The Darkness in Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

The Darkness in Heart of Darkness It can be said that a certain degree of wickedness lies within both(prenominal) person, but this darkness will not surface unless given the invent purlieu. The darkness, however, can emerge and last destroy the person if not checkered by reason. If ones upcountry darkness does surface, the victim then is given the hazard to reach a point in personal growth, and to gain a sense of self- knowledge from it. That is, when ones darkness appears, one must learn from this subsist how he or she can prevent similar results from occurring in the future. It is ultimately through self-knowledge that we gain the power to defeat our inner darkness, and all of its elements. hardly as everyone has the strength for evil within themselves, we too have the potential for true goodness. In many literary works the actor attempts to stand for the evil which lies within by showing many characters which have been, or are being overcome by their i nner darkness. In the newfangled Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad we see how Marlows journey into his ultimate evil, into his inner self, can be a positive experience. By contrasting Marlow with Kurtz, who represents the sheer(a) evil, we can see the two products of an inner evil which has emerged. Marlow, who defeats his evil, and gains self-knowledge, and Kurtz, who is defeated by his darkness and falls prey to its wrath. In William Goldings Lord of the Flies the author points out how easily people can be over interpreted by the darkness, how the potential for good can be destroyed by the evil, but ideally how good will triumph. Through an examination of these two works we can see how the darkness within, given the correct environment will surface. The circumstances which eventually cause the appearance of the inner darkness in these two novels stems from the lack of niceness, the true test, or journey which every life contains, and finally the product of evil whi ch lies in all of us, either through acts of commission or omission. When people lack the aspect of civility in their lives they too will lack the restraints and barriers it has on ones inner evil.