How Did Roger Lose Innocence In Lord Of The Flies

Krissy Lovely
Hour 6
9.17.16

Lord of the Flies Innocence Essay

In the fictional novel, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, he argues that when children encounter traumatic experiences of tribulation and terror, they turn to violence and in this case, the children of this novel, lose their playful innocence because of events they created themselves. They lose their innocence by coming to the realization that there are no adults on the island and that they can do what they want. Towards the beginning of story, Golding uses his descriptive language to tell the story of these boys who crashed on this island and the plane leaves a “scar” on the tropical island. The plane leaves this permanent mark on the island, just like the actions of the boys’ will. This “scar” foreshadows the destruction on the boys’ innocent nature. Near the end of the first chapter, the boys began to realize that there are no real rules or adults, it makes them more curious with what they can do. The

Roger begins to lose his innocence when he kills the piglet, he is the only one to chase after the piglet instead of the mother like the rest of the hunters. This shows that Roger’s innocence is being replaced with darkness. When Roger finally loses his innocence is when Ralph, Piggy, Jack, and his tribe members start to argue over Piggy’s glass, which are seen as a symbol of hope. Roger, who is Jack’s right hand man, is on top of a perch with a giant boulder held by a stick. Finally losing all sense of morals, Roger pulls the stick which drops the rock on top of Piggy, instantly killing him.
Through all of these traumatic events, the reader of Lord of the Flies understands how Golding shows how younger males can lose their innocence throughout events like murders. The boys from the island shall never forget their innocence but they will always long to have it