The Crucible: Evil in Society Essay
Evil people do evil things: that statement seems simple enough. However, the motives behind evil acts tend to be more complex than that simplistic thought. Although some may believe that any dishonesty is evil, people are not inherently evil, and acts that may be considered evil are not deliberate. More likely, they occur because of the denial of private responsibility through the pursuit of self-gain.
When something bad happens, a person’s initial thought is to place blame on another, all the while making the assumption that the motive is evil. Such an assumption is inaccurate. Most people’s motives, no matter the final outcome, are for self-benefit. Just as Maxwell states, “the nature of human evil … cannot be assessed in the measure of the destructiveness of our evil behaviors … That origin is misguided instinct (ignorance) and fear. Even when we lack courage or knowledge, we are still being guided by our simple instinct to benefit ourselves.” Accordingly, self responsibility, in the form of thinking not only about the effect an action may have on oneself but also about the effect an action may have others, may lack when a person, such as Abigail Williams in The Crucible, thinks first for herself. In order to avoid getting into trouble with her uncle and the church, Abigail begins the chain of the children’s confessions, as well as the blaming of innocent citizens. In beginning this chaos, Abigail is considering the immediate threats to herself; if people were to find out that she drank blood, danced, and performed the rituals with Tituba, she would be in a large amount of trouble. By thinking only about herself, masses of people are blamed and many are killed. Rather than confessing, she causes evil – but that is not her intent; she simply fails to take responsibility for her first misjudgment. Although she eventually develops into a knowingly evil character, she was not deliberately malicious.
Conversely, it can be said that any deception is evil. By
When something bad happens, a person’s initial thought is to place blame on another, all the while making the assumption that the motive is evil. Such an assumption is inaccurate. Most people’s motives, no matter the final outcome, are for self-benefit. Just as Maxwell states, “the nature of human evil … cannot be assessed in the measure of the destructiveness of our evil behaviors … That origin is misguided instinct (ignorance) and fear. Even when we lack courage or knowledge, we are still being guided by our simple instinct to benefit ourselves.” Accordingly, self responsibility, in the form of thinking not only about the effect an action may have on oneself but also about the effect an action may have others, may lack when a person, such as Abigail Williams in The Crucible, thinks first for herself. In order to avoid getting into trouble with her uncle and the church, Abigail begins the chain of the children’s confessions, as well as the blaming of innocent citizens. In beginning this chaos, Abigail is considering the immediate threats to herself; if people were to find out that she drank blood, danced, and performed the rituals with Tituba, she would be in a large amount of trouble. By thinking only about herself, masses of people are blamed and many are killed. Rather than confessing, she causes evil – but that is not her intent; she simply fails to take responsibility for her first misjudgment. Although she eventually develops into a knowingly evil character, she was not deliberately malicious.
Conversely, it can be said that any deception is evil. By