Loss of Innocence

The boys who are stranded on the island are young, immature and innocent. None of the boys wanted to be stranded on an island without their parents. The boys slowly transform into men in this novel when they have to fend for themselves and make decisions that will impact not only themselves but also all the other boys. Unknowingly to them, the boys transform from young boys to savage blood thirsty hunters. They will do whatever they feel is necessary to survive and to find food. The children go from little boys swimming in a lagoon to painted savages who have killed and tortured numerous animals. The author portrays the evil that the boys show as being something that has always been inside of them. The reason they have never showed this side of them is because their evil spirits were suppressed by society. In chapter three, Simon sits in the Forest Glade, it is peaceful and relaxing. When he returns later in the novel there is a bloody sow's head on a stake that was put there as an offering. This bloody offering destroys the peace that was once there. This is a very powerful symbol of how natural human evil can destroy childhood innocence.