The Darkness Within
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It can be said that a certain degree of darkness lies within every person, but this darkness will not surface unless given the correct environment. I do not agree with this statement in its entirety. Due to our sin nature, we all have a level of darkness within us and no matter what our environment is that darkness will always try to surface. The darkness has the potential to ultimately destroy the person if not checked by reason. When ones inner darkness does surface, the victim is given the opportunity 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 experience 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.
Just as everyone has the potential for evil within themselves, we too have the potential for true goodness. In the novel 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 absolute 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 taken by the darkness, how the potential for good can be destroyed by the evil, but ideally how good will triumph. The circumstances which eventually cause the appearance of the inner darkness in these two novels stems from the lack of civility, the true test, or journey which every life contains, and finally the product of evil which lies in all of us, either through acts of commission or omission.
When there is no civilization in a persons life, they will lack a level of restraints and barriers it has on ones inner evil. Civility provides the basic structure for good. Through laws, structure, and general order, goodness then, for the most part will be the end product. Therefore a lack of civility would result in a lack of order, morals, and laws, leaving chaos to over power. The desolate island in The Lord of the Flies represents a lack of civility. Without parents, law makers, and guardians the darkness which surfaces is inevitable. It is clear that the civilization of the modern world is unavailable on the island. Although Ralph, who represented the aspect of order, attempts to reach a point of civility, unfortunately was unsuccessful. Similarly Piggy too represents civility. He incorporates the conch to aid in the order of the island. He is very fearful of the lack of civility and scared by the hunters. He feels that civility and order, although the ideal route, was going to be crushed, and with it him. It is quite obvious how the potential evil in a group of young boys unavoidably arises due to the lack of restraint and order. When the darkness surfaces Jack and his group of hunters gain no self-knowledge, and therefore can not reprieve themselves or the evil which takes over.
A strong parallel can be drawn between the island in Lord of the Flies and The Congo in The Heart of Darkness. The Congo is similarly used to represent the absence of restraint and order. The effect which is used illustrates a lack of civility, which in turn provides the opportunity for the emergence of darkness. At the beginning of the novel Marlow begins his descent into the Congo, which presents a dark image of death and suffering.
The capacity for evil in the jungle is endless. This is illustrated through the natives who go mad and begin killing. Marlow struggles but by realizing his potential for good, manages to contain his evil. Unfortunately the result was not the same for many others: “I dont know how this would have struck the others but to me the evil was unspeakable, but not undefeatable” (Conrad 85). The Congo and the lack of restraints it represents causes one to lose common sense. Without common sense the mind is deteriorated. It is also left twisted and functionally useless in regards to civilized thought or action. The power of mind in most cases is no match for the lack of order and the lack of reason for most of the Congos inhabitants. Kurtz fell victim to this and his mind became extremely deteriorated due to the lack of order. He eventually finds his inner darkness come forth and essentially control all his thoughts and actions.
By comparing the two novels it is clear how ones inner darkness can easily surface without the restraints of civilization. In the case of Jack and the hunters, the children are used to civility, laws, and order. The fact that parents and teachers were always placing unwanted rules on them probably caused an initial enjoyment of the lack of civility so much that they did not even realize that they were becoming savages. The darkness was beginning to rise. This is shown through Jack, when asked about the war paint he was wearing replied: “For hunting! Like in the wars, you know, dazzle paint! We look more savage!”(Golding 71) This can be compared to the darkness which surfaced in Kurtz and the natives of the Congo; however their darkness was the result of greed rather than ignorance. Unlike Jack and the hunters, the greed for money and power by Kurtz allowed his darkness, which controlled him in the end, to surface. The on going evil growing in Kurtz was not only a result of the jungle, but it was shown through it as well. As he gained more darkness the jungle thickened and became increasingly dangerous: “as we crept on closer towards Kurtz the snags were thickening and the water becoming treacherous” (Conrad 82) If civilized limits are placed upon society as a whole, the majority of people have the opportunity to contain the darkness within. If and when it occasionally surfaces then the knowledge which is gained through a civilized lifestyle will contain, and defeat the individuals darkness.
It is true that every person must undergo the ultimate test at some point of his or her life time; the test between good and evil. This test can be as simple and small as daily difficulties, or as large as the general principle in which one bases his or her life upon.
Although many people will fail the test which is given to them, it is better to attempt the test and fail, than to never have taken it at all. Ralph and Piggy, who as well as representing civility, now also represent the goodness, or the passers of this test of life. Through the many altercations with the hunters, those who have failed the test, we can observe the darkness beginning to rise. The ultimate dark figure,