The Devil Inside

“Evil isn’t a thing, it’s not a person, it’s an attribute like beauty” (Maguire 370-371). Like beauty, evil is seen differently through the individuals’ eyes. Some people have the ability to see the beauty in everyone, while others only see it in a select few, such as the tall, skinny, and “pretty/handsome” ones; this is the same with evil. Some see people who torture and murder others as evil, while others see massive corporations as evil. Evil goes against someone’s morals, or the morals that society has created for us; this is where evil becomes distorted because not one person believes everything that the next person does. Humans have made this concept of evil for themselves, whether destined in their blood or a figment of their imagination is yet to be understood. Humans are not born evil, but the boundaries made by society to maintain order have influenced human perception to see them as evil.

When people commit acts of evil, they are doing it for their own well-being. Whether taking the time to think of their options or acting upon instinct, they have chosen the way that benefits them most. This often hurts others, whether intentional or not. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Hester Prynne’s husband, Roger Chillingworth, had abandoned Hester, unintentionally, for many years. While he was away, Hester found love, secretly, with Reverend Dimmesdale and bore his child. She was being shamed by her fellow people for adultery when Chillingworth finally arrived. At the time, Chillingworth saw Hester as his possession. Men’s natural instinct is to guard and protect what they own, and when he discovered the father of Hester’s child was not being persecuted, he sought out vengeance to make sure he got his ri...

... middle of paper ...

...oices he made; he carefully planned and executed his malicious actions. Although based on instincts, he took it to the point where Dimmesdale was practically tortured just with his presence and thought he was doing justice (for himself) in the process. Perception leaves evil open for interpretation, as shown by Frankenstein and his monster. As long as humans continue to believe in this concept of “evil,” their thoughts and actions will revolve it, keeping it a part of daily life.

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. 1st edition. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Incorporated, 1994. 1-180. Print.

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. 1st edition. New York: HarperCollins, 1996. 406. Print.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. 3rd edition. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications Incorporated, 1994. 1-166. Print.