Good vs. Evil
“We want to know whether the universe simply happens to be what it is for no reason or whether
there is a power behind it that makes it what it is.”
-C.S. Lewis
Lewis states that the universe is something that just exists and we humans just play a role
in its existence. He questions whether there truly is a power or a creator that exists beyond the
universe that created everything as we know it. Lewis’ works explain this theory, but ultimately the
question lies with the reader and what he or she believes. How was the Earth created? Were
there Gods that created the world? What defines good and evil?
The dictionary meaning of good is morally excellent, virtuous, and righteous. Good is
defined as something that improves yourself or your community. The problem with the dictionary
meaning of good is that it is extremely bear and does not set out a guideline or a list of what
exactly good is. The same follows for the dictionary meaning of evil, which is morally wrong or
bad, immoral, and wicked. Evil is something that is defined as something that weakens the
community. Determining what good and evil are essentially the major question to all humanity,
because everyone has his or her own depiction, of what good and evil is, just as everyone has their
own depiction of the creation of Earth.
Stating the difference between good and evil is much more than this status of who are the
heroes and villains, but instead is an internal and external conflict between oneself. In Beowulf, the
main character Beowulf represents the archetype of this hero that embarks on this adventure to
fight evil. The hero is characterized by his courage, strength, and hardship and ultimately is this
symbol of good. Beowulf left his familiar home to travel across the sea to save the Danes from a
monster called Grendel. Beowulf is this example of how there are good people and how there are
evil people. Each character portrays this idea of good and evil based on the task in which they
complete. There is a fine line of what good and evil exactly is because Beowulf portrays this good
figure and Grendel portrays this evil figure, but not all ideas of good and evil are obviously stated
as an archetype as they were in the book Beowulf.
According to Philip Atkinson1, people do not truly know what evil is, but are able to
recognize evil when they see it. This plays a big role in the book, The Screwtape Letters. In this
book, a young newly founded Christian undergoes temptation by a young devil called Wormwood.
The main theme of this book was to show that Christians see through the devils schemes and
ways of manipulation. Christians know how to cut out the devilish ways of temptation and instead
stay faithful to the truth (God). In this book good and evil are distinguished as good resembling
Heaven and evil resembling Hell. Screwtape allows the reader to picture Hell as this place where
this superior being consumes the weaker ones by tempting them towards Hell.
C.S. Lewis shows the reader how evil fights against good by using the character
Screwtape who wants to steal the souls of humans from his enemy God. Screwtape is a devious
demon that sends letters to his nephew Wormwood to help him towards his job of manipulating the
lives of Christians, but the Christians repel the attacks by dying as a believer of God. Screwtape is
good at what he does and acts as the mentor in the book, he has a different task that Wormwood
needs to do and tells the young demon exactly how to change the thoughts of the patient. The
main motives behind the demon’s acts are to distort the emotions, the imagination, and the
1
Philip Atkinson stated the idea that the idea of good and evil is felt rather than recognized. This idea
came from a lecture he attended from Paul Wilson.
Christian will. It’s almost as if everything is fine one minute, but then everything changes when the
spotlight moves to the evil acts around you or that you once were forced to cope with. The demons
do this in order to make the patient question things and to alter the way images are pictured in your
mind into dark and unhappy thoughts. Wormwood becomes the patient’s conscience. Wormwood
was ordered to make the patient lose feelings for his mother by putting a stop to the patient’s
prayer; he did this by tempting him allowing his imagination to run wild with all of the negative
thoughts of the patient’s mother. By doing this, the patient begins to question everything, which is
what the demons want, because temptation ultimately allows the Christian to stray from the truth.
The patient is an ordinary man living in England during World War 2. The patient is a new
believer of God and is apprehensive about the war because he is eventually called to duty, and
ends up dying a fighter. This is symbolic because a patient is kind of like a test dummy and the
patient was indeed a test for the new demon Wormwood. The patient undergoes a variety of
mental test that make him stronger, but his mind was scattered at this time because he had so
much on his mind, and war really brings out the good or evil character in someone, so the setting
played a big role in the patient’s temptation towards Hell. Towards the end of the book Screwtape
begins to get hostile because Wormwood has failed with tempting the patient towards Hell. “You
have let a soul slip through your fingers. The howl of sharpened famine for that loss re-echoes at
this moment through all the levels of the Kingdom of Noise down to the very Throne itself.”2 This
quote really describes how the patient was merely just a job to Wormwood but meant much more
to Screwtape.
This relates to the story Adam and Eve. In the book Genesis, this serpent tempts Eve to
eat from the tree of knowledge telling her that she will become more like God, but God has told her
that the fruit from this tree is forbidden. Eve was tempted and ate the fruit who also shared the
forbidden fruit with Adam. Just as the patient was tempted to loose feelings towards his mother
and the friendship the patient had gained from other patients. The ultimate goal for the demons is
to tempt them away from God. The serpent did this to Eve because he was trying to upset God by
her doings. God was indeed upset, but forgives so he punished the two by making them aware of
their nakedness and simply asked the two why they ate from the tree of knowledge. By doing this,
the two were aware of their nakedness and began to question their surroundings, which
Wormwood used as a technique to try to gear the patients towards Hell. This story from the Bible is
a perfect example of the temptations that follow Christians and how good will over come evil and
describes how questioning ones thoughts allows the Christian to be frazzled.
Although Adam and Eve were tempted by the serpent, and the patient was tempted by
Wormwood, not all temptations are lead by demons from Hell. A temptation is something that
looks appealing to someone, so the individual is tempted to indulge in the act. Temptation usually
leads to consequences that then lead to a person regretting their previous actions. Take the
example of a student that cheats on his test in Science. The student is not necessarily cheating
because the devil is tempting them to do so, but instead they are tempted by the fact they would
like to make a decent grade on that test or simply because they don’t know any better.
In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, a young knight battles the green knight. On his way
to battle he stays at a castle. An agreement was made between the young knight and the host,
which stated that they would swap gifts for each day he stayed in the castle. While the host was
hunting for food, the young knight was being tempted by the wife of the host. She tried to seduce
the young knight and on the third day she gave him a girdle, which was supposedly said to protect
2
Quote is pulled from the last letter Screwtape wrote to his nephew Wormwood that explains the
disappointment he had in him for losing the patients soul to the enemy, God.
the young knight during his battle. When time came for the young knight and the host to switch
gifts the knight did not mention the girdle he was given. When the young knight went to battle the
green knight, he was nicked by a sword on the third try which represented him not telling the truth
and not giving the host the girdle. This is a perfect example of how being tempted to do something
will ultimately lead to failure. The young knight was not tempted by a demon, but instead was
tempted by his own intuition to win the battle against the green knight. Wormwood tried to tempt
the patient towards Hell, but the knight was tempted in order for him to learn the fine lines of good
and evil. When one gives their word, they are supposed to follow through with it, but the green
knight did not, he fell to temptation (evil) which could have resulted in being killed, but luckily the
young knight was only being tested.
Other modern works represent the ideas of good and evil. There is a painting in the Sistine
Chapel that the artist Michelangelo was inspired to paint. His inspirations are from the Bible and
how Michelangelo envisioned Christ. In the painting, Christ is in the center of the piece with a
radiant glow of luminescent sunlight shining behind him. Just from these colors, the viewer can
detect that Christ is this father figure that is the ultimate form of good. What comes to your mind
when you think of good? Is it Christ? Christ decides the destiny of the human race, he decides
who he lets plunge into the fiery pits of Hell or who he saves and allows to enter the gates of
Heaven. Michelangelo used these questions to paint Christ who symbolizes this good figure that
does no wrong.
Figuratively speaking, evil is something that can appear when you least expect it,
especially when it is an internal confrontation when your conscience is telling you to do something
you shouldn’t. Ultimately evil is something that cannot have a definition, it is just something that
has to be recognized based on his or her feeling towards the action committed. Wormwood is just
another voice in the patients head, telling him what to do, if you think about it, you have a version
of Wormwood in your head telling you what good and evil is. Evil is something that does not
always seem to be dangerous but it always comes with a consequence just as good usually comes
with some kind of rewards just as the green knight’s reward for defending the king was his life.
Many works portray this idea of good and evil, but it is up to the individual to determine the criteria
behind what good and evil is. Just as Christians follow the Bible to determine the guidelines of
what a good Christian would consider good and what they would consider evil (sin).