. When the fire is first created, the boys are irresponsible and end up letting the fire spread to the jungle. In this uncontrolled fire, one of the younger boys goes missing and is presumed dead. This first death occurs on page 48, when Piggy says, “‘That littl’un that had a mark on his-face-where is-he now? I tell you I don’t see him.’ The boys looked at each other fearfully, unbelieving. ‘-where is he now?’” Because of the boys’ irresponsible behavior, a child died. At this point in the book, all the boys are still unaware of the true danger they are in on this island. With this first death, the boys’ reactions of disbelief show that they have not come to terms with the idea of their vulnerability. As was said earlier, the savagery of the boys lead to them eventually murdering one of the boys. On page 172, the narrator says, “Presently the heap broke up and figures staggered away. Only the beast lay still, a few yards from the sea. Even in the rain they could see how small a beast it was; and already its blood stained the sand.” By now, the boys have not only killed a boy accidently, but have also purposefully murdered a boy with their bare hands. Murdering something innocent takes the purity from inside a person. They can no longer avoid death because they have seen it and experienced it first hand. After the murder, realizing the horror of what they have done, Piggy and Ralph begin to rant about the fact that the other boys are oblivious to the crime they commited. On page 194, Piggy says, “‘There’s them on this island as would laugh at anything.
In Lord of the Flies, there are multiple instances of death woven throughout the book. When the boys first realize that they need to be rescued in order to survive, they decide to light a signal fire on the top of the mountain to draw attention from any passing ships. When the fire is first created, the boys are irresponsible and end up letting the fire spread to the jungle. In this uncontrolled fire, one of the younger boys goes missing and is presumed dead. This first death occurs on page 48, when Piggy says, “‘That littl’un that had a mark on his-face-where is-he now? I tell you I don’t see him.’ The boys looked at each other fearfully, unbelieving. ‘-where is he now?’” Because of the boys’ irresponsible behavior, a child died. At this point in the book, all the boys are still unaware of the true danger they are in on this island. With this first death, the boys’ reactions of disbelief show that they have not come to terms with the idea of their vulnerability. As was said earlier, the savagery of the boys lead to them eventually murdering one of the boys. On page 172, the narrator says, “Presently the heap broke up and figures staggered away. Only the beast lay still, a few yards from the sea. Even in the rain they could see how small a beast it was; and already its blood stained the sand.” By now, the boys have not only killed a boy accidently, but have also purposefully murdered a boy with their bare hands. Murdering something innocent takes the purity from inside a person. They can no longer avoid death because they have seen it and experienced it first hand. After the murder, realizing the horror of what they have done, Piggy and Ralph begin to rant about the fact that the other boys are oblivious to the crime they commited. On page 194, Piggy says, “‘There’s them on this island as would laugh at anything.