In  tthe  S

Shadow   

RL of Shakespeare 
— Do You Think There            
is Evil in Everyone? –

REFORM June 2009, Number 1

LITERATURE

The Presence of
Evil in Humankind

Little Bad
Seed in Us
Index
• Devil vs. Angel? / İpek Şapçı..……………………………………….…………………….. 1
• Evil in Us / Egenur Bakıner ……………………………………………...………………… 3
• Little Bad Seed in Us / Dilara Şahin ……………………………………………..………... 4
• Evil does not Live in the Cave Borneo/ Ceren Burçak Dağ …………………………….. 6
• The Nature of Human Beings / Gözde Kavak …………………………………………… 9
• The Presence of Evil in Humankind / Romina Azoz ………………………………….. 11

REFORM LITERATURE
Special Supplement of Reform

June 2009, Number 4

Designer
Erkut Deral

Periodicalists
İpek Şapçı, Egenur Bakıner, Dilara Şahin,
Gözde Kavak, Romina Azoz, Ceren Burçak Dağ

Communication
reform.isiklisesi@hotmail.com
 DEVIL VS ANGEL?
OR IS IT JUST THE DEVIL HIDING
BEHIND THE ANGEL?
Everyone should be careful about their choices because the evil hiding
behind the angel can easily overcome the angel and one day you can
look in the mirror and see a tail and horns but not two beautiful wings.
In every culture and society there is a clear
distinction of evil and good. People, their habits,
behaviors and also people themselves are always
evaluated under these two main adjectives: Evil and
good. It is one of the most popular problems human
nature dealt with and is still dealing with. A lot of
books were written, a lot of movies were made on
the eternal battle of good and evil. Despite the
distinction, it has always been a question whether
everyone is only good or evil. Mostly people think
that evil is present in everyone because it is not
possible for someone to be as innocent, pure and
good as an angel. Everyone has some dark, evil
side and the main issue is controlling it, so there is
not such a thing that good people never do bad
stuff; good people have the potential to be evil but
they can control themselves and this makes them
good. In the famous play “Macbeth”, this is one of
the main themes. Shakespeare mainly discusses if
evil is present in everyone or not. I believe that it is.
In the play, the main character Macbeth is the
main symbol of evil. People believe that the difficult
situation, the manipulation of the witches and Lady
Macbeth made Macbeth evil, he was good at the
beginning and he didn’t have any bad intentions.
For example, when he first heard the prophecy he
decided not to do anything to make it happen, if it
happens, then it will. But after Lady Macbeth talked
with him and convinced him to commit the murders,
his opinion changed. The quote: “Look like the
innocent flower but be the serpent under it”
1
İpek ŞAPÇI
represents Macbeth’s situation pretty well. I totally
disagree with those opinions, because I don’t think
Macbeth could be evil when he was totally pure
before. There was evil present in him; he only didn’t
notice that because a person can’t murder someone
because of fulfilling words of a woman or
manipulation. If someone commits such a big crime
then there’s definitely evil present in them. Just like
in Macbeth’s situation; he was very happy to catch a
tyrant in the very beginning of the play. Then the
prophecy awakened his ambitions and also the evil
part of him. As a result of having a weak character
and weak moral values, Macbeth was easily
manipulated by his evil side. For example, when he
realizes how far he went, he thinks for a moment
about giving up all the things he did, but then he
decides that he has already stepped in so far and
his evil side prevented him from being good again.
In addition to the main character Macbeth,
Banquo also shows us that evil is present in
everyone. Despite my opinion, some say that
Banquo doesn’t show any evil intentions. They
advocate that he was always a good man and he
didn’t want to do anything even after hearing the
prophecy. For instance, he knows that the words the
witches said may affect him in a way that he doesn’t
want, so he is cautious and he doesn’t pay attention
to those words. He knew what might happen and he
wanted to stay as an honorable man. I don’t look at
the events the same way that the people who
believe he is good do. I think even in Banquo there
is evil present. He is just hiding the devil behind his
angelic appearance. Also he, the best character in
the book has some evil deeds. He thinks about
doing something to make the prophecy happen, but
then he realizes it is just the manipulation of the
witches and that they can not be trusted. So he fires
the evil thoughts from his head and is an optimistic
honorable man again. For example in some part of
the play, he says “But hush! No more!” It is clearly
shown here that he has an evil part deep inside his
soul but because of the strong character and the
distinct separation of rights and wrongs he has, he
doesn’t let that evil part defeat the good one. I think
this is exactly the behaviour that a decent person
should have.
2
Finally, it is subject to argument whether
everyone is actually evil or not. I believe everyone
has an evil part but it depends on the choice, the
character of the people to be evil or not. If a person
chooses to be good then, no force can make that
person bad. But, if someone is slightly near to the
bad side, then they can easily become a bad
person, because evil is there but it is not an option.
It depends on the personality. In addition to that, I
think everyone should be careful about their choices
because the evil hiding behind the angel can easily
overcome the angel and one day you can look in the
mirror and see a tail and horns, not two beautiful
wings.
EVIL IN US
In the play “Macbeth”, the reader can easily
focus on the theme of evil. Somebody can think that
an evil spirit is present in everyone in the play and in
real life, somebody can support the opposite idea.
Therefore the theme “evil” is really an interesting
theme to talk about. I’m one of the readers who
think evil is present in everyone in the play and in
real life. I think every human being has bad and
good sides and the bad side includes the evil spirit
too.
Present fears, are less than
horrible imaginings. My
thought, whose murder yet
is but fantastical, shakes so
my single state of man that
function smother’d in
surmise, and nothing is but
what is not.
There may be so many readers who think that
evil isn’t present in everyone. They claim that idea
since they have examples to give. They can say
Macbeth is innocent, evil isn’t present in him,
however he wants to prove himself to his wife and
he murders people just for this reason. They have a
point in thinking like that. However I think a quote in
Act 1, scene 3 can easily persuade them: “Present
fears, are less than horrible imaginings. My thought,
whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my
single state of man that function smother’d in
surmise, and nothing is but what is not.” In this
scene the readers haven’t met Lady Macbeth and
Macbeth thinks about a murder. On the other hand,
opponents of this idea can claim that evil isn’t
present in Macbeth, he’s just an ambitious man and
he tries to be successful. I can’t agree with this idea.
In Act 3, scene 5 Macbeth says: “All causes shall
give way, I am in blood, steep’d in so far that should
I wade no more, returning werw as tedious as go
3
Egenur BAKINER
o’er.” This quote shows us how he accepts the
situation. He thinks he’s got so much blood on his
hand that it doesn’t make a difference if he goes on
or stops committing crimes. It’s not ambition, it’s
greed, and greed has evil. So I think after seeing
this evidence, there is no way we can agree with
what they say.
The ones who think that evil isn’t present in
everyone put forward this idea because they have
the “Banquo” example. They think evil isn’t present
in Banquo, he’s loyal, honest and not greedy at all. I
have to admit they’re right about it. Banquo has a
great personality. However, in Act 3 scene 1,
Banquo talks to himself about Macbeth and the
murder. He doesn’t want to be influenced by his
own thoughts and he says: “Hush, no more.” It
shows the reader that Banquo has an evil side too,
but he can control it. He’s not 100% pure and
innocent, it’s just about controll. On the other hand, I
can give the example as “Lady Macbeth”. Nobody
would expect evil behaviour from a woman,
however Lady Macbeth is the worst person in the
play. In Act 1, scene 5 she says: “That tend on
mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the
crown to the toetopfull...”. If a woman, the person
who milks the baby, who is supposed to have a soft
nature says that, then evil is really present in
everyone. So we can easily understand that their
argument is irrelevant.
In the play, the theme of evil is a focus point.
Banquo’s good personality, Macbeth’s will to prove
himself to his wife can lead the reader think evil isn’t
present in everyone. I’m one of the readers who think
evil is present in everyone since even a great person
like Banquo has an evil side, and as a woman, Lady
Macbeth, has an evil side. Opponents of this idea
have some points, but in the end as William Golding
says: “Everyone, who is not understanding that man
produces evil as a bee produces honey must be blind
or wrong in his head.”
LITTLE BAD SEEN IN US
Dilara ŞAHİN

Evil takes action with an impulsive movement…

William Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, is Opponents of this idea may say that there is
about a man who is tempted by evil forces. This not any badness in human nature. The social
made him do horrible things and finally ruined his surrounding is the cause of evil actions of men.
life. But was that evil force interior or exterior. Are Problems in their life are what make people do
all human beings born with pure goodness or is bad things. These problems could be about
there an evil seed planted in all of us? This economical situation, life standards, family, etc.
question has been the subject of many other For example, in big cities crime rates are higher
novels, too. K. M. Ballantyne’s novel “The Coral in than ghettos. People who live in places like
Island” is a novel which was written to show that that are more likely to commit crimes, like in
all people are good inside. After that William Harlem in New York or Esenyurt in İstanbul.
Golding wrote a novel, “Lord of the Flies”, to However problems in society are not the cause of
prove the claim that there is evil in everyone. I evil actions, they only awaken the evil part of
agree with William Golding about human nature. I humans. Evil takes action with an impulsive
think that human beings have both good and bad movement. There are some triggers which will
sides. make someone show his or her bad side. These
could be money, power, love,
sexual desires, etc. For
example, in Macbeth what
affected Lady Macbeth and
Macbeth was their desires to
be the king and the queen.
After they heard the prophecies
they couldn’t enjoy Macbeth’s
new title which was a great
success. They only thought
about coming to a higher
position. Macbeth says, “Stars,
hide your fires; Let not light see
my black and deep desires.” As
we can understand from this
quote it was their desires for
power which triggered the evil
part in them. Also when
Macbeth changed his mind
about killing Duncan, Lady

4
Macbeth influenced him by questioning his love leader. But this camp was very different then the
for her, his bravery and his manliness. The old one. There was no democracy. The only rule
second trigger was saving his dignity and proving was to obey the chief without questioning.
that he is a real man. So when people’s desires “Roger: He is going to beat Wilfred.
overtake moral values and rules that can cause Bill: What for?
them to do horrible things like committing crimes. R: I don’t know. He didn’t say. He got angry
People who believe that human beings are and made us tie Wilfred up.
completely good may use Tao philosophy to B: But did the chief said why?
prove their claim. According to Tao philosophy R: I never heard him.”
people are good when they come to life but the This is a dialog between two members of this
society and the government are the cause of all camp. It explains the tyranny in that camp clearly.
evil. If you try to control or limit people, you’ll Also day by day Jack’s camp became stronger
cause them turn from good to bad. If you leave and finally he decided to kill Ralph and he almost
people on their own they will build a civilized succeeded. So if there are no rules or social
society on their own. Also Banquo’s actions could conditioning to limit human beings, even children
be an example for that. In the play after hearing can do evil things.
the prophecies Banquo could have killed Duncan All in all, humankind has both goodness and
too. In this way he could be sure that his children badness inside. It will be wrong to say that
would be kings. But he didn’t take action like someone is totally good or evil. It depends on a
Macbeth and left it to fate. Did he do that person’s character and social surrounding to
because of his pure nature or was something determine which one will be more dominant,
else affecting him? I think there is an evil part in because some people can be affected easily,
Banquo, too, like every human being. He didn’t they choose the simple way, to be cruel.
take action against Duncan because of his
loyalty. Also, according to their beliefs, the king
was assigned by God. So he was representing
God on earth and murdering him was the biggest
crime and sin. In general, we can say that people
don’t show their evil part because in society evil
is not considered normal. Laws, ethics rules and
religion limit us. If we put some people on a
deserted island, where there are no rules, they
will all show their evil sides one by one. For
example, “The Lord of the Flies” is about a group
of kids who crashed on an island. They first
choose Ralph, the oldest boy, as leader. He tried
to keep acting in a civilized way. He arranged
meetings and made rules. But then another boy,
Jack, organized another camp where he was the

5
EVIL DOES NOT LIVE IN THE CAVE BORNEO1
“I’m here on the ground with my nose in it since
all the thing began!” says Al Pacino in the role of
Satan in Devil’s Advocate. So, could we ask
ourselves where this evil is hiding since the
beginning? In the caves? Maybe the Cave Borneo,
in the deepest hollow of all the Earth? Is it so far
away from us? Or let us think about the total
contrast of it: What if evil is closer than we suppose?
What if it sits in the house of your neighbor? Or
what do you say if you find it one day inside you?
Now it is the time to be transmitted to the essential
case: To be honest Macbeth was a very loyal and
noble subject of his king; however he killed him with
“I’m here on the ground
with my nose in it since
all the thing began!” says
Al Pacino in the role of
Satan in Devil’s Advocate.
a sudden prophecy without judging too much,
instead of it, listening to the call of his ambition. As
per it is a little bit crazy to imagine that evil
supervenes from Cave Borneo to reach its task in
Macbeth’s soul, we’d be better off considering the
evil that is born and will die with Macbeth. Although
this intro gives the reader a little clue about the
structure of the article, it is significant to emphasize
that an article develops as a “scientific theory”.
Namely, that means “after a hypothesis is tested, it
is decided to be accepted or not. Due to this fact,
science does not aim only to find the truth but to be
wrong in this path and rearrange itself too.”
When it is glanced to the 100 % pure characters
in literature, we encounter some of them naturally.
Actually these kinds of characters, the ones who
only shelter the goodness inside themselves, are
the members of Romanticism. In romantic pieces it
is significant to realize that there are two main colors
in the plot which are totally-white and totally-black.
Ceren Burçak DAĞ
These plots do not include intermediate tones as it
is seen. For example, in Turkish Literature Ahmet
Mithat’s novels such as “Mr.Felatun and Sir.Rakım”
shows these kinds of specialties. Ahmet Mithat
ornaments Sir Rakım with all the good signs and Sir
Rakım does not do anything degenerated morally in
the plot. But on contrast of him Mr. Felatun has the
worst human sides and consequently a dirty life.
This scheme points out the theme of “the excess
difference between goodness and evil” and
supporters of this theme naturally put forward an
idea that the evil is a concept which could not live in
a place where goodness exists. However,
opponents of the thought of “evil is in every one”
miss a point in the comprehension of movements. It
is obvious that the world literature creates the
opposite pole of an idea. Thus, we see the
succession of Realism after Romanticism in the
history. In the contrast of romantics, here realism
announces that there will be no “idealism” but
“description of what there is”. This statement shows
it clearly enough that a realist should put all the
things in his hand in the soup and to achieve this it
is necessary to give up the exact differences
between good and evil.
 Because a human is composed of nature which
is smelled “dialectic” from every corner of it. And
dialectic means “the mixture of evil and good” at the
same time as well as infinite change in nature.
Therefore a character should have an intermediate
color instead of black and white. For instance, Leo
Tolstoy from Russian Literature sets up a character
Anna Karenina in the plot of “Anna Karenina”.
Although the reader could criticize some sides of
her character in the novel, also the reader could
easily approve of some of her behavior through the
book. It strongly exhibits the existences of good and
evil in the same person. Here at this point it is
noteworthy to mention that realism is a movement
which was formed by the scientific revelations in the
19.century era. Hence the realism movement is the
closest literature movement to the scientific method
and its search of certainty. Now if our aim is to find
what the truth is about evil and goodness in a
human, then it is obviously clear that science has
taken its side on the “description of human in an
objective way”. As a result of this first discussion,
the evil lives in every human being and this
specialty gives a gray tone to human which guides
us to the criteria of choosing evil and good from the
dialectic pool of humanity.
A human is composed of nature which is smelled
“dialectic” from every corner of it.
Moreover, if we look deep into the characters of
play called “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare, we
could have an idea about the relation between evil
and goodness in humans with more certainty. A
shallow view to Macbeth gives the reader a feeling
that the characters represent evil or goodness not
both of them. The supporters of “evil is not in every
one while goodness is not in every one as well” put
forward this idea based on Macbeth; because some
characters are struck with excess situations in the
play. For example, Lady Macbeth prays to evil
spirits and says “Come, you spirits that tend on
mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the
crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty…” or again
the one who sets up a plot for King Duncan is Lady
7
Macbeth: “…Look like th’innocent flower, but be the
serpent under’t.” Some replicas from the play shows
us the exact separation between good and evil
characters such as “Stars hide your fires, let not
light see my black and deep desires…” Besides this,
they claim that pure people exist just like evil ones;
since in Macbeth we do not see any degenerated
behavior in Banquo and Macduff. For another
instance, William Golding creates a character from
pure goodness called Simon in “the Lord of the
Flies.” On the other hand; it is essential for an
objective point of view to analyze thought-action
relationship and the critical point between them. The
good actions of Banquo does not point that there is
no evil thought or suspicion in his mind. Not to
reflect the evil into acts is just a sign of a logically-
considering and judging process. Even we could
see the conversations of Banquo and evil in his
mind: “…a heavy summons lies like lead upon me,
and yet I would not sleep; merciful powers, restrain
in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to
in repose.” This statement clearly shows escape
endorses of Banquo from evil. If we should prove
the character that Golding forms is not pure-good
character, we should reference the Chapter 8 “Gift
for the Darkness”. Here Simon encounters with the
Lord of the Flies, namely evil and he understands
that he could have a piece of evil too. This fact
causes him to faint. Furthermore, Macbeth decides
not to kill Duncan after a judging period by himself.
He puts the reasonable causes (such as trust, being
a loyal subject and kinsman, etc.) and listens to the
goodness inside him. But the one who reveals the
evil in Macbeth, Lady Macbeth again persuades him
with her tricky words. Hence, the opponents assert
to the totally-evil side of Lady Macbeth to prove their
thesis. To a certain extent they are right because it
is “nearly” impossible to see a good side in her. But
an analytical look could solve this problem as in the
quotes of Lady Macbeth: “Had he not resembled my
father as he slept, I had done’t.” This sentence
shows us the inner conflict of Lady Macbeth which
is a case between her evil and goodness. She is evil
enough to prepare to commit a murder but also is
good enough to compare Duncan to her father and
decide not to kill him by herself. After seeing this
evidence, there is no way we can agree with what
they say. As a result of this, it is quite possible to
find a piece of goodness in the most evil person as
well as to find evil in a good person, as in the
philosophy of yin-yang.
In conclusion of all discussion on evil in humans,
it is apparent that there is evil in every mother-born
person. This is not an obligation but a natural result
of nature, because nature itself has its own dialectic
and in this kind of natural logic, a pole cannot live
without its opposite pole. In these limits, to be just
good and pure is not in the borders of “human
definition.” Thus, every single person has evil inside
him and to dominate it is the specialty that
differentiates people.

1
Cave Borneo is the biggest hollow of the Earth

8
THE NATURE OF HUMAN BEINGS
Most of the time, evil deceives us by showing to
take the easiest and shortest way, but it is not
always safe to follow up the short cuts.
All the living things have some common
points, such as breathing, being mortal, moving
actively or with in an inactive way …etc, but there
is a specialty that only human kind has which is
the ability of using our minds. With experiences,
the mind gains the knowledge of what is good
and evil. So you can not be aware of good if you
have not faced evil yet. Human beings are such
complex mechanisms that I believe every single
one of us has evil inside as well as having good.
First of all having the evil inside might sound
so unnatural to some people and they might
claim that there is a power outside that tempts
people to do unpleasant things. Generally, we
human beings do not like to take responsibility for
what we have done wrong, so it is not too
awkward to give responsibilities to an outside
power. For example, in some religions people
believe in a legend which God created a man
called Adam, then a woman called Eve and a tree
that he forbade them to eat the fruit of. One day
Eve persuaded Adam to have that fruit, then he
did and God punished them. So somebody might
maintain that how could we blame Adam when
Eve made him steal the fruit, and how could evil
be in Adam? He just did what Eve wished him to
do. To a certain extent they are right. However if
Adam does not want to have the fruit too, there
would be no way for him to do that. It was the evil
inside that made fruit so attractive for them.
Addition to that, even the most innocent person
could think of something bad even if he or she
does not put it into action, having the thought of
badness will also prove the existence of evil in
9
Gözde KAVAK
him or her. For instance, some people carry a
knife or a gun to protect themselves when it is
needed. Maybe they have not used it yet, but
they are carrying it in order to use it someday
maybe to protect themselves from a thief. It is still
not okay to kill or harm somebody. All in all, even
a newborn babe has evil inside that shows itself
when the time comes.
Addition to that, those who are against the
idea of existence of evil in everybody, may say
that how could the order of natural will stay, when
evil is in everyone. They put forward this idea
because the good seems less powerful when we
compare it to the evil, in order to tempt people’s
mind. For example, in the play “Macbeth” which is
one of the most famous tragedies of William
Shakespeare, at the beginning of the play,
Macbeth looks like a really successful, loyal
warrior. Nobody has a thought about how he
could turn into a traitor. You can not believe how
such a nice man could have evil inside, but just
like the witches said “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.”
Which means appearance can not be trusted,
what seems good can be evil inside, but they
have a point of thinking like that because they
think that Macbeth’s greed made him such a
cruel man, not evil. However, what we are
discussing here is neither greed nor too much
ambition, but we also know that the evil inside
can cause people to become greedy. For
instance, Lady Macbeth got too ambitious about
the thought of becoming the wife of the king.
When she heard about the prophecies that the
weird sisters made, she told the evil spirits in her
“Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts,
unsex me here, make thick my blood. ” This
shows us that Lady Macbeth is aware of the evil
inside of people and she used that evil power to
reach her goal. She also manipulated the evil
inside Macbeth to encourage him about the
committing the murder of King Duncan. Shortly,
people have evil inside that makes them potential
sinners.
As a conclusion, there is evil present in
everyone, but what makes a person good is to
know how to take control of that evil spirit, and
direct it. Most of the time the evil deceives us by
showing to take the easiest and shortest way, but
it is not always safe to follow up the short cuts.
Do not change your way once you believe it is the
right one, and never forget to think about the
consequences of your actions and the help of
using the talent of reason for making right
decisions.
10
THE PRESENCE OF EVIL IN HUMANKIND
“What an evil person!” we say to ourselves after
we see somebody doing something wicked or any
person who is offering a seat to an old one becomes
the symbol of kindness in our eyes. After seeing
people’s behaviors in society, it has became a quick
response to classify them into good or bad. But
what is evil? Where does it come from? How did it
develop in us? Has anybody asked or got curious
about, I wonder. Evil is one of the personal
specialties which has a huge role in forming our
characters. Is it present in all of us? It’s a
complicated question whether we have it or not. The
things that shouldn’t be forgotten are that evil is one
of the elements of human nature and with the
effects of environment it’s not possible to say we
don’t have it.
As being the most complex creations in the
universe, human beings have a psychological
backcloth besides physical ground. Think of that like
a soup, all the qualities have been donated to
humans from God, a little bit of honesty, some
jealousy, a little kindness and some of that
meanness etc. In some of them the most harmful
and dangerous one “evil” can be passed out and
those people won’t have the quality of evil in any
part of their lives. These are known to be the
prophets, the holy men who are the symbol of
goodness and its derivatives. Another example for
pure goodness can be the ones who believed in
mysticism. According to their belief people like
Yunus Emre, Mevlana or Yusuf Has Hacib didn’t
contain any feeling of evil in their hearts and only in
this way they could reach God, which was their
biggest will, ideas may say. However, when looking
at the situation with a more realistic way it’s seen
that evil is one of the elements of human nature, it
has been put in that soup like every other
characteristic. It comes from the birth and develops
in our structure throughout the time we grow. It’s up
to us whether to arouse those feelings of evil or to
control ourselves. Everybody can carry evil thoughts
11
Romina AZOZ
in their minds but the important thing is to act wisely
by not putting those thoughts into action. In that way
you wriggle yourself away from the evil ones and at
that time you become virtuous. For example, if
someone is more successful at painting than you, if
you choose to tear his or her canvas into pieces
then you couldn’t chip the evil in you, on the other
hand if you realize that by doing that you won’t get
anything and that person will keep continuing being
successful eventually, you don’t have the signs of
evil in your actions. Another example from
Shakespeare’s famous play “Macbeth” can be the
character Banquo himself. The most important
reason for creating such a character like him by
Shakespeare is to show the difference between the
good and evil. From this quotation; “Why by the
verities on thee made good, may they not be my
oracles as well and set me up in hope? But hush, no
more.” it’s obvious that Banquo has evil thoughts in
his mind like Macbeth but he chooses to believe in
God, obey the nature and leave those prophecies to
fate. Unlike Macbeth he used his intelligence and
wisdom with his bravery and managed to prevent
himself from doing evil actions. As a conclusion,
being evil is one of the basic properties of mankind;
the separation between good and evil ones is to
have an autocontrol mechanism.
Everyone is an individual and has their own
thoughts. People who are not evil are born pure
innocent and continue to live like that, they don’t get
impressed or affected by their environment, they are
one hundred percent good. For example you can’t
make a good person betray anyone, he or she
would immediately stand against for that and fight
for their thoughts, some may think. On the other
hand, the huge effect of environment can not be
ignored. People who are weak can get influenced
very quickly. A person’s character development
depends on the place where he or she lives and
who he or she lives with. For example, if a person
lives with someone who is always saying evil things,
there is a huge possibility that this person would
think about those evil things. Another example from
the play called “Macbeth” is Lady Macbeth’s evil
effects on her husband. She literally wakes up
Macbeth’s evil thoughts after he has already been
Another example for pure goodness can be the ones
who believed in mysticism.
influenced by the wicked witches already. She uses
the language in the most persuasive way such as
calling him a coward or sissy and emphasizes the
importance of manliness by accusing him of not
being a man. “When you durst do it, then you were
a man.” she says to Macbeth when he gives up their
killing plan. She even connects this matter with their
love and uses her womanly powers to impress
Macbeth. “From this time, such I account thy love.”
she says. Looking at all of her expressions it’s seen
that she triggers the evil in her husband. As a result,
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environmental effects have an importance on the
people’s characteristics, especially weak people can
be influenced from the others very quickly and
follow the path of evil in their lives.
When you look deeply at the psychology of
humans, it’s clearly seen no matter what amount,
there is an evil presence in every one. Otherwise
there wouldn’t be a life circle which keeps changing
from day to day. Making the choice of being evil or
not is up to us, we can choose to shave those
feelings or close our ears to other people’s voices
which call for evil desires whereas others can add
other evil thought on and on into their minds and
listen to the people around them. What will your
choice be?