Grigoriu Daniela Elena 1st Year German-English Text Analysis Practicum Course Instructor: Dr. Lorelei Caraman The loss of innocence in “Lord of the flies” by William Golding Innocence is a term for which we cannot really find an exact definition. We can say what innocence is not, the Free Dictionary defines it as “ not guilty, not dangerous, not corrupted or tainted by evil; sinless”. “ Innocence (or guiltlessness) indicates lack of guilt, with respect of any kind or crime, or wrongdoing.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocence,web). “Lord of the flies” is an excellent novel written by War World II fighter, William Golding. He is known for his themes of the struggle between good and evil and was a critic of modern society, according to Wikipedia. This fictional opera analyses in close the major psychological changes of a human being, in this case, children, who are thought to be innocent, free of guilt, naive. The novel’s tone is a dark, violent one, as throughout the novel, one can see how the human mind can regress and turn only to instincts, the feature we have in common with animals. This allegorical story is about boys aged 6 to 12 who survive and air crash and end up alone, without any adults to take care of them, on a tropical island, who looks like Heaven on Earth. This “Heaven” will change these so thought to be innocent creatures, and drive them into savagery. One can look into this theme and find that it is an absolute work of psychoanalysis, which is a method of mind investigation. Psychoanalysis is Sigmund Freud’s Creation, said to have done it on himself first. The Psychoanalysis is considered to be a form of therapy, based on the fact that individuals are not aware of the factors that cause their behavior and emotion. “Psychoanalytic treatment is highly individualized and seeks to show how the unconscious factors affect behavior patterns, relationships, and overall mental health. Treatment traces the unconscious factors to their origins, shows how they have evolved and developed over the course of many years, and subsequently helps individuals to overcome the challenges they face in life (National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis, 1998). To sum up, one can say that psychoanalysis is a method of understanding how the human mind works, how is grows and develops, or how it regresses. The negative evolution of the boys on the island is because of the lost contact with the civilization, and of course, the upcoming features of subconscious desires: owning power and manifesting it. First, Ralph was chosen as a leader and was advised by Piggy, the most intelligent one, who had a weight problem, he needed glasses to see clearly and had asthma. He expressed his ideas through Ralph, who had sense of justice and presented some kind of authority. Ralph thinks of a way to send an S.O.S. message, putting a fire using Piggy’s glasses. The boys seem to have formed a little society in which they are organized and respect each other. But human needs are strong, and the need for food, for meat, is obsessing Jack, the school choir leader, who wants to hunt and kill. When the boys make their first kill, a primal instinct awakens in Jack who now wants to take power and be the leader. The new tribe, the “savages” have their body painted, they are armed with spears and reigned by Jack. They’re first hunt is celebrated with a primitive ritual dance, and they are so caught up in the idea of an existing beast on the island, that they think the beast revealed itself and they accidentally kill Simon, the spiritual character in this story, who sees things clearly, who knows that the only beast is within them, and this represents the actual climax of the novel. Jack is no fool. He uses the Beast to manipulate the other boys, they come to know what it means to be cruel, to hunt and to kill, they have no desire of returning to civilization. This is an allegorical novel, and Golding putts on the table two choices for society: evolution or regression; good or evil; human or animal; innocence or bestiality. They begin to lose their innocence from the beginning of the novel. We can compare their innocence with the sequence in the novel in which the island is presented, in Chapter 3. Simon sees it a Paradise on Earth before he discovers the bloody sow’s head surrounded by flies, which indicates a state of decay, thus, the title of the novel “Lord of the flies”. The writing style is dominated by poetic description, the words Golding uses tend to go to extremes, adjectives such as “decaying” or “cream and copper-colored". “The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings. Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar. Ralph stood, one hand against a grey trunk, and screwed up his eyes against the shimmering water.” ( Lord of the flies, W. Golding, page 10 ) The details Golding uses to describe the scene with the pig increases the idea of a vivid image that is really happening, having a great impact on the reader: “The pile of guts was a black blob of flies that buzzed like a saw. After a while these flies found Simon. Gorged, they alighted by his runnels of sweat and drank. They tickled under his nostrils and played leapfrog on his thighs. They were black and iridescent green and without number; and in front of Simon, the Lord of the Flies hung on his stick and grinned.” (Lord of the flies, W. Golding, page 198) There is a moment in the book where the Evil is presented directly and even “speaks”, the moment Simon realizes that the beast is within all of them: ““There isn’t anyone to help you. Only me. And I’m the Beast.” The impressive original dark tone is vivid and real and gives the impression that Simon has gone mad: ““Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill!” said the head. For a moment or two the forest and all the other dimly appreciated places echoed with the parody of laughter. “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?” (Lord of the flies, W. Golding, page 206) The ending of the book implies an idea that maybe there is some salvation. After the children killed Piggy and destroyed the Conch, the symbol for authority, they hunt Jack and plan to kill him too. There is nowhere to run or to hide, but at the last minute, a naval officer appears. The officer is a representative for civilization, but also the negative part of civilization: war. The children will be rescued from that island, but they will never be the same and Ralph knows that, he knows that he and the boys have lost their innocence: “. And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man’s heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.” (Lord of the flies, W. Golding, page 290). “Lord of the flies” was rejected by twenty-one publishers and sold only a few copies. Four years later, the sales increase and it becomes literary work for secondary schools and colleges. On the surface, it is an adventure story, but as we look into it, as the critic Peter Green says: “it portrays a gradual reversion to the most primitive and bloodthirsty savagery.’ (http://teacherweb.com/CT/MasukHighSchool/MsGallagher/Lord-of-the-Flies-various-critical-analysis.pdf, web). Frank Kermode says that Golding intended, through his work ( “Lord of the flies” remains his best work) to show society that it is broken because it cannot manage it’s fears: “ The Beast, to begin with, is nothing more than a focal point for the boys’ vague, archaic fears.” (http://teacherweb.com/CT/MasukHighSchool/MsGallagher/Lord-of-the-Flies-various-critical-analysis.pdf, web) The book tells us a good story about Evil and true nature of human beings, where even the innocent ones are stained. The hurtful truth lies at the end of the book; we were witnesses to what Evil can do to the human soul, but when salvation comes, the book ends. And it is not a true salvation, maybe the opposite. Conviction to a life where one cannot get away from his memories, from his Beast. Golding tells us a good deal about Evil, but about salvation he is silent. WORKS CITED Lord of the flies - William Golding http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Innocence,web http://teacherweb.com/CT/MasukHighSchool/MsGallagher/Lord-of-the-Flies-various-criticahttp://teacherweb.com/CT/MasukHighSchool/MsGallagher/Lord-of-the-Flies-various-critical-analysis.pdf, web)l-analysis.pdf, web 6