Lord of the Flies is written by a well-known Nobel Prized English novelist William Golding. The novel is basically, set after ww2 around 1950 in a strange place in the Pacific Ocean. All the characters and plot actions show the novel is a piece of modern literature. The very basic purpose of the writer is to prove the innate brutal nature of humankind if let them allow to live freely.
A jet is supposed to crash in the
near ocean and all the boys take off on a strange land. At the very start of
this novel, everyone shows democratic nature and elects Ralph as a leader. Jack
is being selected for food responsibility. He takes command of the hunting
group leader. With the passage of time, being a social animal, almost all the
characters except Simon attract toward Jack and opt brutality. This point will
be explored further in the coming paragraphs.
The novel vividly shows the dark nature of human that being a human we are bends toward savagery and brutality instead of civilizations but on the other hand, Simon's character shows he has some inborn good qualities. The two groups of young boys in the novel show two different psyches of human nature to control power. Golding infers that civilization can alleviate but never end up in the inborn immorality that exists within all human beings. Beast is not external but an internal evil. Good versus bad is a major theme in this novel, from the very start to the end. These two instincts are represented through the characters of Ralph and Jack. Jack shows civilization, mannerism, good, and law, while Jack represents savagery, barbarism, brutality, and wildness. This novel is highly symbolic in its characters, and it also shows how we are bound to our societal norms. Likewise, different characters in this novel gradually affected and become part of Jack’s group.
Most of the young boys opt for
savagery and Golding wants to show that humanity is naturally inclined toward
barbarism. It basically, refers to inborn evil which is high in depth and
degree as compared to civilization. With the passage of time, the young boys
loss their innocent nature and become wild, except Simon, Piggy, and Ralph.
Interestingly, everyone hides their face to take the individual responsibility.
The mob’s shared illogical horror and tendency toward ferocity leads to a
demoralizing act of eventual brutality. The novel sets after World War Two, and
in many ways, it represents the same situation of the war there. After a great
catastrophe, humans baselessly struggle to rebuild the world but it is
difficult to accept new laws and world orders.
Lord
of the Flies according to many critics is a criticism of the dictatorship (a
system of government) because the rulers choose the same way for action as
Jack. They don’t abide by the laws of a state and even suspend sometimes the
existing laws as well.
While
on the other hand, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is set in the period of
English colonialism and imperialism. This novel attempts to highlight and
portray the excruciating condition of African countries. By following White
men’s burden English exploit the poor and loosely attached democratic countries
at that time. Africa was a rich continent by having a lot of resources and
imperialism takes advantage in the act of spreading civilization. Marlow very
vividly portrayed all the brutality and inhumane attitudes of English
colonizers.
Both
the novel is different from each other in setting and time, but similar in
themes. Both the novels revolve around the themes of savagery, barbarism, and
brutality in one way or another.
