The Littluns: Analysis of "Lord of the Flies" Jimmy Jay Chassi 10th Grade

What do you think of when someone says “children?" Sweet, innocent, and naive are just some of the adjectives that today’s society has placed on the common image of society's own youngest members. Yet in Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the children who are stranded on an island after their plane has crashed turn into murderous, hateful humans. There is, however, a group of children on the island who seem to not be at fault for any of the horrible things that happened on this island: the littluns. These were the smallest children on the island; the littluns do commit some of the horrendous things that occur in the novel, but they (unlike some of their bigger companions) do not know any better. Although the role that they play in the novel is small, their impact on the reader and their relation to symbolism is big. The littluns represent the innocence of young children, and also function as stand-ins for the normal everyday people of the world.

An example of the complexity of the littluns involves their childish ways. Kids are supposed to always be playing and almost always trying to be mischievous; as adults see them, children are pure and always seem to be happy. However, this nature seems to completely change throughout...