This determinism is exhibited as Marlow sits in the jungle, helpless, as he waits for rivets to come to repair his ship. This belief, that man cannot do things for himself, helps reinforce the helpless tone of the story. At the same time, it also reinforces the theme of the story, that because man is evil inside, he cannot help but release that evil. Conrad's, like Golding's, work was deeply shaped by his own personal experiences with the darkness of man's soul.
In addition to the author's experiences, the tone and theme for the book The Lord of the Flies come largely from the Cold War era. For nearly 50 years after World War II, the U.S.S.R. and the United States engaged in a race for arms supremacy. These years were very scary years for many people ("Cold War-, http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569374/Cold_War.html). By basing the story on an event that so many feared could happen at any moment Golding makes the circumstances surrounding the boys' stranding authentic and frightening. The reader is left thinking, "This could really happen."" The realization that the scenario presented is not so farfetched helps amplify the dark nature of the story. It forces the reader to see that the darkness is inside them, too. The story itself is a parody of the classic British children's story Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne. In this story, three boys, Ralph, Jack, and Peterkin, find themselves marooned on an island. They struggle against cannibals, pirates and wild animals, however, they succeed in overcoming these conflicts because of their British Culture. During the Nineteenth and the early Twentieth Century many westerners believed that they lived in a society governed by ultimate views of law, democracy and religion.("Introduction to Lord of the Flies-, http://www.lessontutor.com/ci4.html). Golding uses the names of two of the boys as if to say "This is how things really would have happened."" In his book, he contradicts the views that man and society are flourishing, instead mocking the "toy of democracy-.