Loss of Innocence

• How do the boys on the island change throughout the novel?

  They progress from well-behaved children to cruel, bloodthirsty hunters.
• What does the loss of innocence signify in the novel?

  It signifies the boys' increasing openness to innate evil and savagery.
• What do the painted savages in Chapter 12 represent?

  They represent the loss of innocence and the embrace of savagery.
• How does Golding portray the loss of innocence?

  As a natural result of the boys' increasing savagery, not as something done to them.
• What does Golding imply about civilization and innate evil?

  Civilization can mitigate but never completely eliminate innate evil.
• What does the forest glade symbolize in Chapter 3?

  It symbolizes the boys' initial innocence and natural beauty.
• What happens to the forest glade later in the novel?

  It becomes disrupted by the bloody sow’s head impaled upon a stake.
• What does the bloody offering to the beast represent?

  It represents innate human evil disrupting childhood innocence.