Good And Evil Analysis

Wilkie Collins once questioned how “the best men are not consistent in good, so why should the worst men be consistent in evil.” Generally, people find the existence of intrinsic good and evil within people, yet many challenge this concept. Gibran contends that good easily evolves into the traditional understanding of “evil,” and as such, we should see traditional understandings of “evil” instead as misfortune upon the good. Comparably, in Lord of the Flies, Golding portrays an evil within all erupting only when forced into a precarious situation; however, he argues that this innate vulnerability to evil within humans deems humans themselves to be evil. In Good and Evil, Gibran portrays true evil as virtually nonexistent, and perceived evil

First, Gibran introduces the situation as an elder asks the Prophet, “Speak to us of Good and Evil.” (Gibran 3) Immediately, it’s clear that the Prophet, or in essence, Gibran, rejects the traditional view of “Good and Evil” as he asserts that, “of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil.” (Gibran 5) From here, Gibran provides juxtapositions of commonly understood positives against their antitheses. For example, the Prophet describes how “You are good when you strive to give of yourself. Yet you are not evil when you seek gain for yourself...You are good when you walk to your goal firmly and with bold steps. Yet you are not evil when you go thither limping.” (Gibran 14) This constructs the first issue of evil not simply being the opposite of good. Due to the traditional understanding of what is “evil,” the evils we see in human beings is less of true evil, but instead is a byproduct of circumstances that may not be within our control; thus, the evils humans perceive within each other are not, in fact, evil. Similarly, the Prophet insists that what is frequently

At one point, some of the younger children bring up a terrifying “beast” that lurks around the island. Ultimately, Ralph calls a meeting and the older children discuss what shall be done about the beast. While most conclude the beast to simply be a thing from nightmares, one child, Simon, believes that it is actually an innate darkness that lurks within every person. However, due to still being a child, he “became inarticulate in his effort to express mankind’s essential illness.” (Golding 89) This demonstrates that Golding, through Simon, believes that mankind has an evil that is integral to its existence. He elaborates on what exactly this illness or evil is. While on the island, the surviving children start to split off into two different groups: one focused on organization, sustainability, and maintaining chances of rescue, and another focused on hunting, killing, and doing whatever they please. When all is said in done, the wild, impulsive group of children, who revel in killing and give in to savagery, are successful in dominating the island. “ They kill off two of the primary proponents for organized society and chase off the former leader of the children. This exemplifies the idea that Golding believes that rationality normally associated with goodness isn’t and won’t ever triumph over uninhibited