Heart of Darkness and Lord of the Flies :: comparison compare contrast essays

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.