Analysis Essay: The Roots Of Evil

Have you ever felt the urge to do something good? Or was it quite the opposite, and you wanted to do something…evil. There are a lot of reasons why someone might want to do something evil. Humans are not born to do evil, because they have free will to choose what type of person we want to be, but society and sin can influence a person to be or do something evil.

How can someone do something bad, and not feel guilt or sadness? All evil people have one thing in common as to why they can do something bad, and that is they show no empathy. “A key trait in many evildoers: they lack the capacity for empathy” (“The Roots of Evil”, Begley 2). Empathy is feeling sorry or understanding someone. This is why people do bad things, and are able to without feeling bad. Although evil people are okay with being evil, some people do things they normally would not do because of the situation they are in. Certain situations can make a person who is not evil, do evil things. “When directed by a person in authority, others will act against their own morals if told to do so” (Psychology of Evil, Milgram Experiments). This

shows the affect someone in authority can have on another person and what they can make them do against their morals.
Sin is the reason people are evil.

It’s the act of doing something not good. Evil entered this world because of Satan and him not doing anything good. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they weren’t supposed to, it brought sin, fear, embarrassment, and other feelings we normally don’t like to feel into the world. “And the woman said. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat” (Kings James Version, Genesis 1:4). This shows that Satan tricked them to do bad by eating the fruit, but Adam and Eve still could have listened to God. Satan betrayed God and went against him. Satan used to be an angel, but went against God and was sent to Hell, where he vowed to never do any good. “To do ought good never will be our task” (Paradise Lost, l. 159). This shows that the bad things in the world are because of Satan. God gave humans free will to wither do good or

bad.
Because of free will, people can choose who they want to be and what they want to do. Adam and Eve chose to not listen to God and eat the fruit. “She took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat” (Kings James Version, Genesis 2:6). Although Satan tricked them into eating the fruit,they had free will and chose to eat the fruit. Although some people choose to be evil, there are the people who do good. The “man in the water” chose to save a person’s life he didn’t even know, over his own. “Like every other person on that flight, he was desperate to live, which makes his final act so stunning” (“The Man in the Water,” Rosenblatt 21). This shows how you can choose to be evil or not.
Although society, sin, and being in certain situations can influence people to be evil, they have free will to do good in the world. In certain situations, a person can do evil things. Evil came into this world because of Satan wanting to not do anything good, but because of free will, we can do good things. No one is born to do evil things. We have a choice to do good or be evil.