Settings in Lord of the Flies
Explore the significance of setting in Lord of the Flies and Heart of DarknessWilliam Golding was born in Cornwall in 1911, graduated in literature at university and spent the 2nd world war years as a royal naval commander. He later became a schoolteacher, and it was during this period that Lord of the Flies was published in 1945. Joseph Conrad was born in Poland in 1857, studied top be a naval officer in the merchant navy, passing his masters certificate in 1886. He only began writing later, after a professional career at sea. His book Heart of Darkness was published in 1902. Although over 40 years apart, both books are very similar in many respects. They both deal with the theme of atavism, and use similar environments as a background to the story. They both couple an adventure story with the sinister features of human conflict and suffering. They use the theme of good verses evil, truth verses myth and light verses dark through conflicting characters within the story.As we discover from the author's backgrounds, each had a professional career in the navy as a commander and we see this influence of the sea playing a significant part in the settings of both books. In Lord of the Flies the boys are marooned on a tropica
The dark is the environment of the jungle, the remains of another period in time. The jungle is, in both cases responsible for the deaths. Their journey down the Thames from the 'brooding gloom' of London to the sea, like an 'interminable waterway' whose destination is uncertain, suggests voyages to uninhabited locations. The next death is Simon who is murdered in a frenzied attack, the 'hunters' are reenacting the slaughter of a pig in a ritualistic way and Simon unwillingly becomes the pig. ' The jungle remains dark and mysterious, untamed, inhabited by uncivilized, savage tribes, whose primitive behavior is a throwback to early man, hunting with spear and arrow 'The prehistoric man was cursing us'. ' It conjures images of our naval heroes, adventures, settlers, merchants, and 'hunters for gold. Here too, in this uncivilized world, Kurtz fashioned his station with fear and savagery. The initial settings are tranquil and serene, and normality exist, a degree order and stability. This description almost parallels the developing story, and we are beginning to get the first impressions of the dark side of man's nature. The river is described as calm and tranquil almost motionless ' The day was ending in a serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. Death also plays an important part in influencing the characters and plot in Lord of the Flies; The first boy that is killed is a 'littleun' caught in an accidental fire in the jungle, the boys feel guilt for letting the fire burn out of control but having no-one to punish them they soon forget the incident. ' We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness, we were wanderers on prehistoric earth, an unknown planet. Here and there a military camp lost in a wilderness.
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Acceptance Essays
