In the final moments of the book Lord of the Flies,
the boys sob, and the officer turns away. The naval officer has
arrived on the beach just as Ralph is attempting to run away from
Jack and his tribe, who are trying to kill him. The arrival of an
adult stops the children in their tracks. The naval officer
represents their old life with laws and consequences. The officer
asks Ralph if there are any dead and Ralph tells him that two
children were killed. The officer is shocked to hear that two
children were killed. The officer asks Ralph who the boss is and
Ralph told him that he is. The officer expects more of British boys,
and tells him he was disappointed in their behavior. Ralph begins to
cry and the other children began to cry as well. The naval officer
represents civilization and civility that the children have almost
forgotten. I interpret this final moment of the novel to mean that
the children now realize what they have done on the island. Ralph is
crying because his friends died, and he helped kill one. The other
children cry because they realize that they have become savages and
that they have murdered their friends. The officer turning away from
them when they broke down crying shows his disappointment in their
ability to remain civil in a difficult situation. The officer looks
to his organized warship and expects the same civility from the
children. The naval officer is shocked by their behavior and
embarrassed by their emotions because he believes that proper
British schoolchildren should know better.
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