Civilization can be destroyed as easily as it is created. Without the walls of society, humans are capable of committing acts they never thought possible. Lord of the Flies focuses on a group of lonely boys on an island with no authority. The novel reveals what humanity can become without the presence of authority. In Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the protagonist Ralph symbolizes leadership, civilization as well as the loss of innocence. Ralph is the one who most resembles the authority that the boys have on the island. His appearance plays an important role in signifying authority: "You could see now that he could make a boxer, as far as the width and heaviness of the shoulders, but there was a softness in his mouth and in his eyes which proclaimed no evil. » (Golding, 10). His appearance changes throughout the novel as does his character. Ralph plays the most important character because the majority of the novel revolves around him. He becomes the leader of the group of boys at the beginning of the novel, until he begins to struggle for power with the antagonist, Jack. Ralph experiences a journey that makes him lose his innocence and discover many things about humanity. Ralph's symbolism regarding leadership, civilization, and the loss of innocence reveals what society can become. Evil is present in all humanity, humanity can move from civilization to savagery without the walls of society being present. One of Ralph's best traits is his leadership. Good leadership is an important part of maintaining order in a civilization. Ralph demonstrates his strong leadership at the beginning of the novel. He knows that if the island does not have rules and order, it will be completely ch...... middle of paper......the idea of ​​being free overcame them as well fear. He depicted civilization and showed how a figure of civilization was present but the idea of ​​being free from civilization would most likely lead to savagery. His loss of innocence reveals that evil is present in all humanity. The urge to hurt is present in every human, however, some are able to keep it out of sight, but others cannot because the urge is too strong. The presence of authority changes the way of acting because once the boys were found by the naval officer, the boys who were about to end civilization also started crying because they realized everything they had done, "[...]the other little boys began to shake and sob too" (Golding, 202). They were crying now, but when they acted like savages, they didn't. The Lord of the Flies shows to what extent a society can become inhumane without a stable civilization.