Once freed from the moral chains of society, humans must adopt a moderate and disciplined lifestyle in order to avoid a fatal plunge into barbarism . In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, abandoned schoolboys trade the limits of civility for a frenzied and iniquitous lifestyle. Joseph Conrad depicts a steamboat captain's journey down the Congo River and realization of humanity's intrinsic evils in Heart of Darkness. Both Golding and Conrad construct microcosms to recount the dangers of committing to a decadent existence and denying humanity's capacity for evil. William Golding's Lord of the Flies illustrates humanity's descent into transgression with the isolation of schoolchildren on an island paradise. The boys survive an attack that cripples their transport plane and first become acquainted when the pragmatic Ralph lets out the “shrill sound” of a conch shell (Golding 16). The assembled youth, although disoriented, hold a parliamentary session and elect Ralph as leader. Ralph is adamant about maintaining a traffic light and building shelters. However, the other boys, led by the seditious Jack Merridew, prioritize pleasure over practicality. Jack transforms his regiment of "wearily obedient" altar boys into a band of eager hunters, sacrificing the signal fire for the prospect of meat as a ship passes by the island (20). A deceased parachutist becomes "tangled and scalloped" in the island's jagged cliffs, his indiscernible presence confirming the boys' idea that a beast inhabits the island (96). When the extremely perceptive Simon suffers an epileptic seizure, the grotesque head of a pig enlightens the boy to the intangible presence of the beast in all humanity. Simon emerges from the forest in the middle of a paper... and serves as a scaled-down version of the tragic savagery of reality. Navy sailors rescue Ralph from a manhunt and then hypocritically assume the role of predators in a global manhunt. The boys' murderous presence on the island matches the savagery and futility of war, simply suppressing heroic stories, propaganda, and desensitization. Analogous to the negative effects of imperialism, the journey into the heart of African darkness provides a disturbing insight into the historical manipulation of humanity. For example, Marlow enlightens his listeners about the corrupt occupation of Europe by the Romans. In modern times, humans rationalize war with external reasons to avoid accepting combat for primitive, instinctive reasons. Both Golding and Conrad condense reality to illustrate the dangers of overindulgence and avoiding humanity's inner darkness.