Questioning the nature of evil has always been a popular theme for speculations in religion, science, and literature. In fact, each field of human activity solves the matter differently; moreover, the notions of evil vary even in every of the mentioned fields due to the diversity of human experiences and cultures. So, comparing particular answers to the source of evil in individuals is an exciting topic. For example, in this essay, the reasons for vice are determined in three short stories: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Tell Them Not to Kill Me! Moreover, the immoral acts of these works’ characters are defined in the terms used by professor Zimbardo in his lecture on evil. It argued that Omelas’s story represents the greater evil’s issue, The Tell-Tale Heart’s narrator is obviously evil, and Juvencio’s wrongdoing is a banal evil, although some might come to different conclusions, which are discussed.
A striking example of literary reflection on evil is The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin. Namely, the short story features a people, Omelas, who have achieved ultimate happiness for all except one deformed child, whom they keep apart from society in adverse conditions. The actions of the people in the narrative demonstrate the problem of contrasts between lesser and greater evil that makes individuals commit the worst injustice and accept it without guilt. Precisely, the Omelas “all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness, … depend[s] wholly on this child’s abominable misery” (Le Guin, par.8). Psychologists characterize such behaviors as diffusion of personal responsibility and conformity to group norms, which produces systemic evil (Zimbardo). Thus, the literary work describes the belief in the greater cause for violence, which is, in fact, conformism and the group’s unity in actions.
Next, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe is worth considering when reflecting on the reasons for evil actions. The short story depicts the common for this author motif: evil in its purest form that originates only from the desire for ill and vice. Specifically, in The Tell-Tale Heart, the unnamed narrator calls it “Imp of the Perverse” (Poe 24). This notion signifies the obvious evil of natural villains, who are not insane (or believe that they are not) and commit their crimes because of an irresistible internal wish. In Zimbardo’s lecture, a similar phenomenon is a dispositional evil raised from inside a person; however, the professor underlines that it is an outdated theoretical view. Therefore, Poe’s short story represents the approaches for the causality of evil in the times when no psychological theories yet described it better.
Finally, Tell Them Not to Kill Me! by Juan Rulfo presents an entirely different kind of evil. A banal evil, which is done because a person does not realize the full spectrum of the consequences of their doings or has some beliefs that justify their actions, is characteristic of Juvencio’s crime. Namely, the character murders his neighbor, Don Lupe, because of their dispute over pasture lands (Ruflo). Juvencio believes that he made a right cause since he has warned the man about his ability to kill him, in turn, out of necessity: Juvencio’s cows cannot resist invading Don Lupe’s land. Moreover, the criminal considers his guilt vain because a long time has passed since the death, and he has not been caught (Ruflo). In terms that Zimbardo uses in his lecture, this is situational violence, taking place only in factual circumstances and for some external reasons. Hence, Tell Them Not to Kill Me! demonstrates a man who perceives only the context of the situation that urged him to kill, making it a banal evil act.
Yet, some might argue different distribution of the kinds of evil in the mentioned short stories would be right. For example, in Le Guin’s work, one can think that the Omelas continue to treat the wicked child harshly because the system dictates them doing so, and they cannot resist it. In turn, Juvencio’s behavior might be seen as the act of committing lesser evil to prevent a greater evil, which is the death of his cattle and poorness and his family. The first argument can be refuted when considering that Le Guin several times underlines that the Omelas mostly understand the cause of their evil and those who perceive it as too injust can leave their town; so, it is not a banal evil due to systemic reasons–it is a choice for preventing the greater evil. Furthermore, Juvencio’s crime cannot be said to be the fight for a better future because he is trapped in his vision of the situation and is not critical of his actions. Thus, these counterarguments can be easily refuted by the content of the works.
To conclude, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas, The Tell-Tale Heart, and Tell Them Not to Kill Me! present reflections on the three types of evil: obvious, banal, and done to prevent a greater one. In turn, these are three different paradigms towards interpreting behavior. The works demonstrate that the reasons for committing crimes and injustice might vary; viewing these evils is also diverse.
Works Cited
LeGuin, Ursula K. The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Harper Perennial, 2017.
Poe, Edgar Allan. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” and Other Stories. Edited by Harold Bloom, New, Chelsea House Publications, 2009.
Ruflo, Juan. Tell Them Not to Kill Me! Nanopdf, 1951.
Zimbardo, Philip. “Journey from the psychology of evil to the psychology of heroism.” YouTube, uploaded by Stanford, Web.