In the last chapter of "Lord of the Flies", the book comes to a close as Ralph is being hunted by jack, roger and the hunters. Jack has set fire to the entire island in an attempt to smoke Ralph out. He and his hunters spread across the island searching for him with the intent to skew him on a stick that is sharpened at both ends.
In a last attempt for safety, Ralph makes a run through the inferno of the jungle towards the beach. As he reaches the sand, he comes face to face with a naval officer whose ship caught sight of the flames from the island and they are rescued.
The novel is filled with irony and symbolism. Some of which is apparent in the rescue. For instance, ironically the naval officers are attracted by fire, the very thing which Ralph and piggy had said was so important. The naval officer even points out the importance of order to the boys as he stands there on the sand looking at their nameless faces.
The rescue signals an end of innocence for Ralph. He comes to the realization that they are all savages deep down and that no matter how conformed you become, to society, there is still an underlying barbaric irrational savage in everyone.
Even, the officer who is the very symbol of order is no longer innocent in Ralph's eyes. For he with his clean suit and hat is only on his way to kill and destroy his enemy. Ralph is also physically affected by the rescue. Golding shows this when the boys all collapse into tears.
Ralph now has the realization that after his experience on the island neither, himself or the other will be able to return as a healthy member of society. Golding views the officers as the appitamy of order and humanity. So neat and clean in they"re uniforms. However, this is quite contradictory because no longer do they even hold innocence. For the fact that they are on their way to hunt and kill their enemy makes them no less savage then jack.
