William Golding s Lord Of The Flies - 1394 Words

Past Innocence Innocence is usually referring to children who have not experienced, or have no knowledge about the evils and sufferings of the real world. However, at some point of your life you will lose that innocence and what is it replaced by? Maturity? In the novel Lord of the Flies, the author, William Golding includes many symbols throughout the story, that represent the corruption taking place inside the boys, as they survive on the island. Thus, throughout the story the symbols that best represent the boys’ transformation from innocence to savagery are the clearing as it changes from a natural paradise to a dystopia, the chant that signifies the boys fall deep into savagery, and the death of Piggy and Simon, which mark the†¦show more content†¦The interaction between the littluns and Simon here shows the boys are innocent and enjoying life on the island. However, later on, the hunters under Jack’s command hunt a pig and its slaughter took place in the clearing. After they kill the pig, Jack holds out his hand and: â€Å" giggled and flinked them while the boys laughed at his reeking palms. [After that, the boys impaled the dead pig with a spear up it’s behind, and laughing afterwards. Jack then proceeds to clean out the insides of the pig while leaving the pig’s head behind and left the clearing along with the hunters.] Even the butterflies deserted the open space where the obscene thing [pig’s head] grinned and dripped† (Golding, 149-151) Now the clearing is dirtied by the pig’s remains and has lost its former beauty, flies replacing the butterflies that were once there. In real life, butterflies are mostly seen as beautiful creatures, while flies are seen as pests and unwanted creatures. In the story, the butterflies symbolize the boys’ innocence, and the flies symbolize the boys’ savagery. The boys lose their innocence by dirtying their hands with another living beingâ€⠄¢s blood, and the said innocence is now replaced by savagery. The boys’ savagery is evident as they laugh and giggle when they play with the dead pig’s corpse and walk away after as if they have done nothing wrong. Therefore,