Fredric Nietzche once said, “He who fights monsters must take care that he doesn’t become a monster in the process.” In other words, this means that someone who battles evil must make sure he doesn’t do evil himself. If he uses evil in the pursuit of justice, he is no better than the evil he is fighting. This idea is true and can be proven through character and plot from The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier and in “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson. In novel The Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier there is one specific character that fights monsters and becomes one along the way. Trent is an interrogation officer that works in Highgate, Vermont. Trent fights “monsters” such as criminals and murders and when he interrogates them he always gets a confession. Just because Trent gets a confession doesn’t always means it’s the truth. Trent pressures the people accused of abhorrent and appalling murders into saying they did a terrible crime even though it was not them. Evidence of him doing such a thing is when the police find the real murderer of a young girl in Monument, Massachusetts when Trent grasps a confession right out of an accused boy that had nothing to do with the murder. Trent was being a “monster” by accusing and pressuring a wrongly accused “monster” and getting a confession. Even though Trent is using evil to stop the bad and evil people out there in the world, Trent is no better than the people that are evil. The short story “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson is another example of one person “fighting” monsters and becoming one in the process. In this text the main character Adela Strangeworth writes letters to people in “her” town on things they are doing wrong or things she doesn’t like. The letters are very rude, but because she thinks she is helping the “monsters” she has become a “monster” because of that. When she was going to deliver her letters one night she mistakenly dropped one and it got into the wrong hands. Because of…
A cultural issue that has led to many controversial topics is the stature of good versus evil. In other words, the argument suggests that novels and history itself demonstrates the blurred lines of good versus evil. In my opinion, good versus evil can never just be “good” or “evil”, but instead should be determined on the effect that the situation causes as a whole. Throughout society and in literature, the evidence to support my viewpoint is pervasive.…
Overall, the poem has an enlightened and realization tone that places necessary perspective on the human traits affected by good and evil. Various rhyme schemes in the poem help convey the topic flow and message while guiding the reader to the central point of the significance of good and evil in life. Particularly, this poem contrasts opposites like “black and white” (2) and “right and wrong” (15) to draw examples of how good and evil lay in opposite spectrums on the world. These parallel opposites show the reader how good and evil “fuel” human aspects like “greed and selfishness” (9) but also teaching how to “live righteous lives” (14). Spencer creates this depiction of how fundamentally critical the nature of good and evil affect conscious decisions like stated in the fourth stanza the “struggle of right and wrong” (15) and “determining who survives” (16). Following the fifth and sixth stanzas, Spencer again underscores the morals and importance of the two adverse qualities and without them “there will be no light” (21). Here his contemplative tone illustrates once more how good and evil in the world develops human ambitions and character. Ultimately, the last stanza contains the focal point by comparing good and evil to “the roots of a tree” (26) that make…
The basis of human nature and the way we interact with one another and ourselves throughout our lives is deeply connected with the idea of good and evil in the human speciescut? This reoccurring theme is seen in all religion, mythology, and modern day stories which all have the constant moral compass of straying from evil and relating to the good through actions and emotions. While it is believed by many that people's actions shape their internal identity, is that really the case? Ender's game raises this question with Peter symbolizing evil and portrays ultimate actions of good and Ender symbolizing good while portraying the actions of evil. With the toying of the readers perception of the stereotypical good and evil, Card proves in his writing…
The clash between good and evil has been a prominent theme in literature. The Bible presents the conflict between good and evil in the story of Adam and Eve. Many authors use the scene in the Bible in which the snake taunts and tempts Adam and Eve to take a bite of the apple of knowledge to demonstrate the frailty of humankind. John Gardner provides these same biblical allusions of good and evil in his novel, Grendel.…
C.s Lewis is one of the greatest Christian and British Authors thought history. Part of University of Oxford’s Inklings, which also consisted of C.s Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and two other members. This group would read each other parts of the manuscripts of their books. One of the books C.s Lewis read to this group was “The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe”, J.R.R Tolkien did not like this book, he did not think it would do well, but he was wrong. Two of C.s Lewis greatest works, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and “The Great Divorce” are allegory used to describe realities thought fiction.…
In nearly every tale, the story line contains multiple characters whom depict both good and “evil” qualities. In other words, they reveal opposite interpretations. These drastic differences can be drawn due to the lack of specifics in the reading. One interpretation may portray a character as pure and innocent. In another, they may appear at fault. Shakespeare’s famous play, Hamlet, illustrates this notion through an accumulation of characters. Of the many, Ophelia may strike one as the innocent virgin, or rather the selfish and corrupt whore. An overall analysis may be useful in determining which portrayal is more accurate.…
Villains and heroes are the fabric of human culture. These sides of good and evil are seen in books, films, and everywhere in-between. For example, an iconic figure in American pop culture is the superhero, Superman. On the other side, villains such as Lizzie Borden, and the narrator from The Tell-Tale Heart allude to humanities dark side. The significance of villains and heroes are they encompass society’s hopes and fears. The rise of a hero represents a possible bright future, but an evil villain entails our dark past and possible dark future. The important characteristics of villains are that they spread fear and cause harm, meanwhile heroes are saviors who put others above themselves, have attributes we wish we had and that is why heroes…
Flannery O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls” both use symbols to highlight significant meanings in the characters’ lives. This essay will examine two differences and one similarity in the authors’ use of symbols:…
In Nathaniel Hawthorne 's short story "Young Goodman Brown, "the author uses mystery and suspense to hold the attention of the reader. From the beginning to the end of the story, Hawthorne leads the reader into asking the question, "What does all of this witchcraft, mysticism, and the double-sided lifestyles of the characters actually mean?" The reader must not look at "Young Goodman Brown" as just a suspenseful story but also see the many forms of symbolism the author uses. Hawthorne shows that a strong faith is the greatest asset of a man or woman, and when that faith is compromised, the effects of this can cause one to be filled with doubt and cynicism toward the rest of the world.…
The topic of evil is discussed in multiple ways within the stories of Beowulf, Paradise Lost, Lord of the Flies, and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. These writers’ opinions on evil vary. Evil is portrayed in many different ways. Is evil a choice that is made by an individual? Or is it merely a concept that humans have no control over? Although these writers may disagree on who will be defeated in the battle between good and evil and whether evil lives within every man, they agree on the concept that evil always brings negative consequences.…
An Analysis of Good and Evil in the Movie High Noon and Application of the Ethical Theories of Kant and Mill…
Human nature is consistently displayed through the eyes of authors in literature. Whether it be the desperation of children whose lives are at the mercy of a beast of an island, or the perseverance of a young boy, crippled and disheartened; literature often conveys the determination, inner conflict and perseverance that makes us who were are as a race.…
At first glance the reader may think that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is just another fictional story about talking animals and children running around a mythical land named Narnia. The book is an allegorical piece of literature relating characters from the book to characters in the Bible. In Clive Staples Lewis’s novel, the author uses the symbol of the stone table and the symbol of the hero to convey to his readers the theme of Christianity in the novel.…
Nathaniel Hawthorn uses irony in the story of “Young Goodman Brown” to portray the fact that although people may appear good on the outside, they all have some sort of evil inside of them. Hawthorne also uses descriptive imagery to discuss this evil in the characters and in the forest. Hawthorne uses his imagery to portray Goodman Brown’s dark venture into this evil, with vivid descriptions of the forest and of the witching ceremony. He uses irony when referring to the people involved in the ceremony and the people in Young Goodman Brown’s life. He also uses his irony with the name and word “Faith”: referring to both Young Goodman Brown’s wife and his spiritual faith. The word “Faith” has a lot of symbolic meaning to the main character. Hawthorne uses all of these aspects to tell a story of a man venturing into the woods to complete an evil deed.…