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The Need for Evil in Literature

By: Courtney Crain-Zamora
19 February 2016

Prepared for
Dr. Karen C. Holt
Brigham Young University-Idaho

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Introduction
I was 15 years old when I read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, in which
Harry is also 15 years old. He was feeling abandoned, alone, angry, and helpless. These were
feelings that I, too was familiar with, but for different reasons. In the beginning, Harry is feeling
left out and ignored, angry that it seemed that nothing was being done about the return of
Voldemort and feeling rather annoyed towards his friends because, to him, it had felt like he had
done everything by himself. He felt alone because he had been chosen by Voldemort and no else
had ever quite been through what he had. I understood these emotions. I understood the feeling
of abandonment because my own mother had decided to leave me for a man that she had an
adulterous relationship with. I knew the aloneness because no one around me knew what I was
going through because they hadnt dealt with divorced parents, abusive mothers, or deep selfloathing. The anger because I felt weak. I was made to feel like I had to fix everything, and that
I, as the child, had to be the adult. Then the helplessness because I was a child, trying to play an
adult without the maturity, wisdom, and grace that is supposed to come with age.
Harry Potter, in a way, became one of my saving graces. Like Harry, Hogwarts had
become my home, a place I could go and not feel so alone because Harry was there and felt the
same way I did. Though Harry was never depressed or suicidal like I was at the time, if J.K.
Rowling had not portrayed the unpleasantness of Harrys life and how he felt about and dealt
with it in the way that she did, I truly would have been alone and may have tried again to attempt
suicide.
It is for that reason that I believe that writers should not sugar coat their writing.
Unpleasant issues and truths must be dealt with. It is the responsibility and duty of the writer to
ensure that their works reflect real life appropriately and accurately. There is a balance of good

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and evil in the world and this should be explored in writing. The act of depicting evil in literature
should not be shunned because of a writers moral, political, or social standing. Rather this
depiction can help us truly identify the evil within society and within ourselves. Books can help
us overcome, figure out, and deal with horrific and/ or difficult things. When we dont allow evil
to enter into writing then ideas, opinions, and thoughts cannot be shared on how to fix, change,
or deal with those problems.
My Position
Writers Need to Accurately Reflect Life through Writing
Literature of every kind has always played a large role in every society and has many
purposes. Oral or written works have existed to entertain, teach, and explore the past and present
of different peoples. In the college text, Experiencing the Humanities by Richard Jewell, he
explains that it is important to remember that people study the literature of a race or people to
understand them and their culture. It is impossible to come to know any person, place, or race
without reference to literature. When we read literature it becomes a part of us and when we
write literature we become a part of it (Jewell). That is exactly why I believe that literature
should reflect life, with all its ugliness. Without fully representing the world, knowledge of time
and people can and will be lost. However, this is not exclusive to non-fiction literary work, but
also in fiction.
William Shakespeare is one of the most profound writers because he can expertly write
stories that really show the good and the evil of mankind. In many of his works there are
wholesome and good messages. In plays such as Measure for Measure there are themes of justice
versus mercy and humility versus false authority (Cox, 1) and in King Henry IV, Part I the theme
of honor is quite evident (Berkeley and Eidson, 25) (see figure 1). However, these are offset, and

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often overshadowed, by lies, murders, sexual exploits, betrayals, and wars. Shakespeare does not
shy away from these topics. It is these unpleasant truths that often drive the plays forward and
none of them are what people would consider good or wholesome. Robert Bird, an English
professor at BYU-Idaho once said, We dont read Shakespeare for his originality, but for his
deep understanding of the human psyche. Shakespeare doesnt change the world or the realities
of human nature into wholesome ideals, but rather he uses these realities and usually the
characters find redemption in the end. Though in many of his works Shakespeare mixes together
time periods or his Italian plays actually reflect something more like Shakespeares England, his
focus is writing about the balance of good and evil within people or between the characters. He
accurately depicts humanity.

Fig. 1 Cover of Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare from Barnsandnoble.com.

N.p. 2016. 18 Feb. 2016.
Famous author, Orson Scott Card also argues that in order for fiction to fulfill a readers
need, the work needs to depict evil. Card, in his book, The Problem of Evil in Fiction, says,

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any depiction of life without evil is a lie. Now, fiction is made up, but it is not all lies. Both the
illusion of truth and the unavoidable substance of truth require evil to be present in fiction
(Card, par. 11-12). Evil is not something that we can escape, even in fiction or other kinds of
writing. Evil has always been a part of life, it is part of the human condition. When we write we
cannot ignore this. It is important to depict this evil, because while there are blatantly obvious
evils such as adultery, crime, violence, murder, and drugs, there are more subtle evils that we
may not always recognize.
Literature Helps us Detect Evil
Recognizing obvious evil is easy, recognizing evils such as pride, greed, lust, and anger
are not. It is these evils that writers often write about, even if they dont agree with those evils. It
is important to remember that when an author writes about evil, they are not always, as Card puts
it, enacting evil through fiction, or having the literature actually do evil (Card, par.41). Some
may be promoting evil, but for the most part I believe that writers are merely trying to show us
evil, so that we can enjoy the good when it takes center stage and recognize evil for what it truly
is. It is through a well-crafted story, fiction or non-fiction that we can fully come to understand
what evil is or even where it comes from.
In the book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory
Maguire is trying to figure out who and what is truly wicked. He writes, People who claim that
they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us... It's people who claim that they're good, or
any way better than the rest of us that you have to be wary of (Maguire). People can easily point
to obvious things and say, that is good or that is evil. However, Maguire is taking it a step
further and saying that there may be a wolf in sheeps clothing or that what is truly evil may
not be as obvious. Even Yoda, from the Star Wars franchise illustrates this point in Episode I:

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The Phantom Menace, Yoda says to a young Anakin Skywalker, Fear is the path to the dark
side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering (Lucas). It is through these
subtle and evil paths that writers take us so that we, too, begin to see the slippery slope of going
from something good or perceived as good into evil. When we dont include the subtle and
obvious evils, despite how we feel about them, we are robbing the world of knowledge and truth.
Thus we see so far that writing without evil is a lie. It does not depict the world in
accurate lighting nor does it fully help us grasp the world around us. No matter the genre,
literature can always help us learn some kind of moral or lesson. No moral or lesson can truly be
taught without evil, for without evil understanding of the good can never come about. Along with
the inclusion of an accurate world, and a better understanding of the writers evil, comes the
sharing of ideas, opinions, and thoughts. Through this sharing, the world can be bettered and
people can come to a deeper understanding of not only the world around them, but of
themselves.
Including Evil Helps us Solve Problems and Understand the World
Dr. Lyman Bryson, an English educator, once said, People must come to know the
importance of reading That is the soundest way of solving their problems (qtd. in Garnet,
123). Reading is how we learn. Since this is true, if we do not include unpleasant truths then we
can never fully learn about them. As a result, that which we do not learn about is never explored
and if there is a problem it is never fixed. How can we fix problems like racism, rape, murder,
and drug usage if they are never talked about? Not only are the problems and unpleasant truths
never going to be explored, but the different ideas and views that come from different authors
will never be voiced and new solutions may not be found. Famous author Paulo Coelho agrees
saying, Writing means sharing. Its part of the human condition to want to share things-

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thoughts, ideas, opinions (Coelho). Human beings need to share what is on our minds. That is
how we thrive. These shared ideas and opinions is part of what makes literature great. No one
needs to share ideas on happiness, I think everyone is in agreement that it is good. What people
share ideas on is how to be happy, which can range. Part of this becoming happy is overcoming
the sad, angry, depressing, and unpleasant part of life. How to overcome is different for
everyone, but ideas from others help. No one wants to read literature that is nothing but rainbows
and sunshine all the time. That is because evil sells. However, I believe it sells not because it is
evil, but because evil is overcome and the happiness and goodness earned is so much sweeter.
The Opposing View
It is true, literature plays a huge role in life. Books such as scriptures for different
religions, philosophy texts, and even fiction writings have changed the world and how it thinks.
However, according to the reports of the American Library Association, each year dozens of
books are banned or challenged for their content matter. These books can contain anything from
sexually explicit content, homosexuality, murder, reckless behavior, certain political or religious
viewpoints, and often times are deemed unsuited for the targeted age group (ALA). This is
because literature becomes too real.
Literature Should be More Concerned with Being Appropriate
Writers need to be mindful of becoming overly detailed in their literature. It is less of a
writers duty to be accurate and true to the world, than it is to craft writing that is appropriate in
terms of content. After all, writing is not the only source people have to learn right from wrong,
good from evil. There is already so much evil in this world that we really dont need any more
invited into our lives.
Author of The Maze Runner, James Dashner understands this concept. In a question and
answer session with Tom Blunt from Signature, he explained why he had his characters use the

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particular kind of slang they did. Dashner spoke about having boys that lived in a different time
and place, so they probably would have used different words. This way Dashner was able to stay
true to the psyche of a teenage boy and allow them to swear like gangsters but not have the
books banned from schools and libraries (Blunt). There are inventive ways to reflect the reality
of the world without using the horrible images and words that we are familiar with. When the
world is reflected too accurately and truly, the writer runs the risk of emboldening people to act
out. This was the case for The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, a book that frequents the top
ten banned books in a year (ALA). Salinger writes about a rebellious young man named Holden
Caulfield. In the book, Holden is unable to deal with the perceived lack of love in the world and
starts spiraling down into a mental break down. It was this story that apparently led Mark
Chapman to murder John Lennon. Chapman had given a written statement to the New York
Times explaining that he wanted everyone to read Salingers book, and that if they did they
would understand why he did what he did (Montgomery).
Literature Is Not the Only Means for Teaching
Salingers book, and the incident that became of it, drives the question: Is this what we
want to teach our children? Do we want to surround them with even more evil? Though books
are an excellent source for learning, understanding, and growing, they are not the only way.
Before anyone can read, they are taught by example. There is no book for a toddler on how to not
stick metal objects into an electrical socket or to not hit others. These things are taught by the
parents, not a New York Times Best Seller.
Just like the civilizations of the past one of the few things that we are going to leave
behind for generations to come it our literature. It is through our writings that we are
remembered and studied. The question is: Do we want to leave behind a legacy of riotous living

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filled with evil or do we want to show that we understood evil and could avoid it by not writing
about it in detailed terms? We want a legacy of goodness and intelligence, for those are part of
our reality just as much as the evil and ignorance.
Including Evil Doesnt Help Solve Problems
Actor Morgan Freeman in an interview with Mike Wallace for 60 Minutes said that in
order to end racism we needed to stop talking about. Freeman explains that we shouldnt refer to
people as white or black, which is what creates the racist mentality (Freeman). However, this can
be applied to more than just the issue of racism or racist ideas. Perhaps if we stop making an
issue over evil things then eventually the evil will end. If no one knows about the issue and it
isnt affecting anyone, then it is no longer an issue. Therefore, writers have no need to write
about evils.
Response
Evil is a Necessity
Evil is necessary in literature, in life. We cannot use isolated examples of literature being
used for evil when that was not the intent of the author. People, regardless of good or evil
intentions, have always used whatever they can to justify their thoughts and deeds. Reading all
kinds of literature can stop close-mindedness and help people progress in ways that examples
cannot. When we ignore evils they dont go away, they merely adapt. Evil in all its forms has
always been in the world and will be till the end.
I agree that Dashner in his series was innovative in his use of made up swear words.
However, the point still stands that he accurately depicted the world. Teenage boys swear and act
tough, that is life and Dashner showed that. As for The Catcher in the Rye, it is true that people
can misunderstand writing and use it for their own purposes, but that can even be said about The

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Holy Bible. How many different churches read the same book but understand it and teach from it
so differently? Horrible things have been done in the name of religion because of what the sacred
text says. The Crusades, Witch Hunts, and terrorist attacks from ISIS and other radical extremists
have all used sacred texts like The Holy Bible and Koran, which teach about doing good and
loving and serving each other, to justify their horrific acts. Yet, we do not ban these writings. I do
not support banning religious texts and I believe them to be great guidance, but they too are filled
with evil. In fact, banning books restricts our access to knowledge and learning about others.
More Than Examples are Needed
It is true that before we learn to read, we are taught and led by example. However, we
cannot learn by example alone. Eventually, we become the example and what kind of example
would we be if we were not versed in the good and evil of the world and didnt know how to act
or think accordingly? It is a lot like learning to walk before we can run. Examples and what is
taught in the home and school could be seen as learning to walk. It is the basics of what we need
in life. It helps us to understand the world. Then we are exposed to literature, which will come
from people outside of our home and schools. This will expose us to new ideas, problems, and
solutions. This is how we begin to run. Through reading literature that represents the world in
both the good and the evil and helps us overcome it, is what makes us run with grace and good
form.
Evil is Always There and Must be Confronted
Though we may learn to run, the thing that is important to understand is that we cannot
run from evil. Not talking about a problem does not make it go away. If rape is never talked
about and subsequently how to deal with, overcome, or change it, then we simply become blind
and ignorant about a problem. Rape will still happen. No problem, issue, or evil has ever been

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overcome by the uneducated. Throughout history celebrated rebellions such as the American
Revolution the French Revolution, and the Reformation were led by well-read, well-educated
men. Philosophers from every way of thinking are able to think on the level that they do because
they understand the evil and want to create solutions for dealing with it. All of this can be read
about in all form of literature.
Closing
I have read so many books, each dealing with a different kind of evil in different ways.
Each book has affected me in different ways and led me to new avenues of thinking and living. I
couldnt imagine my life without the books I have escaped into. This is all due to the way those
authors wrote their books. They included evils I was both familiar and unfamiliar with, and they
taught me to look toward the good and helped me overcome my own problems.
Writers are the ones the help shape the world. They write about good, evil, and
everything in between. They represent the world in all its glory and ugliness, all so that they can
help the reader. The reader can glean how to recognize subtle evils and how to overcome them.
Through writing we share ideas, thoughts, opinions, cultures, and knowledge about all topics.
This should not be limited by fear of offense or misunderstanding. We cannot grow and learn if
we do not seek to understand all that is in our world, evil included.

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Works Cited
ALA. "Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books Lists of the 21st Century." Office for Intellectual
Freedom, American Library Association. 2014. Web. 11 Feb. 2016
Berkeley, David, and Donald Eidson. The Theme of Henry IV, Part I. Shakespeare Quarterly
19.1. 1968. 2531. JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2016
Blunt, Tom. "The Maze Onscreen: Q&A with 'The Maze Runner' Author James Dashner." 2014.
signature-reads.com. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Card, Orson Scott. "The Problem with Evil in Fiction." Card, Orson Scott. A Storyteller in Zion.
Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1993. 69-98. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Coelho, Paulo. Brainyquotes.com, 2016. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Cox, John. "The Medieval Background of Measure for Measure." Modern Philology 1983. 1-13.
JSTOR. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Freeman, Morgan. Freeman on Black History Mike Wallace. CBS News, 2006. Web. 11 Feb.
2016.
Garnett, Wilma Leslie. "Why Read?" The Elementary English Review 19.4. 1942. 122-46 JSTOR
. Web. 1 Feb. 2016.
Jewell, Richard. Experiencing the Humanities. 2006. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Lucas Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Frank Oz. 1999.
DVD. 2016.
Maguire, Gregory. "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."
HarperCollins, 1995. brainyquotes.com. Web. 11 Feb. 2016.
Lucas Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Frank Oz. 1999.
DVD. 2016.
Brother Bird class lecture

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JK Rowling Harry Potter Series