(A Comparison of the Statements made in Famous Scenes in Lord of the Flies and Heart of Darkness)

Throughout the course of my senior English career, there aren’t any texts I’ve read that have affected me as deeply as Lord of the Flies or Heart of Darkness. Not only are they shocking and saddening at face value, but once you realize the symbols represented by their most famous scenes, they become so much more than words on paper. These texts become testaments to the faults of humanity on a global scale. These aren’t your average symbols of some romantic idea. When the realization hits you, you can almost feel it. But, with how different these two works are, can they have similar messages about humanity? As a matter of fact, they do. The shared messages about the human condition in The Lord of The Flies by William Golding and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad are that there is evil in all of us, we all lose our innocence, and we are manipulative.

Initially, The Lord of The Flies and Heart of Darkness share the message that there is evil in all of us. In LOTF, the kids all start out on the same page; they are stranded on an island, and they need to work together to survive. As time progresses, the true nature of the children became evident. Once evil was exposed by Jack and his followers, it was epitomized by the Lord of the Flies while Simon spoke to it. “You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are? (Page 130)” That’s right, the beast is in all of us. It’s just waiting for the right conditions to unveil itself in each and every one of us. In Heart of Darkness, these conditions were in the decrepit outpost. The men running this outpost gave so little regard to human life that they just sent men off to die in the trees just outside the camp. They used to...

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...icans could no longer work, the white traders didn’t have retirement homes for them. As an alternative, they were lead to the trees and told, “Here is where you die”. People are manipulative.

Clearly, these two stories say some very profound things about the human condition. Given the right conditions, there is evil in all of us that is just waiting to surface. And we were all innocent once, but some event made us lose it. Finally, people are all manipulative given the opportunity. These conclusions aren’t just drawn about the characters in the novels. These are things that are true for each and every human who ever lived, and everyone who will live. We are flawed creatures, and through the aid of great writers like these, we begin to realize it. Really, we shouldn’t need them to tell us about ourselves though. Just look at the world around you, and you will know.