Painful though it may be, this loss of innocence by coming to terms with reality is necessary if humanity is to survive. When civilization slips away and man reverts to his more primitive nature, his identity disintegrates. The boys use masks to cover their identities, and this allows them to kill and later to murder. The loss of a personal name personifies the loss of selfhood and identity. Each kind of power is used by one of the characters.
Democratic power is shown when choices and decisions are shared among many.
Authoritarian power allows one person to rule by threatening and terrifying others. Spiritual power recognizes internal and external realities and attempts to integrate them. Brute force, the most primitive use of power, is indiscriminate. Fear is allowed to grow because they play with the idea of it. They cannot fully accept the notion of a beast, nor can they let go of it.