DoomedInnocence;LordoftheFlie

In this novel, butterflies represent freedom from sin as a result of a lack of knowledge of evil. The butterfly is a delicate, brittle creature that flits around, avoiding harm of any kind and is easily destroyed by harm. In this sense, the butterfly duplicates the image of innocence entirely. Innocence is also beautiful yet fragile, and is damaged by the smallest sign of corruption. When Simon first discovers the Lord of the Flies who is the symbol of degeneracy and evil, “even the butterflies [desert] the open space where the obscene thing [grins] and [drips]” (138). The butterflies, symbolizing innocence, flee from the hideous sight, leaving Simon alone with the hideous, vile pig’s head. This incident is an example of how innoce

In many other incidents, the boys brutally slay many pigs. The pigs represent innocence because every time a pig is killed, the boys’ life on the island falls deeper and deeper into corruption. When Jack and his hunters go hunting, the doomed pig is “a little apart from the rest, sunk is deep maternal bliss, the largest sow of the lot. She [is] black and pink; and the great bladder of the belly [is] fringed with a row of piglets that [sleep] or [burrow] and [squeak]’ (134). There is nothing more pure and sincere than “maternal bliss,” and Golding goes into depth describing the innocent and simple satisfaction of the sow with her piglets. The quote also serves to show that innocence is vulnerable, as there is nothing protecting the defenseless sow as she is busy nursing her piglets. That is when the hunters attack the unsuspecting sow as “the sow [falls] and the hunters [hurl] themselves at her. This dreadful eruption from an unknown world made her frantic; she [squeals] and [bucks] and the air [is] full of sweat and noise and blood and terror” (135). The hunters represent sin and depravity, and they “[hurl] themselves at her” when she is unsuspecting. This shows how evil can captivate suddenly and without warning, contaminating innocence without a second thought. When Golding writes that this intrusion is a “dreadful eruption from an unknown world,” he is hinting that although evil can be unknown when lost in innocence, no one is safe from a sudden, unsuspecting eruption of evil. When one is hit upon with evil, one fights back, as evident in the sow when she squeals and bucks. However, it is usually a losing battle and is also terrifying.

Some topics in this essay:
Lord Flies, William Golding, Flies Golding, Simon Murder, Simon Innocence, innocence lost, lord flies, jack hunters, innocence destroyed, lord flies symbol, butterflies pigs simon, using symbols motifs, horseshoe formation, evil seeps, using symbols, flies symbol, symbols motifs, pig’s head,