Essay Comparing The Count Of Monte Cristo And Lord Of The Flies

The effects of isolation have a great impact on one’s emotions, thus, those overwhelming emotions can influence one’s behavior. Although it is not stated that any of the characters in The Count of Monte Cristo and Lord of the Flies have a mental illness, one can assume that they do suffer from some form of preposterous rationalization. As demonstrated in both novels, the Count’s revenge plots and the boys’ ruthless actions are provoked by their isolation and loneliness. Isolation is physically being alone while loneliness is the feeling of being alone; hence, both are remarkably shown throughout the novels. In The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, isolation and loneliness are the basis of the

characters’ unethical and unmoral behavior because isolation is detrimental so social interaction is necessary for a human to be well adjusted.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, loneliness is evident throughout the characters’ conduct. When Dantès was incarcerated, he had many suicidal thoughts due to his lonesomeness. American journalist, Judith Shulevitz, has theorized that, “Emotional isolation is ranked as high a risk factor for mortality as smoking.” (Shulevitz) Considering Shulevitz’s statement, if emotional isolation is considered lethal, then what is not to say that Dantès went insane because of his loneliness? Dantès’ insanity is evident in the text when he begins to showcase the effects of the empty cell altering his mental stability. It was proven that Dantès became temporarily cured of his suicidal thoughts when he discovered he had a companion in his presence, “‘It’s a prisoner!’ said Dantès to himself with unspeakable joy. Life came surging back to him.” (Dumas 44)
Although Dantès was no longer lonely, it became noticeable how his emotions were still chaotic. Abbé Faria also noticed his insanity and said, “I regret…having told you what I did…because I’ve instilled in your heart a feeling that was never there before: vengeance.” (Dumas 58)
The fact that Dantès portrayed deranged behavior proves how his delirium was triggered by his solitude. As Mijuskovic states in his book, Loneliness in Philosophy, Psychology, and Literature:
Perhaps in the ancient sense that “the truth shall set us free,” [man] will be better able to cope with this existential fact of human isolation as a result of understanding it; however, there can be no final escape from, or transcendence beyond, loneliness so long as man is alive. In saying this, I do not wish to suggest that man is unable temporarily to alleviate his sense of loneliness but rather that the relief can never be permanent or even long lasting (Mijuskovic 1).
It is clear that Mijuskovic would agree that Dantès’ insanity from being alone is what caused him to make his decisions later on in the book, since his insanity was only temporarily cured. Dantès’ father, Monsieur Dantès, suffered due to his alienation. In the novel, the narrator states, “Five months after he had been separated from his son he breathed his last in Mercédès’ arms.” (Dumas 41) Without his son, Monsieur Dantès could not live any longer. Even if Monsieur Dantès was surrounded by his loved ones, he still felt alone which led him to his death; proving that feeling alone can have just as horrible a consequence, mentally, as being alone. “Loneliness varies with age and poses a particular threat to the very old, quickening the rate at which their faculties decline and cutting their lives shorter.” (Shulevitz) Considering that an older mind is more susceptible to stronger emotions, one can understand why Monsieur Dantès died. Dantès’ father was getting older; therefore, his loneliness affected him more than it would have affected anyone else. Psychology lecturer, Rebecca Harris, also states that, “Certainly all of us feel [lonely] from time to time, but it is commonly known that loneliness particularly affects the elderly who may be socially isolated due to decreased mobility and loss of friends and partners” (Harris 2). There are many occurrences of isolation and loneliness in The Count of Monte Cristo, but there are even more in Lord of the Flies.
The boys in Lord of the Flies suffer from loneliness, which is caused by their isolation on the island.

As a result of twelve year old boys being stranded on an isolated island, they resort to savagery. Two journalists, Eleanor Learmonth and Jenny Tabakoff state in their article, “When groups of people are clinging to life, the greatest threat may be not the harsh environment, starvation or dehydration, but the other survivors standing next to them on the deserted beach or the remote, snow-covered mountain.” (Learmonth and Tabakoff) The boys in Lord of the Flies faced many hardships concerning their surroundings, but their biggest threat was their own emotions that turned them into unrecognizable monsters. In her article, Shulevitz discusses a case study about the effects of loneliness on monkeys and she observes, “…the absence of mothering destroyed the monkeys’ ability to mingle with other monkeys…” (Shulevitz) Such as in Lord of the Flies, the absence of adults destroyed the boys’ humanity and left them unable to compromise with one another. The children were on an island together, although, this does not mean that some of them could not have felt lonely as individuals, such as Piggy. Journalist, Oliver Moody, explains that researchers have found, “A lack of friends is worse for teenagers’ health than taking no exercise…” (Moody 1) This applies to Piggy because along with his physical health issues, he had no friends, and as construed in the novel, he suffered the most, emotionally. As he desperately tried to fit in and be heard, he simply got bullied as stated in the text, “This from Piggy, and the wails of agreement from some of the hunters, drove Jack to violence.” (Golding 71) Nobody liked Piggy the majority of the time spent on the island. Loneliness and isolation provide support of the characters’ insanity throughout Lord of the

Flies.
Loneliness and isolation are the fundamental elements in these novels. As presented in The Count of Monte Cristo and Lord of the Flies, being or feeling alone can cause atrocious judgement, which leads to uncanny actions. Agreeing with Mijuskovic’s statement that, “Loneliness constitutes the inevitable structure of self-awareness that grounds the desperate attempt of each of us, separately, to transcend our mental prison by seeking refuge through communication with another reflexive being” (Mijuskovic 6), after living in a psychotic surrounding, the characters in these novels needed comfort. The Count received love from Haydeé, and Ralph gained the comfort of his rescuer. In conclusion, although the main characters suffered from severe loneliness and received a temporary antidote, they will never be fully cured from their insanity.
There are multiple examples of loneliness in real life, as well. Many case studies revolve around prisoners, which is a great basis to get to the core of isolation’s power. For example, author, Carly Frintner, states, “Prisoners who are isolated for prolonged periods of time have been known to experience ‘depression, despair, anxiety, rage, claustrophobia, hallucinations, problems with impulse control, and/or an impaired ability to think, concentrate, or remember’” (Frintner 1). This further justifies the impact of which loneliness and isolation may have on an individual. Frintner also proves that social isolation damages one’s mental adjustment when she states, “For prisoners with pre-existing mental or emotional disorders, living without normal human interaction, physical and mental activity and stimulation can aggravate their symptoms to levels equivalent to torture” (Frintner 1). With these statements, and evidence of isolation in the novels, one can see how loneliness really does, in fact, alter a person’s act.
The inhumane acts produced in both novels can be justified by the fact that the characters were lonely and isolated. Being lonely can weaken the heart which might lead to an unstable mind. The effects of isolation could lead to illogical actions. In both novels, one can see the characters’ loneliness in their actions and realize how they had not belonged to any form of civilization, but desperately needed to belong in order to feel better. When individuals perform wrong-doings, what is not to say that those wrong-doings stem from some form of loneliness in their life?