Discuss the pessimism that Golding and Garland present in the novels :: English Literature

Discuss the pessimism that Golding and Garland present in the novels Lord of the Flies and The Beach. Show how both writers have a pessimistic attitude to human nature. Discuss the pessimism that Golding and Garland present in the novels Lord of the Flies and The Beach. Show how both writers have a pessimistic attitude to human nature. Lord of the Flies was written in 1954, a time when commercialisation was not an issue and media hype only had subtle effects on society. The Beach was written in 1996, American globalisation had begun and the media played a massive part in society. The different times affect the novels in different ways. For example the technological jargon language used in The Beach is very different to the Standard English used in Lord of the Flies. Both novels are similar in some ways yet different in others, although either way they always have hints of pessimism. One of the ways the novels are different is genre. The Beach at first seems to be travel writing, so the reader expects to learn about the journey and culture of the back-packing land of Bangkok, yet the main character Richard travels to an isolated island, where there is a lot of different cultures and races and no one shares the same value systems, traditions, customs or beliefs so the genre seems shift slightly. With Lord of the Flies it’s apparent at first that Golding may have been influenced by the novels Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and R. M. Ballantyne’s Coral Island. All are castaway’s novels. There is a reference to Coral Island the officer who finds the boys nods â€Å"Jolly good show. Like the Coral Island.† Golding wrote Lord of the Flies in 1954 after the war as a realist answer to The Coral Island. In the 20th century book we find the same two characters, Jack and Ralph both stranded on an uninhabited island without adult supervision. Their reaction to freedom and the unknown is absolutely different from Ballantyne's two young adventurers. Instead of bringing civilization, they create chaos, terror and death. The different reaction Golding’s characters illustrate a novel for the more mature reader as an adventure novel, which confounds the reader’s first expectations. The most obvious resemblance between the novels is the setting and isolation. Although at first glance the islands seem idyllic, both writers plant seeds of evil, within the description of the paradise so cracks can be seen. In Lord of the Flies personification is used to describe the ideal setting â€Å"palm fronds would whisper,† this creates a sense of calm. Again the image of beauty is shown through the use of a metaphor to