Where Have the Boys Gone? Loss of Innocence

Where Have the Boys Gone? “The chief was sitting there, naked to the waist, his face blocked out in white and red. The tribe lay in a semicircle before him. The newly beaten and untied Wilfred was sniffing noisily in the background” (189). This savagery is a perfect example of the savagery experienced throughout the book. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, a private school of young boys are sent by plane to a safe spot to get away from war. On the way to their destination, the plane crashes and all of the adults are killed. The boys’ situation will change from being normal, to being alone with no adults. In the novel, Lord of the Flies, William Golding shows the loss of identity in the boys when they descend into savages because of their need for social structure. The boys hide their identities by covering their faces with paint, and wearing so called ‘masks’. When Jack and his gang cover themselves with paint they suddenly turn to savages. As they paint their faces they become different people,the paint hides their old identities and creates new ones. “Beside the pool his sinewy body held up a mask that drew their eyes and appalled them. He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. The face of red and white and black swung through the air and jigged toward Bill” (70). This quote is an excellent example of how the mask takes over Jack’s normal identity and turns him into an inhumane, animal-like creature. In the beginning of the book, a young boy named Percival steps forward and states all of his personal information. By the middle of the book, Percival does not remember most of his information and completely loses his identity. “‘Now tell us. What’s your name?’ ‘Percival Wemys Madison. The Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Hants, telephone, tele-’ As if this information was rooted far down in the springs of