Corruption of the Corrupted

To reveal the defects of human nature, both William Golding and Joseph Conrad place the characters of their novels in different situations to be examined. These scenarios corrupt the characters and, according to how they react, show the core of human nature. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad centers on corruption by the dark, savage jungle, while Lord of the Flies by William Golding focuses on how that corrupted human nature in return corrupts society. Both portray a different aspect of the corruption of human nature and how it affected the respective situations.

Heart of Darkness portrays the corruption of civilization by savagery using two characters: Marlow, the narrator, and Mr. Kurtz. In several instances, Marlow feels the hypnotic jungle tempting him. For example, in the second part of the novel Marlow explicitly describes a certain familiarity with the “wild and passionate uproar (p. 105).” Marlow argues that he can sympathize with this savagery because it’s then core of human nature. He again feels a certain unity with the darkness in part three, where he says, “I confounded the beat of the drum with the beating of my heart, and was pleased at its calm regularity (p. 141).” He describes a sensation in which this “weird incantation (p. 141)” came from the darkness and had a “strange narcotic effect (p. 141)” on his almost unconscious mind. Even though he was tempted by the darkness, Marlow wasn’t seduced, while Mr. Kurtz lost his mind to the drone of the mysterious untamed darkness. The narrator portrays Mr. Kurtz as an extremely talented individual whose mind was lost to the darkness. He was a legend throughout the Company for his growing power in the ivory trade. Unfortunately, when his ever increasing power came face to face with his potential for corruption he yielded to it and became uncivilized and passionate for power, reflecting the evil he was lord over. Mr. Kurtz mortifying obsession for the wilderness is clearly stated in the following exert:

“The wilderness had patted him on the head, and, behold, it was like a ball– an ivory ball; it had caressed him, and–lo!–he had withered; it had taken him, loved him, embraced him, got into his veins, consumed his flesh, and sealed his soul to its own by the inconceivable ceremonies of some devilish initiation (p. 121) .”

In contrast to the theme of Heart of Darkness, Lord of the Flies is an example of how the corruption of human nature consequently corrupts human society. In the novel, Goldman describes what happens when a group of school boys is stranded on a deserted island and establish a crude form of government. This bare-bones structure slowly crumbles while each member follows his own corrupted human nature. The death of the mulberry-marked boy was the first of several events that ultimately lead the complete decay of their newly formed society. His death was the first consequence of Ralph’s, the newly elected leader, irresponsibility. The fact that the boy was the first to mention the beast and the first to die is a clever use of foreshadowing the approaching chaos. Another step toward their doom would be when Jack, Ralph’s jealous rival, separates from Ralph’s group to form his own tribe when he says, “I’m not going to be a part of Ralph’s lot- I’m going off by myself. He can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too (p. 127).” This separation forms the active evil that purposely destroys all attempts to establish reason and ultimately is the cause of complete social collapse. The death of Piggy, the most scholarly and reasonable of the boys, is mark of the absolute decay of society and order. Piggy, Ralph’s unofficial personal “advisor,” gave hope for survival. With his murder, they eliminated all hope of future survival and blindly destined themselves to barbarity. The transition between civilization and reason to barbarity is nearly complete when the captain of a ship lands on the island and “saves” the young savages from complete self-destruction. Ultimately, dark human nature spoiled the good intentions of the group’s governmental body, and led the boys into chaos.

Corruption of human nature by an external force that in return leads from civilization to savagery is the common theme of the novels Heart of Darkness and Lord of the Flies. Both deal with the transition between civilization and savagery; Marlow fights it, while the boys fall into it. Mr. Kurtz and the boys were torn from reality by it, hypnotized by its darkness. By establishing examples and situations, Conrad and Golding agree on one major truth: human nature is corrupt and corrupts.