The Nature Of Evil: The Examples Of Macbeth And Lord Of The Flies

The concept of evil is defined in diverse ways and is attributed to the actions of humans or supernatural beings. Two types of evil exist, and these include natural evil and moral evil. This provides a basis to explore the moral evil in Macbeth, Lord of the flies, and five critical articles.

Through Macbeth and Lord of the Flies, inherent evil in men is evident through Macbeth and Jack. These two characters indicate that the potential for evil is inherent in both grownups and also small children. Looking at Macbeth, the nature of evil is evidenced at the beginning when the prophecies are being introduced. His first kill resulted from the prophecy that he would become king. Looking at Macbeth, he is persuaded by Lady Macbeth even when his conscience began to override his ambitions. When Macbeth encounters the dagger, this insinuates to the audience that he had started to recognize evil; however, his ambitions still push him to kill Duncan. He finally states after killing Duncan “O horror, horror! Tongue nor hart cannot conceive nor name the” (Shakespears, 2001). In Lord of the Flies, the inherent evil in small children is indicated through Jack. At the start, Jack follows the rules and is civil; however, he develops an obsession with scaring, hunting, and also feeling empowered by promising violence. His desire to subjugate and control overcomes his intelligence, civility, and even empathy, which leads to him becoming a brutal leader (Golding, 1959).

The inherent nature of evil in man is also revealed through the Toronto pastor who murdered his wife and even the incident of domestic violence and mass shooting. These two incidences indicate domestic violence as a form of expression of the evil nature of men. Looking at the pastor’s case, he first sedated his pregnant wife before drowning her. The pastor inflicted physical and emotional violence upon his wife. According to the Judge “Philip Grandine deliberately and secretly sedated his wife so she wouldn’t stand in the way of his extramarital affair and love of pornography” (Loriggio, 2020). The case of the mass shooter at a Texas church also indicates the inherent evil in man through the perpetrator who had a history of assaulting his wife and child. These are defenseless individuals similar to those murdered in the church shooting. He also threatened his mother-in-law, which indicates the inherent nature of the individual to harm those close to him (Russell, 2017).

Lastly, the case of Yellowknife woman and the National Bank indicate the inherent evil in man to cause fear among fellow beings. Looking at both individuals, they were subjected to scary and intimidating ordeal without proof that they deserved such treatment. Looking at the Yellow knife woman, she had a gun pointed at her without being informed of the purpose of such action (Bird, 2020). Victor, on the other hand, was subjected to harassment after being accused of stealing from the bank without proof because he was a black man. According to victor “the event has left him ridden with anxiety and even cost him his job” (Henriquez, 2018). In these two cases, the security induvial and the officers’ actions were determined by different factors, which led them to evil acts against the victims.

To sum up, the resources of reference indicate that evil is inherent in man. In Macbeth and Lord of the Flies, Macbeth becomes evil through his pursuit of his ambitions, and Jack turns to brutality as he aims to have power over others. Toronto pastor and Texas church mass shooter indicate the inherent violence in people, which leads them to hurt people close to them and also outsiders. Finally, the Yellowknife woman and the National bank incident indicate different life factors that influence humans to exert evil towards others.