In this week's reading, Eagleton, author of On Evil, delves into fictional works to help illustrate evil. He starts with William Golding's Pincher Martin, a short novel about a man who denies death itself. The setting is upon a deserted island whose sole inhabitant is Christopher Martin. Eagleton explains how Martin feels estranged from his own body and is merely using it for survival on the desolate isle. He explains that, "Evil involves a split between body and spirit-between an abstract will to dominate and destroy, and the meaningless piece of flesh that this will inhabits" (Eagleton 21). The novel also reveals that, in his life, Martin had viewed others' fleshy bodies as a means to fulfill his own desires and is now ironically serving for his wickedness in a purgatory-like environment. Perhaps this is to depict evil as pure selfishness.
Then, another of Golding's novels, The Inheritors, is analyzed. There are two tribes in the book: one who is animal-like and one who has developed linguistic skills. The second tribe has "made the crucial transition to conceptual abstraction and technology. And this involves developing more deadly weapons" (Eagleton 30). This would imply that, as humans continue to evolve and "cut its bonds with Nature", they leave the innocence of beasts and enter into a world of unstable freedom. I feel like Eagleton wanted to express that there is a reoccurring evil in all humans. Raw desire and genuine self-centeredness seem to be traits of evil, especially if the individual is given absolute freedom.
Then, another of Golding's novels, The Inheritors, is analyzed. There are two tribes in the book: one who is animal-like and one who has developed linguistic skills. The second tribe has "made the crucial transition to conceptual abstraction and technology. And this involves developing more deadly weapons" (Eagleton 30). This would imply that, as humans continue to evolve and "cut its bonds with Nature", they leave the innocence of beasts and enter into a world of unstable freedom. I feel like Eagleton wanted to express that there is a reoccurring evil in all humans. Raw desire and genuine self-centeredness seem to be traits of evil, especially if the individual is given absolute freedom.
Do all humans really possess a barbaric evil inside them? I don't enjoy hurting or controlling others. I don't want to crush a person's resolve or ridicule them in order to feel a sense of "superiority". Do you guys know anyone like this or are like this yourself? I know they exist but I don't want to believe that it exists in all of us.
The chapter doesn't end there and Eagleton considers many more writings, but only Golding's novels made it in the reading for this week. On Evil seems to be more of a very lengthy discussion rather than something organized by topic. He switches between arguments rapidly and I have to reread paragraphs in order to make complete sense of it. Nonetheless, the book is enjoyable and it is becoming increasingly hard to repress my desire to read the whole thing in one sitting.
The chapter doesn't end there and Eagleton considers many more writings, but only Golding's novels made it in the reading for this week. On Evil seems to be more of a very lengthy discussion rather than something organized by topic. He switches between arguments rapidly and I have to reread paragraphs in order to make complete sense of it. Nonetheless, the book is enjoyable and it is becoming increasingly hard to repress my desire to read the whole thing in one sitting.