Lose of Innocence for Ralph

The novel, Lord of the Flies, is a story about the author’s, William Golding, view of when civilization is taken away, savagery which dwells within us all, takes place. In this story, a group of school boys are stranded on an island with no adults. The protagonist, Ralph called all of the survivors together and is eventually elected to be leader of the group. With the lack of civilization the children become increasingly more savage throughout the book, leading to the antagonist, Jack eventual take over. When Ralph landed on the island it was like a paradise to him and all the other boys, but as there little society becomes more savage, Ralph experiences a shocking betrayal and ultimately comes to a rebirth.   Ralph travels through the characteristic loss of innocence cycle, from perfect word to shocking betrayal, from wilderness to death, and finally to rebirth.

In the beginning, for Ralph, being on the island is fun. There are no grownups, no rules, it is a paradise. When Ralph appears in the first chapter of the novel, he meets Piggy, a smart fat boy who symbolizes the rational side of society. Piggy informs Ralph that there are not any grown ups on the island, Ralph seems to be happy “stood on his head and grinned” (8). Ralph is just being a kid having fun doing acrobats he does not seem to have a worry in the world. The author goes in to great detail describing the beauty of the island from the “shore fledged with palm trees” (9) to the “deep pool in the beach” (12) that they use for recreational swimming. Everything seems to be perfect, a beautiful landscape no grownups and Piggy even finds “fruit” (9). This is a very good find and would defiantly boost the confidence of Ralph and his likelihood of surviving on the island. After all of the children are called together by Ralph blowing on a conch, everyone decides that they should hold an election for leader of the group. Everybody almost unanimously chants “Ralph! Ralph!” (22). Ralph is officially...