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Considering our discussion of good and evil in Lord of the Flies, analyze the stories of Fritz Haber and James Shapiro and how good and evil function in each story. Is humanity capable of great evils? What causes us to engage in such terrible behavior?
Respond, post articles and links to relevant media, and read each other's responses.
I do believe humanity is capable of great evils. What causes us to engage in such terrible behavior can be connected to our Id and our own desires. Many people believe that children are born innocent and what sways them into the evil ways is the world. However, in The Lord of the Flies, it is shown that even young children are capable of murder and sin. When they come back to the real world, they realize how wrong they were; they show a sense of good. Same with the story of Fritz Haber (or maybe James Shapiro), he got a tattoo of a swastika and then realizes what it really means. Afterwards, he wants to take it off; also showing sense of good. However, evil can be found in children shown in the stories of Haver and Shapiro along with the children in The Lord of The Flies. There was a twelve year old boy who kills his mother in retaliation of her forcing him to do chores http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/264506. There is also a fifteen year old girl who kills her dad for taking her phone away http://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-shoots-dad-taking-cell-phone-police/story?id=13695008 These are children whose actions can not be blamed on the world but their own selfish desires and their Id.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Deborah's post about this topic. However, I believe that we cannot simply deem someone as "good" or "bad". We have to look at the overall mindsets of everyone. Each persons perspectives are different from others. We all have different ideas as to what we feel is benevolent or malevolent. However, we do not know what is going on in other people's minds. How do we know what they think is evil and what is not? As a collective majority of society we tend to think that the evil mindset is the course of intent to do malevolence onto others. However, we do not consider what is actually evil and what is good to the convicts that are associated with this fabled evil. What if individuals believe they are doing their duty? As children, we are born into society with no knowledge. As we grow older, we learn and experience more and interact with more. It is my belief that the environment around us shapes us for who and what we become and are. In law, there are three theories as to why one might commit crime. They are the control theory, subculture theory, and strain theory. The control theory states that these negative impulses are innate. The subculture theory states that the environment around us shapes us as we grow. The strain theory states that individuals who don't accomplish and attain their desires take it into their own hands to get their desires. These are all correct in their own way, as they all pertain to real life examples. However, I strongly believe that the subculture theory is true. We as individuals, learn from the people around us and who we interact with. In law terms, the actus reas, or guilty action, is the physical course of wrong doing. The mens reas,guilty mind, however, is knowingly committing the wrong action. The people around us shape our mens reas, and our perception of good and bad is influenced by them. In the case of The Lord of the Flies, the children were not malevolent previously. The desire for survival and power ingrained and evoked a sense of malevolence in everyone. Combined with their id, the children turned bloodthirsty. The environment and the children they interacted with caused each individual child to become evil. Furthermore, Fritz Haber was influenced by the people around him, and he eventually got the tattoo of the swastika. This article shows that upbringing has a lot to do with what is good and evil in our minds: "http://www.revisionworld.com/a2-level-level-revision/psychology/forensic-psychology/turning-crime/upbringing". Furthermore, this article shows that we can not simplify deem someone as "good" or "bad": "http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/out-the-darkness/201308/the-real-meaning-good-and-evil". I hope you all feel free to disagree and agree with me on this subject. I find this topic very interesting. :)
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