I was talking with a friend of mine. He's an interesting character. He's in his mid 60s, set in his ways, and his views on life are always good for an interesting conversation. He's scientific in thought, kind of straight laced, usually level headed, but pretty passionate about what he believes in and what he doesn't. He doesn't believe in the existence of evil.
"The idea of good and evil is a religious based idea", he told me.
I nodded, somewhat agreeing. I grew up in a loosely religious based home. I grew up believing there was good and bad in the world, a distinct line separating the two.
The conversation rose from the topic of the television show Boardwalk Empire. We are both fans of the show and I asked him what he thought about Nucky Thompson. In case you don't watch Boardwalk Empire, Nucky Thompson is the protagonist, a politician/gangster in Atlantic City during the height of prohibition and the corruption that rode along with it. In season three Nucky becomes a little more crooked, violent, and a little less likable. I was in season three. My friend was still watching two.
My friend leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands together, his expression squinting with thought. I knew I was in for more than a shallow opinion of character.
"The interesting thing about Nucky Thompson is that he is neither good nor evil," he said to me.
I explained to him about Nucky in season three without too many spoilers. I did agree with his character analysis of Nucky to an extent. As humans we all struggle with being good and bad.
My friend went on to explain that people are neither good nor evil, we are what we are by nature. Everything we do is an extension of something that has happened before. We behave by how the neurons fire in our brains, which is manipulated by both genetics and things experienced. I understood this. My degree is in psychology, but his explanation still didn't tell me why he didn't believe in evil.
I asked him, "What about sociopaths, serial killers?"
He simply stated, "They just aren't wired right in the brain."
My friend's ideas of evil interests me in character development. As writers we often use evil to challenge to our protagonists. It's not always evil, but it is a key theme in fiction, good vs evil. I've used it as a writer. Once while I was researching clichés in fiction I came upon a site that said "the evil antagonist has become cliché." Often writers make a character evil just to be evil without reason.
The more I thought about Nucky Thompson the more I agreed with my friend. A character who's evil just by nature doesn't seem exactly credible. What makes the character evil? Something must have led up to the character's evil ways. A writer may not always want to dive deep into the characters background, but subtle hints could be good. I am sure many writer's do this, but as a writer myself I continue to try and make sense of the distinct line between good and evil I used to believe in. The lines are usually very blurred. I think the blurred lines make for a more interesting villain. He's oh so bad...but.....
The more I thought about the existence of evil, or whether or not it doesn't exist the more I became interested in it. Writing is my passion, but so is the study of human behavior.
I did a little research, asking Google, does evil exist? I found a great article by Ron Rosenbaum, titled The End of Evil? Neuroscientists suggests there is no such thing. Are they Right? Some of the ideas Ron gives in his article heavily correlated with my friend's explanation. As I read the article I wondered if my friend had read it too.
In the article Ron talks about how neuroscientists have ruled out the concept of evil as we know it. People do bad things, but their actions are not conscious decisions. They are caused by a glitch in the brain, and instead of labeling such glitches evil, scientists have retitled evil as "lack of empathy." The article details much more and is an interesting read. I'll provide a link to it at the end of the post.
In fiction we think of villains as evil beings. Just watch any old Disney movie. I grew up loving Disney films (I still do!). But as I think about evil now in terms of creating a villainous character I feel like evil is just a flimsy label. Much more goes into to being bad than just being evil. As a writer I want to display this in my villains. I will continue to contemplate evil and its contribution to the development of my characters.
I'd love to hear from other writer's and how they implement the idea of evil in their stories and how they use it to shape their characters. Comments are welcomed!
Article by: Ron Rosenbaum
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/the_spectator/2011/09/does_evil_exist_neuroscientists_say_no_.html
It's the old nature vs. nurture question. I personally believe our behavior is a function of both. The same would be true of an evil person. The person obviously has a predisposition or mental malady for destructive behavior, but may have lived in a way that he/she had no balancing examples to correct or adjust their tendencies.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to writing, building an evil character seems most interesting when it's described how they became evil. This typically involves highlighting elements of their torturous past: beaten as a child, bullied at school, jilted by a lover... whatever. Just to say they are naturally evil seems a bit dry to me.
Hi D.R. Shoutz. I agree. My degree in is psychology and the nature vs nurture is an interesting debate. I also think it's important to show or tell where the bad character gained his/her dark tendencies. It makes for a much more interesting character.
ReplyDeleteGrey characters are always much more interesting. I despise stories where the reason someone is the antagonist, is simply because they are. Or the freudian reason, completely uninspired.
ReplyDeleteCharacters should be evil because they make compromises--because they want something good but don't agree with the protagonists on what that is. They justify their actions, even possibly to the point of being omnicidal.
Or they might be confused about the world, and view it as evil and in need of destruction. Spite does have it's place, but it must be presented well, and within reason.
I don't believe in evil either, it's just a matter of perspective. Though it seems that the only evil there ever is, is in apathy. Objectification maybe.
Even the villains of Disney movies are more along the lines of crazy rather than evil. Irrational overreactions to their stepdaughter's beauty can be seen as a body dysmorphia, overvaluing appearance as a quality. Also the overreactions to not being let in a castle, or allowed to attend a party. All irrational punishments.
In older stories it isn't murder for gain, it's murder to prevent loss. Something much less evil. Remember how our brains value loss much more than gains?
Great blog, you bring up a lot of insights. I'll keep reading.
Hi Brandon, I completely agree that grey characters are much more interesting. I even think it's good sometimes to make the protagonist a little gray. I ghostwrote a novel and the protagonist wasn't necessarily the best hero. I think his flaws made him more interesting and I think readers will at times think he gets what he deserves.
DeleteI think your right about Disney villains. I never really thought about it. As a child watching them you just kind think they are the evil ones and that's it. But there is always a reason behind every behavior.
Sadly, they don't explore the complexity of the behaviour. Though a few are truly evil: Jafar, Cruella De Vil, and Ursula for example.
ReplyDeleteThere's a saying that the perfectly good are boring, we already know what they're going to do. A little gray adds all the world of interest. Besides, even the best of us is a little gray, and I prefer those novels which stick to reality.