In both James Dickey's Deliverance and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, visions of the "unethical" world outside of society are shown to their readers. Marlow and the campers all eventually realize that in a survival situation in the wilderness, there is no "right and wrong," as life suddenly changes for them. Surviving becomes Darwin's ideology of "survival of the fittest," where the strongest people set the rules. Outside of "civilization," Man cannot be judged in the same manner as he is inside a city. There is no law or person that will protect another man in the forest. Both Marlow and Ed discover that Man is not truly moral, when left to his own devices, and that the only actions worth doing are ones in which benefit them. We, as a species, are by nature asocial and destructively rapacious. As Marlow travels farther and farther into the Congo, he finds that the hypocrisy of his fellow Europeans is far greater than he first imagined. His fellow white men butcher elephants and Africans in order to get their precious ivory, which gives them all a massive economic boost. They justify their corrupt actions as moral by dehumanizing the Africans that they kill and claim that they are merely primitive versions of white people. There is no compassion or sense of regret in the imperialists, despite their preaching of Christianity's teachings. In fact, money and power is placed at such a higher priority than morals, that "You would think they were praying to it" (Conrad 89) as if it was a god. The Europeans describe what they do as a form of "trade," and that their treatment of native Africans is part of a benevolent project of "civilization," but the truth is that they take what they want through extreme cruelty, oppr... ... middle of paper ... ... cover themselves and to make certain that there is no evidence of what happened. In a life or death situation, Ed, the ultimate symbol for Mankind, chooses to help himself rather than do what is "right." Greediness and our own individual survival are placed above all else when there are no laws of society to protect us. If someone were to shout "Fire!" in a crowded movie theatre, all bonds of kinship and rational thought would be broken, resulting in a stampede of self-interests. Humans are no different from animals, which, left to their own devices, seek their own gain regardless of the cost to others. William Golding, the author of Lord of the Flies, suggests that "[People] merely suffer from the terrible disease of being human." Humanity's one saving grace is society, which sets rules and boundaries that protect everyone against our own ugly natures.
Humans, by nature, are genuinely good people who show compassion and concern for others, right? Well true, if we all lived in a utopian land. Unfortunately, humans are, in fact, evil and easily corrupted by others. In William Golding’s 1954 published Lord of the Flies, the boy’s on the island learn that a peaceful civilization is easily destroyed without cooperation or agreement. The frustration manifested itself, making a transformation of the boys into meat hungry, hunters, who even try to hunt the other boys who don’t follow the pack. Golding analyzes the flaws of human society, directly related to human nature.
...s. Over the course of Marlow’s article he discovers the likenesses between the European race and indigenous community of Africa. They may proceed in different ways, but the reason for their activities garners the acknowledgement of their morality. The innovative explores the information obstacles between Europe and the evolving world through Conrad’s gradually unraveling description of African civilization and the environment of humanity inside the African persons. Due to European greed for power and selfish superiority they could not see past the differences in the way of life in the Congo. Africa is utilized and compared to Europe and the evolving world due to the views of the Europeans and the extremes of European exploitation. Still Marlow looked past this barricade and the compare of the two worlds to find humanity and he beings to realize African principles.
Marlow, the main character in Heart of Darkness, often recognizes the Europeans' dehumanization of the Africans. As Marlow approaches the company offices at the Outer Station he sees "a scene of inhabited devastation" (Conrad 24). He catches sight of a chain gang of half starved, animal-like Africans. Trying to rationalize the situation, Marlow tells himself that these Africans are criminals, and somehow deserve their ...
Humans are naturally selfish creatures. Selfish is defined as not having consideration for others, the environment or other living things. The boys in William Golding’s Lord of the Flies were selfish for a number of reasons. At first the boys were civilized, but the first show of selfishness is when the boys bully Piggy. Order slowly disappears from a once organized group to a group that is killing each other and it is very clear that self gain is a priority. They torture pigs and burn down the forest, they steal and fight, they kill other boys. The island reflects the outside world as order crumbles and man’s inherent evil shines through. This is because humans are naturally selfish creatures, we may not admit it, or we may try to not be but
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.
In society, people want to have an orderly civilization, however it can easily be ruined by the selfishness of an individual who turns on a group for personal benefit. In William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, a group of boys get stranded on an island, and must work together in order to survive. However, throughout the book the characters clash back and forth as their civilization deteriorates, demonstrating the harsh effects of human nature. Golding suggests that a fight for power can be rendered because selfishness is human nature, making it nearly impossible to maintain an orderly civilization.
In the opening scenes of the documentary film "Hearts of Darkness-A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," Eleanor Coppola describes her husband Francis's film, "Apocalypse Now," as being "loosely based" on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Indeed, "loosely" is the word; the period, setting, and circumstances of the film are totally different from those of the novella. The question, therefore, is whether any of Conrad's classic story of savagery and madness is extant in its cinematic reworking. It is this question that I shall attempt to address in this brief monograph by looking more closely at various aspects of character, plot, and theme in each respective work.
In Heart of Darkness, Marlow reaches Africa and sees the brutality inflicted upon the native people. They are forced to do strenuous work for the trading companies. The men are treated like slaves and often badly beaten. The Europeans who inflict this violence are not penalized for this cruelty, but rather encouraged to do so as if without restraint and without consciousness to the suffering they are causing. They are told that these people are their enemies and that they are criminals. In astonishment as to what he saw, Marlow says, “I’ve seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil hot desire, but by all the stars! these were strong lusty red-eyed devils that swayed and drove men—men, I tell you” (Conrad 13). These men were not challenged for their actions because the natives were held to no value. They were numerous in number and held no value as human individuals. They were simply free tools for labor and if they died it did not matter because there were at least ten other men that could take his place. This disrespect is not only seen in Africa, but also in Burma in Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. After Marlow shoots the elephant, the European officers were discussing whether or not he should have killed such a valuable beast. The younger officers commented saying, “It was a shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie, because an elephant was worth more than any Coringhee coolie” (Orwell 1026). Besides the imprisonment of the native peoples in their own homes, imperialism suffocated the country. The people were forced to work without pay and rations of food.
Apart from the discernable darkness depicted in England and Belgium, and the Congo, each places’ surface traits are not comparable. The civilized European cities are portrayed as refined, but also as a “whited supulchre,” with “prejudice no doubt” and a desire to “make no end of coin by trade” (Conrad 14). The term “whited supulchre” is a biblical allusion, referring to a person who is superficially pure, but categorically deceptive. In its literal sense, a supulchre is a coffin, and in being whited, it is beautiful on the outside but contains horrors on the inside. This bleak and inhumane place characterizes itself to be civilized, and there in lies the people who willingly welcome the burden of edifying the unfortunates in Africa. Alternatively, the primitive life along the African Congo strikes a glaring disparity to pristine European society. Not only are the riverbanks “rotting with mud” and “thickened with slime,” but also, a “general sense of vague and oppressive wonder” sets a sinister tone to the land and people of the Congo (Conrad 11). The notable absence of description of its inhabitants furthers Africa’s and Africans’ depiction as indistinguishable and incoherent to the European perception. Actual people living in this environ...
In a civilized society, certain aspects of humanity must be adhered to. Qualities such as empathy, respect, compassion, and kindness are key to maintaining order. What happens in society when these qualities disintegrate, and cease to exist altogether? William Golding’s “lord of the Flies” accurately demonstrates that in the absence of humanity, civilized society quickly evolves into one of savagery. Golding shows this evolution through the steady decay of the boy’s morals, values, and laws. The evolution of savagery begins with the individual.
“The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much.”(page 7). This quote gives readers the first glimpse of Marlow’s opinions on the subject of imperialism, but also foreshadows the terror that is to come in his tale of the Congo. The first part of the quote, is a harsh criticism of imperialism condemning the racism behind the act. The second, criticises the naivety of the majority of europeans, who blindly support imperia...
William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is an author’s painting of the evil that resides in all of the human race. The tropical island setting presents an environment free from civil order introducing a battle ground for the war of good and evil. Showing different side of human nature one can ponder the question “What would I do?” Golding explains the good, bad and balance of human nature, revealing that in times of despair man can easily regress to a primitive state, leaving the strong willed to promote civil order, but often be extremely out numbered.
Though honest, Marlow is a prejudiced man; he is the epitome of colonialism. Going into the Congo, Marlow views the natives as prehistoric evils in desperate need of white influence and civilization. Throughout the physical journey, Marlow is confronted with the natives time and time again, seeing them chained as slaves, living in a village and attacking his own steam boat.
At the beginning of the novel, Marlow is traveling the jungle and the many scenes of life can be seen. Africa has seems to be taken over by many travelers which makes one wonder what is there ulterior motive? Africa is a third world country, which makes it easy for someone to come in and talk on their soapbox. It is very easy to tell that these men are not the biggest fans of colored people, so it is plausible that they have come to instill a sense of imperialism. As Marlow passes through the waters of the Congo it is easily visible the trouble of the natives. “Black shapes crouched, lay, sat between the trees, leaning against the trunks, clinging to the earth half coming out, half effaced with the dim light, in all the attitudes of pain, abandonment, and despair.” (20) Show that the holding of these colonies has started. The soldiers have come in and taken the inhabitants and are destroying them and taking from them the one thing they deserve over everything, life. The imperialists seem to not care about the Africans and are just there for their land.
One interpretation of Marlow's relationship to colonialism is that he does not support it. Conrad writes, "They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now,-nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation, lying confusedly in the greenish gloom" (p. 27-28). Marlow says this and is stressing that the so-called "savages", or Africans, are being treated and punished like they are criminals or enemies when in fact they never did anything. He observes the slow torture of these people and is disgusted with it. Marlow feels sympathy for the black people being slaved around by the Europeans but doesn't do anything to change it because that is the way things are. One can see the sympathy by the way that he gives a starving black man one of his biscuits. "To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe" (p. 54). This statement by Marlow conveys that he doesn't believe that the Europeans have a right to be stripping Africa of its riches. He views the Jungles of Africa as almost it's own living, breathing monster.