Chapter 12: Describe the irony at the end of the novel. What ironic twists are evident as they boys are rescued by the naval officer?

Ralph runs into the sailor on the beach. The island is a burning inferno and the "savages" are about to kill him. The arrival of the sailor is Golding's Deus ex Machina (God in the Machine). The story has ended and Ralph contemplates everything in a moment. He finally is able to be a child again and he lets go of all his pent up frustrations and angst. He cries tears of regret and sadness rather than tears of joy. Golding puts it best when he writes, "Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy." Golding never meant the ending to be realistic. He was going for irony and an end to his little social experiment. Golding had proved his point. The boys had turned into savages and would eventually destroy themselves and the island.