The naval officer's appearance at the end of the novel to save Ralph seems to be a contrived ending. Ralph's death is certain. He is being smoked out of the woods into the waiting spears of the boys on the beach. The fact that the naval officer appears at just this time seems too much of a coincidence.
Yet, it is important thematically to the story. The fact that the rescuing adult is a military man is symbolic of the war that the entire world is engaged in. The island, in this way, is only a microcosm of the world itself. The war on the island is not caused because of some isolated situation of boys being stranded on an island; it is caused by the same reasons that cause all wars: power struggles, insolvable differences, acts of aggression, fear, lack of respect or understanding of those who are different.
As the naval looks out at the distance, his eyes fall on his cruiser. His cruiser is a destroyer. There is no real rescue for the boys. They are only leaving one war for a bigger one.
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