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. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay 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 leaves the forest to try to inform his peers of their misunderstanding; however, the masked islanders murder the “lively little boy” in a profound statement of truculence (24). Jack incites the formation of a separate and crude tribe. Piggy, an intellectual demeaned by his "ridiculous body", implores Jack's tribe to return his stolen glasses, an invaluable tool for generating fire, but suffers a fatal blow from a rock during his final appeal for civility (78 ). Jack's tribe declares Ralph an outcast, launches a manhunt, and sets the island ablaze in a massive effort to extinguish any objections to their savage behavior. During the chase, the "burning wreck of the island" signals a nearby warship and triggers the boys' rescue (202). The Lord of the Flies warns against overindulgence and unnecessary work. Ralph gives meaning to his existence on the island by working tirelessly for survival and rescue. Jack engages in fun, aimless activities. For example, Jack does not need to spend all his energy hunting to provide enough meat for the islanders. In another example of indulgence, the boys light an excessive number of fires, which cost the life of a young boy with a "ripe-colored birthmark" (Golding 86). The pragmatic Ralph insists on parliamentary order and democracy and prioritizes rescue over selfish pleasures. For example, Ralph does not discuss whether or not a beast exists, but rather asks for consensus to allow for a solution and thus focus attention on the rescue. Ralph treats his comrades with dignity and follows the rules to achieve justice. In contrast, Jack manipulates the rules to control and punish.Piggy sees regulation as a tool for survival. Jack, Ralph's antithesis, indulges in excesses in the "shining world of hunting," ignoring signal lights and building shelters (71). Jack fervently despises the meetings ordered by Ralph and uses "bitter mimicry (91)" to downplay both the leader's statements and Piggy's "ominous speeches (15)." Dominant and loud, Jack's rejection of morals and work ethic provides an example for other young people. Golding suggests that moral constraints arise from the influence of society rather than personal values. The island's “flooding sea and sweet air” distance the boys from societal constraints and test their morality and ethics (Golding 58). Roger wants to attack the youngest with stones, but the “taboo of the old life” holds his arm back (62). Jack, constrained by societal rules, cannot bring himself to execute his first captured pig. Jack's authoritarian attitude, however, helps him abandon the lessons of civilization. Boys, like civilization, try to stifle any suggestion of their imperfections. For example, Roger murders Piggy after condemning his classmates for their wild behavior. By causing children to commit horrific acts of violence, Golding suggests that amoral behavior develops from uncontrolled instincts, as opposed to negative experiences. The Lord of the Flies' interrogation of Simon constitutes the novel's primary example of humanity's capacity for evil. Translated from Beezlebub, the Lord of the Flies represents the devil within all humanity. The “pig's head on a stick” addresses the innocent and philosophical Simon and mocks the islanders' trivial quest for a tangible beast (143). The beast exists in every boy on the island as well as every human on earth. As Jack testifies, avoiding the beast allows a dark side to emerge unchecked. For example, Simon makes an “effort to express the essential illness of humanity” to the assembly. However, his attempt collapses under Jack's scathing comment (89). Jack, having ignored the ideas of the "stealth boy", gradually becomes barbaric (22). Jack, along with the other hunters, masks his face with paint, making him indistinguishable from the animals. The thirst for blood seduces the hunters with each kill and the boys relish the way they mutilate the pigs. Boys prefer to hunt a single physical beast instead of recognizing their own dangerous sides. Therefore, the islanders extinguish the threat of the beast's intangibility with the murder of Simon. In Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a traveler aboard an English "cruising yawl" recounts his journey through the menacing African Congo and shares his traumatic and first-hand account of colonization. (Conrad 135). Charlie Marlow, a keen sailor and map enthusiast, remembers his “appoint[ment] [as] captain of a river steamboat” (143). Once arriving at the company's headquarters, Marlow travels for fifteen days to reach the company's station, observing the "moribund forms" of starving slaves (156). Marlow befriends the company's chief accountant and then undertakes a "two hundred mile march" across the grim interior of the Congo in search of Kurtz, an infamous ivory trader (160). Marlow reaches a second outpost only to discover that his waiting steamboat is missing essential rivets. Eventually, Marlow sets off again for Kurtz's station, with a crew of cannibals, pilgrims, pole-wielding white men, and the station manager. Marlow encounters unexpected difficulties when natives hold out aambush the anchored steamboat and murder the helmsman. The Company approaches the post and encounters a Russian "harlequin" who informs Marlow of Kurtz's weakened state (212). Marlow meets Kurtz and tries to persuade him to see a doctor; However, the verbose trader wishes not to abandon his unfulfilled ambitions. Kurtz entrusts Marlow with vital documents and a photo of his fiancée, reluctantly boards the steamboat, and dies shortly thereafter. After the death of the “eloquent ghost,” Marlow falls ill and returns to England (250). Marlow, once cured, consoles Kurtz's "Fortended" grief with fables about the merchant's virtues, hiding the truth about Kurtz's improprieties (242). Heart of Darkness shows the dangers of succumbing to an indulgent lifestyle. Kurtz, having intended to educate and aid the native population, ultimately abandons his goal in favor of the prospect of manipulating the natives' respect and obtaining "abominable satisfactions" (Conrad 241). Lacking restraint in the “gratification of his various lusts,” Kurtz’s need for consumption preoccupies his mind and spirit (221). Kurtz gets lost over time and becomes detached from everything earthly, which is why his isolation slowly drives him crazy. The trader's existence proves painful because he fails to achieve his obsessive goal of “achieving great things” (238). Kurtz “opens his mouth voraciously” on his deathbed, suggesting that he wishes to consume the world around him (245). “Horror,” Kurtz exclaims, represents his reflection on life (239). Marlow falls ill and comes within inches of his life, suggesting that he might have shared Kurtz's demise if he had not left the temptations of the Congo. The enigmatic and addictive environment affects Marlow deeply. For example, Marlow perceives his heartbeat and that of his drum as indistinguishable as his instincts resonate with “the conquering darkness” (246). Conrad also criticizes the ritual of meaningless work. Approaching the Company's station, Marlow witnesses a grove filled with chained slaves, enduring lives of hardship and worthless labor. As he darkly notes, slaves find no apparent value in life and feel apathetic in the face of death. Marlow, on the contrary, engages in work of his own choice and self-interest. The sailor takes offense at the “flabby, lazy, weak-eyed devil” of colonization because it lacks organization, as evidenced by the Company's decaying machinery and muddled administration (155). Marlow believes that such disorganization implies a poor work ethic. However, Marlow finds comfort in observing the noisy accountant as his dedication to work contrasts with the surrounding idleness. Kurtz extinguishes the meaning of his life by indulging in a self-centered lifestyle. In his final days, Kurtz regrets his decisions and realizes the ineffectiveness of his existence. Through Heart of Darkness, Conrad comments on the primitive and natural instincts of humanity which, if undeveloped, result in savagery. In an example of abandoned morality, the warden and his uncle believe that Kurtz “should be hanged” in an effort to increase revenue (Conrad 229). In essence, the two Europeans are proposing an uncivil and odious solution to an economic problem. Ironically, the cannibals in Marlow's crew convey far more principle and civility than the "white men with the long sticks" (162). Kurtz, alienated from the moral norms of society, becomes the sole governor of his own actions and thus deteriorates to the point of “total savagery” (140). For example, Marlow discovers a note written by Kurtz which encourages "the extermination.