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Percival is one of the one of the youngest boys on the island—one of the “littluns,” as the older boys refer to them. Out of all the children, Percival appears to be the most distressed by their situation. He is usually crying, he is plagued by nightmares, he is one of the first children to spot the elusive island beast, and he contributes to the group’s mass panic by suggesting that the creature might hide in the ocean.
Percival represents the destruction of innocence. He naively clings to his identity during times of distress, hysterically repeating his full name and address (Percival Wemys Madison, the Vicarage, Harcourt St. Anthony, Hants) like a mantra to protect himself from the unknown. However, by the end of the novel, Percival is so traumatized by the barbarism and violence that he has witnessed on the island that he is unable to recall his own name or where he lives. Percival’s inability to remember key information about himself suggests he has lost his sense of self and his understanding of the world as a result of his loss of innocence. It is no surprise, then, that Percival’s inability to identify himself to the Naval Officer occurs right before Ralph weeps for the “end of innocence” at the conclusion of the novel.
