Comparative Essay. "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad and William Golding's "Lord of the Flies"

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. The darkness, however, can emerge and ultimately destroy the person if not checked by reason. If one's inner darkness does surface, the victim then is given the opportunity to reach a point in personal growth, and to gain a sense of self-knowledge from it. That is, when one's darkness appears, …

…evil so great in today's materialistic, difficult society, we find ourselves with the difficult task of taking life's many journeys and tests. Not every journey will result in goodness, and the ones that do not are a learning experience in which must gain the self-knowledge to prevent our inner darkness from emerging. We must also be able to take the knowledge with us through every experience we encounter and incorporate it into our daily lives.