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I bought " Lord of The Flies " by William Golding last month, and I was so captivated by it I just had to read it again. I was disturbed by Ralph's loss of innocence. Loss of innocence is one of the main themes of this novel, and the way William Golding depicts this through the experience and changes the boys go through in the island is tragic and disturbing. I already foresaw Jack's savageness, so his actions in the later chapters did not bother me much. But Ralph. Poor Ralph.
In the beginning of the novel, Ralph is a confident and optimistic boy. He may seem a bit too carefree as the first chapter sees him wandering around the island and marvelling at almost everything. He is confident that they will be rescued, and does everything in his power to return them to civilization. While awaiting rescue, he cheerfully enjoys the island’s beauties. With the conch, he wields a certain authority and is venerated by the group. He is also elected as the leader. In short, with his position and his priority of their rescue, the group of boys’ stay on the island does not seem to be long.
However, over the course of the story, one could sense that Ralph is beginning to change. As the result of the boys’ shift in priority, Ralph is forced to become more mature. As a leader, he feels it is his responsibility to look out for the group and remind them of their priority; rescue. He is constantly advocating the fire and the conch shell, even if few listen to his commands. Because of his responsibility as a leader and also subsequent tragic events, he is no longer cheerful and optimistic. He realizes he can no longer play around. Ralph’s strong desire to return to civilization and Jack and his group’s conflicting view force him think and work harder than before. He has become quite despondent. His dull and uninspired speech in chapter 8 illustrates his mood.
While Ralph’s maturity grows, his confidence begins to shrink. In the beginning of chapter 5, he starts to question his leadership, because Jack’s action is a sort of rebellion that has never happened before. For instance, he tells himself that he is not a great thinker like Piggy. Later in the chapter, he is afraid to call after Jack and the rest who run off to the beach halfway during the meeting for fear of losing his position forever if they ignore him. Compared to before, he is always assured of his position and the power of the conch. At the end of chapter 5, that assurance begins to diminish. At this point, I felt sorry for him. In subsequent chapters, Ralph begins to rely more on Piggy for his advices as his insecurity as a leader grows and he sees Piggy as a support. At one point, he is even tempted to join Jack’s group. Although it is only a brief thought, it is evident that Ralph, to a great extent has lost faith in his leadership and is quite intimidated by Jack’s power.
Although Ralph does not outwardly descend to savagery, it is hinted that he may be one if he stays longer on the island. In chapter 7, he partakes in the re-enactment of the boar killing. He quickly recovers from the euphoria of “landing a hit” on the boar, but this event shows a slight crack in his civilized behaviour. He further degrades into savagery in chapter 9, as he is one of the boys who are involved in Simon’s death. He uses force in chapter 11 to deal with Jack. Unlike before, he would have negotiated and stress to make them see his point of view. Finally, he is forced to act like a savage in chapter 12. He is being hunted like an animal, and therefore he must act like one too. Ralph is just civilized enough to cry for the loss of his civilization when the naval officer arrives at the island. This last part nearly got me in tears. A cruel end to his innocence.
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