Kurtz's Open Mouth Analysis
In this dream world, the reader has the opportunity to reflect on his own nature and find the evil within (Sewlall 22-3). One significant dream in both novels is the all-consuming, “voracious” mouth (Epstein 208). In Lord of the Flies, “Simon found he was looking into a vast mouth. There was a blackness within, a blackness that spread” (Golding 144). In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz’s open mouth is described as “[giving] him a weirdly voracious aspect” (Conrad 90). These fantastic mouths are each symbols for evil encompassing all (Epstein 208). The statement of the intrinsic evil of human nature has been established, but how that evil plays out in the novels has not. Golding and Conrad show evil in a variety of ways. Human nature’s evil is portrayed
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Lord of the Flies has been called an allegory about society’s failings because the boys try to force order on their irrationality and become evil because of it (Fitzgerald and Kayser 78). Piggy is consistently told “you shut up” when he presents the group with a piece of wisdom about the possibility of them having evil inside (Thapliyal and Kunwar 87). Jack uses his mask and dance to hide from the fear of his own actions; “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 64, Oldsey and Weintraub 94). The dead parachutist is named The Beast and therefore becomes a symbol for the fear that the boys have of something obviously evil lurking among them (Fitzgerald and Kayser 79). Simon, the messenger bringing the wisdom that can save the group, is brutally murdered. His death shows that the boys are not accepting of truth; Piggy is killed because the boys are not accepting of reason; Ralph is hunted because the boys are not accepting of his values of consent and democracy (Spitz 25-7). Heart of Darkness shows the Russian trying to justify Kurtz’s fence of staked heads (Lipka 28). “Restraint” (restraint from the irrationality within) is a common motif in the novel. However, no characters hold on to the restraints they give themselves (Oldsey and Weintraub 97). The cannibals are praised for their restraint, but if they truly exercised that restraint they would not be cannibals at all. Throughout both books characters fight to preserve the hope that there is no evil in
Lord of the Flies has been called an allegory about society’s failings because the boys try to force order on their irrationality and become evil because of it (Fitzgerald and Kayser 78). Piggy is consistently told “you shut up” when he presents the group with a piece of wisdom about the possibility of them having evil inside (Thapliyal and Kunwar 87). Jack uses his mask and dance to hide from the fear of his own actions; “He began to dance and his laughter became a bloodthirsty snarling. He capered toward Bill, and the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness” (Golding 64, Oldsey and Weintraub 94). The dead parachutist is named The Beast and therefore becomes a symbol for the fear that the boys have of something obviously evil lurking among them (Fitzgerald and Kayser 79). Simon, the messenger bringing the wisdom that can save the group, is brutally murdered. His death shows that the boys are not accepting of truth; Piggy is killed because the boys are not accepting of reason; Ralph is hunted because the boys are not accepting of his values of consent and democracy (Spitz 25-7). Heart of Darkness shows the Russian trying to justify Kurtz’s fence of staked heads (Lipka 28). “Restraint” (restraint from the irrationality within) is a common motif in the novel. However, no characters hold on to the restraints they give themselves (Oldsey and Weintraub 97). The cannibals are praised for their restraint, but if they truly exercised that restraint they would not be cannibals at all. Throughout both books characters fight to preserve the hope that there is no evil in