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The relationship between good and evil
The relationship between good and evil
Discussion on the problem of evil
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Is it likely attainable to be a doubtlessly good person, achieving the needs of every person thrown into one’s path? When referring to the two literary works, Antigone and The Good Person of Szechwan, it is utterly impossible to achieve this “goodness” primarily because both works, “good” is expected to be completely unflawed. The ancient philosophy of the Yin-Yang comes to mind when determining these books’ interpretations of goodness. According to the Yin-Yang, there must be a balance, a balance between the good and the bad. There is always bad in the good and good in the bad, allowing for constant stability in life. In both, Antigone and The Good Person of Szechwan, the characters’ definition of goodness is unable to be obtained due …show more content…
She went against the laws of Thebes to do the appropriate thing by her gods and her brother’s death. Just like the Yin-Yang there was both good and bad in both situations; if she did not try to bury her brother, she would have been unjust by her gods and religion. However, if she obeyed the laws of Thebes, she would have dishonored the beliefs rituals of her religion. In both viewpoints, there was the fear of doing wrong in the process of doing what is considered right, or “good.” Each perspective shows that there is both good and bad to be contemplated that evolved into the equilibrium of life. Additionally, in the play, The Good Person of Szechwan, the same rule complies. Once the town figured out that Shen Teh was “the good person,” they instantaneously bombarded her for help. As she aided to those in need, she became taken advantage of, driving herself back into poverty. When she told villagers that she could not assist them, the gods looked down upon Shen Teh, losing all hope for a good person left in the world. The unbalanced world that these villagers lived in, caused the mindset that Shen Teh will never be an individual whom accomplishes the characteristics of a good
How would you feel if your one mistake caused you to lose everything that is important to you? This happens to multiple celebrities, but one professional athlete it affects severely is Tiger Woods. According to Golf.com, Tiger lost everything from his personal relationships, to a yield in his professional career, all because he made the mistake of cheating on his wife. He contains many of the characteristics that one can consider him to be a tragic hero. One Greek tragedy that portrays a similar situation is Antigone by Sophocles. Creon makes the mistake of not listening to others, which causes him to lose all his loved ones and his kingdom. He best fits the mold of a tragic hero because he has the tragic flaw of excessive pride and he experiences an increased awareness.
When people fail to attempt to tolerate, listen and understand others ideas it often results in adversities and distress amongst themselves and their acquaintances. This is exemplified in the actions of Antigone and Creon in the playwright of Antigone. Both Antigone and Creon are headstrong and tenacious and stick to their ideals and ambitions. However, with their tunnel vision personality traits, it often leads them to fail to recognize the views of others, which ultimately results in tragedy. Both Antigone and Creon’s lack of consideration into the views of others leads to the the outcomes of many unnecessary deaths, and the suicide of both Antigone and Haemon. However, the tragedies exemplified from the failure to recognize the views of
Before leaving to face her death, Antigone reminds Creon that what she has done is good in the sight of men and the gods, only Creon himself frowns upon her work. If she was wrong then she will suffer in death, but if she was correct, then Creon will suffer.
Good and evil can be summed up as a difference between rational and irrational thoughts, with the former being related to “good” and the ladder to “evil”. This is a view shared by Immanuel Kant and his Categorical Imperative. In the movie Schindler’s List, we are presented with two individuals, Oskar Schindler, who by the end of the movie displays characteristics of a man following rational thoughts, doing acts that he would want to become universal maxims. On the other end of the spectrum, we have Amon Goeth. Goeth follows his irrational thoughts, using the Jewish people as a means for his own ends.
Antigone, The Brave Antigone, a story written by Sophocles, is about a young woman, Antigone, choosing whether she will not bury her brother, Polyneices, to not break the law or disobey Creon’s law and bury him; however choosing to bury her brother does not derail her moral development. Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development is three levels consisting of two stages in each. Kohlberg’s Theory explains how a human’s mind morally develops.
Antigone did the right thing by defileing Creon's strict orders on burying Polynices because the unalterable laws of the gods and our morals are higher than the blasphemous laws of man. Creon gave strict orders not to bury Polynices because he lead a rebellion, which turned to rout, in Thebes against Creon, their omnipotent king. Antigone could not bare to watch her brother become consumed by vultures' talons and dogs. Creon finds out that somebody buried Polynices' body and sent people out to get the person who preformed the burial. Antigone is guilty and although she is to be wed to Creon's son, Haemon. He sentences her to be put in a cave with food and water and let the gods decide what to do with her. He was warned by a blind profit not to do this, but he chooses to anyway, leaving him with a dead son, a dead wife, and self-imposed exile.
Being a good citizen often involves doing something out of the ordinary to help others. Sometimes, that involves going against the will of others to do what the good citizen might think is best. Although this is traditionally the case, the biggest factor in being a good citizen is great respect for the nation in which one lives. If one wants to be a good citizen, he or she might go out of his or her way to help others, however, must do so within the rules of the nation. In the Greek Drama by Sophocles, entitled Antigone, the hero, Antigone, shows, what I would call, bad citizenship. How is this? Why is she being a bad citizen?
basically serves as a building block to her being admirable. Certain examples through out the play
As children, we hear many stories about the interactions between good and evil. Since each story or fable have different characters, the description of evil and good are different from one another. The good character will have different characteristic compared to evil one.
“When I looked around, I saw and heard of none like me. Was I then a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled, and whom all men disowned?” (Shelley, Frankenstein 109). In Frankenstein, the Monster receives a life in which he cannot control the outcome, even though he tries to. While the Monster deals with fate, Antigone in Antigone exhibits full use of her free will. The two characters possess free will and both of them can claim victim to fate. However, the Monster has more of a right to make the plea of destiny while Antigone should own up to her deliberate actions. The Monster’s denial of acceptance by both his creator and society as well as his responding acts of violence can claim to exist as results of fate while Antigone’s actions exhibit free will from her decisions to break the law and act upon her pride.
Good and evil seem to be contradictory in our worldviews, formed by the widespread belief of the separation of the two in Western Christianity. However the nature of reality is much murkier, as good and evil find themselves entwined like conjoined twins. The quotations, interpretations, and relations above are evidence of the difficulty of qualifying
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.
“Goodness is something chosen. When a man cannot choose he ceases to be a man.” In the novel, A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess, the protagonist, Alex is faced with many opportunities to make choices. Although the majority of Alex’s choices are bad, they are still choices. Alex’s freedom of choice is ripped from him when he becomes the subject of an experiment that forces him to make good choices, however, he is still the same bad person even through this control mechanism. It is only when he is presented with the freedom of choice again, that he becomes a good person, is truly cured.
Being a good person is something that everyone strives to do. For most, it is a subconscious thing we do. For others being a good person is a way of life, not just a superficial “look at me and what I do,” but a deep spiritual understanding that everything one does in their daily life is beneficial to others around that person.
The one thing in the world that is unambiguously good is good will. Good is good. Even when character qualities like intelligence and courage or qualities like wealth, status, good health can be corrupted and used for either good or bad, a good will is intrinsically good, ...