Comparative Analysis Of Genesis Three And The Possibility Of Evil

Jennifer Dobai

Ms. Aquilina

ENG 3U

24 September 2015

Three Shades of Evil

Comparative Analysis of Genesis Three and “The Possibility of Evil”

The dark triad of humanity consists of three personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Although these traits describe the evil within humans it can also be used to describe the true nature of evil. Genesis Three and Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Possibility of Evil”, compliment each other to heighten the cruelty of character that possess traits of Machiavellian evil. Like the dark triad, evil consists of three traits. Evil has the power to deceive one to not only succumb, but also justify itself for goodness. Likewise, evil is cunning and sly enough for one to disobey their

conscious for temporary pleasure. Thus, the consequences of evil are morbid. Genesis Three is an allegory for the way evil works within the human world.

The latter, conveys the consequences of an elderly woman who is personified as the epitome of evil. Ultimately, both texts depict the true nature of evil within humanity.

Evil is able to deceive one has the power to deceive one to not only succumb, but also justify itself for goodness. In the former, the Adam and Eve commit the first sin due to external forces. Once faced with the consequences of immortality, Adam and Eve claim they did it in order to be like the Lord “You will not die; for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will, be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:12-16). Due to the hunger for power, Adam and Eve do not abide their conscious, and in their own volition sin. Similarly, as Miss Strangeworth the protagonist in “The Possibility of Evil” writes her heinous letters the Machiavellianism within her, enables her to rationalize what she is doing. The evil she possesses makes her believe she is self-righteous for “it was Miss Strangeworth’s duty to keep her town alert to [evil]” (Jackson 364). She feels it is her "duty" to commit these evil acts, and that she is superior to those around her due to the knowledge she has. Additionally, evil is cunning and sly enough for one to disobey their

conscious for temporary pleasure.

In Genesis Three, the serpent is a metaphor for evil and therefore this characteristic is seen within evil itself. “The serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal” (Genesis 3:1-2) blindly states that evil is cunning. This intelligent evil leads to the manipulation characteristic within Machiavellianism. The serpent not only tricks Eve with his words but also with the physical appearance of the fruit as it is “a delight to the eyes” (Gen 3:18). Evil can take form of any shape and size to cleverly deceive those around. In Jackson's story, "When she made a mistake, as she sometimes did, or when the letters were not spaced nicely on the page, she had to take the discarded page to the kitchen stove and burn it at once" (Jackson 363). Miss Strangeworth would "burn it at once" in order to leave no evidence behind. She claims she was doing this for goodness, however this justifies she knew what to do if she ever did get caught due to the lack of evidence left behind. The consequences of evil are not temporary,

but rather enduring. Once God realizes Adam and Eve have lost their innocence, He punishes them with a spiritual death. "By the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). The "dust" reflects the punishment of mortality humanity now has to face. Due to this one sin, and a temporary pleasure Adam and Eve thought they would receive, the whole of humanity is punished. This also reinforces the notion that humans have an inherent capacity for evil. In Jackson's story, Miss Strangeworth is also punished personally when her roses are destroyed after her secret infatuation is revealed. "She began to cry silently for the wickedness of the world when she read the words: LOOK OUT AT WHAT USED TO BE YOUR ROSES" (Jackson 367). Unlike Adam, she cannot deflect the blame on others, and is only to blame herself for the destruction of her roses. The dark triad helps to reveals one's personality, similarly these three traits of Machiavellianism reveal evil in humanity.