Evil, as defined by Merriam-Webster: the fact of suffering, misfortune, and wrongdoing. It is a word we learn when we are very young; a word we used to describe the monsters and villains of our imagination; a word to describe what lurks in the darkest corners of the world. But what is evil? We see evil as something innate in people or characters, and evil is an important subject in the development of our morality. Children grow up reading stories and watching movies and television with clearly defined heroes and villains: Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella and her stepmother, Harry Potter and Voldemort, the Fellowship of the Ring and Sauron, and Tom and Jerry. The struggle between good and evil is a pillar of most religions …show more content…
The Lion King takes inspiration from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but obviously does not include the morally complex characters present in Hamlet. In the film, the difference is shown in the comparison between Mufasa and Scar: Mufasa is the benevolent king of the Pridelands, and Scar is his jealous brother who plots to kill and overthrow him. Mufasa teaches Simba the importance of leadership and responsibility, and Scar tricks Simba into believing that his father’s death was his fault. The Pridelands were bright and lively under Mufasa’s reign, and under Scar’s rule, the Pridelands are barren and dead. The kingdom was a reflection of its …show more content…
Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Almost everyone knows the basic story: a quest to destroy the One Ring, a creation of the evil Sauron. The way Tolkien describes the Shire and Mordor show clear cut differences between the inherent good and the malevolent evil: the Shire is a place where nothing ever happens, where the grass is green, the celebrations are festive, and the residents live long happy lives. The dark, dangerous, volcanic Mordor is the home of all manner of monsters, including, but not limited to, Orcs, Uruk-hai, the giant spider Shelob, and the dark lord Sauron. Readers feel at ease when the story is set in the Shire, and the heroes are constantly threatened in