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Concept of good and evil in movies essay
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Nobody in this world is truly and purely evil. In TV shows or movies that depict the life of a murder often tend to explain their thirst for blood is inhumane and evil but we have to remind our selves that they are humans too. Evil people as we consider often have terrible lives in which traumas are caused bringing them to behave in such a way. For example the infamous Night Stalker who grew up with an abusive mother and sister, searching for comfort in his life he turned to his uncle who was an ex military with a dark secret. His uncle was obsessed with the murders and rapes that had occurred during his time in the army. The Night Stalker found it's a way to escape from his conflicts and began to find pleasure in the torturing and killing
of many women and men just as his childhood had been. Although his evil and cruel acts cause us to fear and have anger in our selves toward killers, their actions could have been prevented starting from childhood. Nobody is born evil, we as humans make each other evil because greed and competition is a strong force that often pushes people apart. Just like any other human, people who commit a crime or a terrible act often have reasons behind them and they are not because they want to be evil. Another example could be a father who has no money and his daughter is sick with cancer. He has no job and insurance so he decided to rob a bank to save his little girl, in that robbery he kills a man by accident and is blamed for it as a first degree murder ( yes this is from Spider-man. ). At first sight we would see him as an evil person who killed another human being for greed, but as we look closer he is a normal man who just wishes to save another person that is important to him. Things don't always are what they seem, and nobody can truly be evil because as much as they try they are still human.
Evil can be a scary thing many things can influence on why a person may be considered evil or do evil things.People do things because they were influenced by others or by their own selfish desires,
The lines that define good and evil are not written in black and white; these lines tend to blur into many shades of grey allowing good and evil to intermingle with each another in a single human being. Man is not inherently good or evil but they are born innocent without any values or sense of morality until people impart their philosophies of life to them. In the words of John Locke:
“Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It's a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other” (Eric Burdon). People do not think they are doing good or evil, they just think that they are doing the right thing. Evil comes from within each one of us. You just need to something to bring it out.
There are two kinds of evil, moral and natural. Moral evil is things like murder, rape, stealing, terrorism, etc. Natural evil is things like suffering and unpleasantness typically as a result of moral evil. Evil is that which has no power of its own. Evil is darkness, a negation of light. Its power is in us, in our fear of it, in that we consider it a "something" worth responding to.
What is it that makes a person evil? Is it their actions, their words, or their thoughts? Is it more acceptable if “the end justifies the means”? Telling a lie that doesn’t have a negative effect on anyone, and that saves someone grief, is considered good. So why is killing someone to save others considered bad? The morality of an action is based solely on the outcome. Thus, doing anything whatsoever that is required to get the desired result, regardless of the methods used, would be considered “ok” if the result was of a good nature. Human nature is hardwired in us through the brain. So, human nature, being good or evil, is hardwired in us as well. It is our choice whether or not to act on these thoughts of sinful nature. For Iago, he not only thinks about crude things he also acts upon those thoughts. The actions of a military warrior, executed in normal society, show the “ethical blindness” of a man with no filter of morality ().
In Bram Stoker's Dracula, the most blatant and powerful symbol is blood. He takes the blood that means so much to the believers of this legend and has it represent more than even they could imagine. Blood is the main object associated with vampires and vampirism. From a mythical standpoint, it is the basis of life for the vampires as they feed off of the blood of young, vibrant souls. From a more scientific standpoint blood is what would drip out of the corpse's mouth when family members would dig up their dead kin to check for the dreaded disease. Stoker takes the significance of this symbol and puts his own unique twist to the meaning of blood. He combines the traditional folklore of vampirism and the immense sexual undertones of the Victorian era to create a simply horrific tale which completely confuses the emotions of his readers. Stoker knew bloods importance in vampire history and used the overwhelming symbolism to convey his own personal lust and sexual obsessions. The scenes where Lucy is receiving transfusions; first from Holmwood, then from Seward, and the unforgettable vampire baptism between Dracula and Mina all have these very erotic, sexual feelings associated with them. What makes these so powerful is the combination of violence and sex. As a reader, you know that what Dracula is doing are horrific and wrong, but because they are so sexually described and associated you think you should enjoy them, but you can't. This is the confusion which stoker implements into his readers minds, especially ones of the Victorian era. This is why stoker used blood as the most important symbol in the novel; to create an intense horror that was not just in the words of the book, but in the minds of the reader.
Evil is to be morally wrong, bad, wicked, and a whole bunch of other synonyms that all boil into one pot. There is so much to this word that it’s almost impossible to pinpoint someone as truly evil. To be evil for no other reason than to be evil would be the worst possible evil. Adolf Hitler and Osoma bin Laden believe the evil they committed was justified by God, or some higher power. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, from the play by Shakespeare, were not evil because they wanted to be, they did it for a greater good.
The seventeenth-century play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, employs blood as a powerful symbol to amplify the tragic nature of the work. Prior to, and immediately following Duncan’s death, blood magnifies the treachery of Macbeth’s murderous act. Throughout the play, blood constantly reminds the audience of the ruthless means the Macbeths implement to gain the crown. In the culmination of the play, blood symbolizes the irreconcilable guilt that will haunt the Macbeths for the duration of their lives. Blood’s ubiquitous symbolism emphasizes the constant guilt felt by the Macbeths in their tragic pursuit of the monarchy.
Everyone has personal opinions on the definition of evil, but what is the true definition? Some argue that God can only judge if an act is evil, while some say only certain things are evil. Many philosophers and authors argue over what the most accurate definition is. One psychiatrist, Dr. M. Scott Peck, suspects that Satan lives within people as a lazy and less-disciplined figure, which induces mental illness and criminal activity (Lawhon 1). Author Michael Stone defines evil as specific deeds designed to torture or murder another individual, but “the perpetrator be aware that the victim would suffer intensely, experience agony”. Who do we have to blame for these unthinkable acts of hatred? The only ones capable of them: humans. Humans are the only creatures that can feel emotions, such as shame, and have complex, rational thought (Stone 19). It is hard to tell when bad actions blur into evil acts. True evil is when that person knows what they are doing is wrong, but continue to do so because it gives them pleasure.
Naturally, it is human nature to yearn for some sort of evil. Sinning is common on a daily basis. Kids lean towards destruction. Countless people have the urge to gamble at casinos. Human beings are lustful creatures and have sexual notions constantly in their minds. Evil is not something that can be avoided. For those who appear perfect, their "evil" is well hidden. Thus, ."..humanity is...synonymous with the struggle of good and evil" (Abbey, et al. 328). Robert Louis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde centers on the dual nature of the human personality through the good and evil facets of Dr. Jekyll's character.
People have constantly attempted to understand what evil truly is, and, if possible, how to eliminate this evil from their lives. However, first it must be known what it is that is being eliminated. Different people, cultures, and eras have all had a different view of what evil is, and how it affects their lives, and there is no true answer. Because of this, discussing the idea of whether people are born or can be evil is meaningless. The idea of what evil is, and whether people can be evil, is relative and cannot be applied to human nature in a universal way.
Every human is born with the potential to be inherently evil. Whether they choose this path or not depends on the influences of the outside world. We can see an example of how this is true from the book, Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Although all of the boys in the novel start out as innocent choirboys, they show their true form of evil when they are put in a dire situation. The boys no longer become friends to one another, instead they try to kill animals and even each other for the pure enjoyment of it. Humans are born evil and have the intent of doing violent and harmful things as evident by; the world’s history, violence as a source of entertainment, constant wars, and bullies, both cyber and physical.
Man was not predestined to evil. Murder is a violation of the “spiritual” kinship uniting mankind. People must accept responsibility for their brothers and sisters, though they rarely do today. There is great indifference.
Mass Murderers and Serial Killers are nothing new to today’s society. These vicious killers are all violent, brutal monsters and have an abnormal urge to kill. What gives people these urges to kill? What motivates them to keep killing? Do these killers get satisfaction from killing? Is there a difference between mass murderers and serial killers or are they the same. How do they choose their victims and what are some of their characteristics? These questions and many more are reasons why I was eager to write my paper on mass murderers and serial killers. However, the most interesting and sought after questions are the ones that have always been controversial. One example is; what goes on inside the mind of a killer? In this paper I will try to develop a better understanding of these driven killers and their motives.
“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.