Heart of Darkness and Lord of the Flies
Seldom are works as brilliantly written as Conrad's Heart of Darkness or Golding's Lord of the Flies. There are effective comparisons and contrasts between the two novels. The novels deal with many similar issues and contain many of the same themes.
Many of the themes present in Heart of Darkness and also present in Lord of the Flies. Both novels deal with the theme of civilization versus savagery. Also, both novels imply that every man has a heart of darkness or an evil that is usually drowned out by the light of civilization. However, when removed from civilized society, the raw evil of untamed lifestyles within his soul will be unleashed. For example, in the Heart of Darkness the main character Marlow journeys up the Thames river and as he gets further away from civilization, the more he journey's into a heart of darkness. A darkness where societal morals no longer exist and savagery has taken over. In the Lord of the Flies the boys in the novel are stranded on an island and the longer they stay on the island and are absent from civilization the more savage like they become.
Another similarity between the two novels is that the parallels between the protagonists and the antagonists are quite similar. Both the novels have a character who willingly gives into his heart of darkness, and a character who sees the savagery of those who are consumed and fights to return to civilization. For example, in the Heart of Darkness Kurtz gave into his heart of darkness and let his evil tendencies take over. He was a one point a man who values morals but gave into his evil side when removed from civilization. Marlow on the other hand also journeys away from civilization but he does not let his values deteriorate such as Kurtz. In Lord of the Flies Jack gave into his evil side and becomes savage like, and begins turning against the ones who were his friends. Ralph on the other hand was not as easily consumed by his evil side. Until his death, Ralph realized the savagery of the others especially Jack.
Lewis Latimer had many interests. He was an inventor, draftsman, engineer, author, poet, musician, and, at the same time, a devoted family man and philanthropist.
Initially in both stories there is an incident that traps a group of males in a secluded, unknown location. They are forced to work together to survive. As the stories progress we see an instance in each where someone threatens to kill another person. For example, in The 33, one man threatens to murder another man because he uses his iPod. One of the main differences we see is the outcome of the situations. In The 33, no on dies or is murdered. However, in Lord of the Flies, two murders are committed, with one of those confirmed as intentional. In Lord of the Flies Roger purposefully pushes a boulder that strikes Piggy’s head, “The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee, “ which killed him stone dead. Their situations are also similar in the way that they are stuck in a location unknown by the outside world. (Transition word) These situations are different because in The 33 the outside world eventually discovers the groups whereabouts and the challenge is extracting them from the underground cavity. On the other hand, in Lord of the Flies the group is stranded on an island and their location isn’t discovered until the end of the story. Therefore we can see many similarities in the groups’ situations, but several differences in the
In both novels, A Separate Peace and The Lord of the flies, there are many signs that show savagery and the darkness of man. Both Jack and Gene experience the downfall into a barbaric state of mind, which is the start of their savage takeover. Likewise, Jack and Gene both represent the primitive leaders of each novel. Furthermore, the two boys experience a dark point of savagery, in which their animalistic behavior overpowers all pure instincts. All in all, both The Lord of the Flies and A Separate Peace portray their characters as once innocent boys who then experience the downfall into a complete savage state.
In Fahrenheit 451 and Lord of the Flies, the characters are alike in some ways. In Fahrenheit 451 the characters are Montag, Faber, Clarisse, and Beatty. In Lord of the Flies the characters are Ralph, Piggy, Simon and Jack. Jack and Beatty, Ralph and Montag, Simon and Clarisse, and Piggy and Faber all have some similarities. Jack and beatty both want to take control over everyone and sells fear. Ralph and Montag want to move on and find a better plan to make everything work. Simon and Clarisse are Christ-figures. Piggy and Faber are very intellectual and are wise men. The books may contain different story lines but have very similar types of characters.
Humans are intricate. They have built civilizations and invented the concept of society, moving accordingly from savage primal instincts to disciplined behaviour. William Golding, however, does not praise humanity in his pessimistic novel, Lord of The Flies, which tells the story of a group of British schoolboys who are stranded on an uninhabited tropical island without any adults – a dystopia. Golding evidently expresses three views of humanity in this novel. He suggests that, without the rules and restrictions on which societies and civilizations are built, humans are intrinsically selfish, impulsive and violent.
The novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding used a group of British boys beached on a deserted island to illustrate the malicious nature in mankind. Lord of the Flies dealt with the changes the boys underwent as they gradually adapted to the freedom from their society. William Golding's basic philosophy that man was inherently evil was expressed in such instances as the death of Simon, the beast within the boys, and the way Ralph was fervently hunted.
The Lord of the Flies by William Golding is tale of a group of young boys who become stranded on a deserted island after their plane crashes. Intertwined in this classic novel are many themes, most that relate to the inherent evil that exists in all human beings and the malicious nature of mankind. In The Lord of the Flies, Golding shows the boys' gradual transformation from being civilized, well-mannered people to savage, ritualistic beasts.
The book introduces Huck as the first person narrator which is important because it establishes clearly that this book is written from the point of view of a young, less than civilized character. His character emerges as a very literal and logical thinker who only believes what he can see with his own eyes. In this section Huck’s life with the Widow Douglas and her attempts to raise him as a civilized child sets up the main theme of this book which is the struggle or quest for freedom. Huck’s struggle for freedom from civilized society is paralleled by Jim’s struggle to escape from slavery. Irony as a key literary element in this novel is apparent in this chapter and is primarily expressed through Huck’s sarcasm. A major element of superstition is introduced and continues throughout the entire book. This superstition is used to give insight into Huck’s character, which is very naive and gullible, as well as foreshadow events. For example the killing of the spider in chapter 1 and, in a later chapter, the spilling of the salt does result in bad luck in the form of Pa coming home. Twain puts together an interesting juxtaposition of theft with honor when Tom Sawyer establishes his robber band with Huck and the other boys and they swear to their code of ethics. Interestingly, this is also paralleled at the end of the book when Tom is able to help steal Jim “honorably” because Jim is already a free man. Throughout this section, Huck’s character and personality is established. He is revealed as humble in that he constantly underplays his own intelligence. An example is when he plans his own death and then whi...
When placed on a deserted island, a group of strangers banded together to try to survive. They decided on a leader, problem-solved, fought off a beast, and formed their own society, even if it was somewhat flawed. This was the situation in the famous TV show, Lost. The Lord of the Flies and Lost are similar in these many different ways, with the exception that the show featured a tribe of adults instead of children. That just proves how difficult it is to maintain order in a society; even the adults struggled with keeping it peaceful and civilized. In Lord of the Flies, William Golding presents a broken society of savage boys fighting one another to suggest that man’s capacity for evil is brought out by the need for power and control.
As a result, Twain utilizes Huck to depict an evolving character in the novel. This is made prominent by Huck’s changes in morals against racism and maturity by being able to understand what is right and what is wrong. Which is displayed through the experiences that Huck goes through in the novel. Just as a child gets older and starts to break away from the environment that was given to him and the morals bestowed upon him. When the child begins to create it’s own morals and starts to realize what is right from wrong the child is no longer a child it becomes a mature adult of it’s own in a society. Paralleling to Huck going from an immature child to a mature young adult in the end of the novel.
Lord of the Flies, written by William Golding, is a novel about British schoolboys, who survived on an island after the plane crash. This novel is an allegory: It is a literary work in which each character, event, or object is symbolic outside of the novel. It is allegorical in the level of society in terms of three major symbols. The conch symbolizes civilization, and helps to possess an organized law and order. Next, Jack, as the main antagonist in the novel, represents a savage in the society. Furthermore, the fire signifies the return of civilization and conflicts within the society. Thus, Lord of the Flies is an allegory for society since it represents good governance, humanity’s innate cruelty, and struggles to the return of its civilization.
Huck struggles with himself through his moral beliefs. Huck struggles with himself because he grows up in the lower class and when he moves in with the Widow it is hard for him to adjust to the life of the upper class. Huck is speaking to the reader at the beginning of the novel about events that have occurred in the previous novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Huck explains how he was adopted by The Widow Douglas and how she tried to civilize him. “The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time … when I couldn’t stand it no longer I lit out … But Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable. So I went back” (2). This passage shows how Huck is being civilized by the widow and since he is from the lower class ...
Through out the entire novel, Huck has grown as a character because of the experiences that he has gone through. Along with society's impact, running away with Jim and trying to save Jim have also changed and impacted Huck's character. Huck's views on slavery have changed due to his experiences with Jim. Although the end of the novel does lead Huck to how he was at the beginning, the reader can still see how much Huck has changed and grown. Huck does not view Jim as property anymore, but as a human being with feelings.
Mark Twain creates a sense of the hysteria and confliction in this passage by instilling profound diction. In the second paragraph of chapter sixteen, Huck is “scorched” to near-oblivion of his morality by the idea of betraying Jim, revealing upon not only the instability of Huck but also the pureness and innocence that lies in his conflicting heart (Twain 87). Through this conviction one can understand just how tough of a position Huck is in for if he sets out to deny Jim his freedom, then he be no better than all of the crooked people he has met so far. However if Huck does not turn Jim in, then he goes against his entire upbringing by helping a black man escape and gain his freedom. Later on in the passage after Huck decides to set out on his plan of action to turn Jim in and hears Jim’s gratitude. A blow is hit to Huck’s “tuck” by feelings of guilt and confusion, showing his own uncertainty in the morality of his actions (Twain 89). By questioning his own decisions not only does Huck realizes unconsciously what action he will take but also gives an example of his critical nature for Huck has felt this guilt constantly and just is not ready to put this issue aside and give himself a break.
A novel structured on the theme of morality, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain focuses on Huck Finn’s multifaceted growing up process. Huck, through his escapades and misfortunes is obliged to endure the agonizing process from childhood to adulthood where he attains self-knowledge and discovers his own identity. Throughout the journey down the Mississippi River, Jim, Ms. Watson’s runaway slave, accompanies Huck, and is later joined by two con men. It is during this journey that a great moral crisis in Huck’s life occurs where he must make a painful decision as to whether he is going to give Jim up to the slave hunters or notify Ms. Watson about Jim’s whereabouts and assist him to remain a free man. This is the turning point in his character where through deep introspection, he learned to think and reason morally for himself. He comes to his own conclusions, unaffected by the accepted, and often hypocritical, perceptions of Southern culture. Huck also deciphers the truth in the face of lies held by the antagonistic society with its evil nature.