Lord of the Flies

In his novel, Lord of the Flies, Golding raises the issue of 'the end of innocence and the darkness of man's heart' in his portrayal of certain characters. However, he contrasts such characters with those who possess the human spirit, that is, a humanity and decency that can survive the most extreme circumstances. By contrasting characters of Jack and Ralph, Golding raises the theme of good versus evil, loss of innocence, the struggle for power …

…man and the savage. He shows us that "the end of innocence and the darkness of man's heart" is not applicable to everyone in the novel, for example, Ralph, Piggy and Simon are good characters, who possess the human spirit, in that their humanity and decency survive under the most extreme conditions. By contrasting characters, such as Ralph and Jack, Golding raises themes of good versus evil, loss of innocence and the struggle for power.