Lord of the Flies Essay
Abbey Beissler
Hour 4
“‘Don’t you understand, Piggy? The things we did –’” (157). In this quote, Ralph is experiencing a personal loss of identity after he participated in the murder of Simon. The child soldiers in the Ugandan civil war can be compared to the Lord of the Flies because of its relation to a loss of identity. Loss of identity through traumatizing experiences includes becoming unemotional killing machines, a change in character, and distrust towards others. Loss of identity can make one become a ruthless and unemotional killer. The child soldiers in Uganda become killing machines, without emotion or thought. This is brought about by the need to survive and a way of revenge for experiences in the past. For example, many child soldiers turned to killing because they wanted revenge for the killing of family members. Jack and his tribe kill both Piggy and Simon. The experiences they encountered on the island changed their character and knowledge of what is right and wrong enough that they were capable of killing another human being. Loss of identity changes a person’s character profoundly. The child soldiers lost their character as they became taken up in the warring propaganda. Although they often resist performing violence in the beginning, they are forced to fight due to their will to survive or forgetting about other scarring experiences. Many former child soldiers struggle with their feelings of guilt and shame over their violent actions in the past and have difficulty forgiving their own wartime behaviors. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is one of the boys who experiences a change in character, caught up in the crowd, as he takes place in the murder of Simon. He rants about his guilt and loathing of himself to Piggy the next morning. Ralph points out that he is scared of himself and the other boys and what they are capable of when they are scared and trying to survive. Loss of identity can lead to distrust towards others. Both the boys in
Hour 4
“‘Don’t you understand, Piggy? The things we did –’” (157). In this quote, Ralph is experiencing a personal loss of identity after he participated in the murder of Simon. The child soldiers in the Ugandan civil war can be compared to the Lord of the Flies because of its relation to a loss of identity. Loss of identity through traumatizing experiences includes becoming unemotional killing machines, a change in character, and distrust towards others. Loss of identity can make one become a ruthless and unemotional killer. The child soldiers in Uganda become killing machines, without emotion or thought. This is brought about by the need to survive and a way of revenge for experiences in the past. For example, many child soldiers turned to killing because they wanted revenge for the killing of family members. Jack and his tribe kill both Piggy and Simon. The experiences they encountered on the island changed their character and knowledge of what is right and wrong enough that they were capable of killing another human being. Loss of identity changes a person’s character profoundly. The child soldiers lost their character as they became taken up in the warring propaganda. Although they often resist performing violence in the beginning, they are forced to fight due to their will to survive or forgetting about other scarring experiences. Many former child soldiers struggle with their feelings of guilt and shame over their violent actions in the past and have difficulty forgiving their own wartime behaviors. In Lord of the Flies, Ralph is one of the boys who experiences a change in character, caught up in the crowd, as he takes place in the murder of Simon. He rants about his guilt and loathing of himself to Piggy the next morning. Ralph points out that he is scared of himself and the other boys and what they are capable of when they are scared and trying to survive. Loss of identity can lead to distrust towards others. Both the boys in