One of the most asked questions that have been asked is “Why does evil exist in our society?” What would a world be like if bad things did not occur in our world and our lives? Without the occurrences of these misfortunes, how would we really know what is good about us? Without the significance of death, would life even be cherished and valued as it would be right now? Without evil villains, what would all the super heroes be doing since everything is good? Without the existence of a black and white comparison, our lives would be colorless and meaningless. The reason why evil exists in our society is to bring out its significance to distinct what is good and what is evil such as seen in the novel “Sula” by Toni Morrison so that their would be a clear understanding of how goodness exists and how it should be sought after in society. “Sula” is a novel about the lives of the people who live in the Bottom, which is part of a city called the Medallion. The story revolves mainly around the lives and families of two girls, Nel and Sula.
Sula and Nel have very different backgrounds which provide the bases of contrast and comparison of different themes. They become friends quickly and develop a close friendship bond. They encounter many events throughout their lives that bring out their differences and similarities of their personalities. The significance of their relationship is about how their different personalities fit together to form a complete unit.
The Term Paper on Meaning Of Life One Freedom Good
Arguably one of the most pondered questions in philosophical thought has been, What is the meaning of life? Humans have been put on this earth with the knowledge of self awareness and the ability to manipulate the environments that they inhabit to a greater extent than any other species on the planet. Ultimately one must wonder what purpose there is to one s own existence and define what it means ...
Through the actions of their families and themselves, the battle or balance of good and evil can be declared as a necessity for the town to survive. The many different lifestyles that are chosen by individuals are based upon the differences that are seen between a “good” and “bad” life. Nel was raised with a conservative authority in her household taught by her mother, Helene who was raised by her grandmother, Cecile. Helene’s mother, Rochelle was a Creole prostitute so her grandmother who had a higher regard of good and religious values instead raised Helene.
“The grandmother took Helene away from the soft lights and flowered carpets of the Sundown House and raised her under the dole some eyes of a multicolored Virgin Mary, counseling her to be constantly on guard for any sign of her mother’s wild blood” (17).
Another purpose of these actions toward Helene was because Cecile wanted to avoid having a family reputation such as Sula’s. Sula’s mother and grandmother built a reputation being known as man lovers. They constantly have new lovers without regret or remorse. Nel’s family excluding Rochelle found their moral living values by being aware of a life they would want to avoid. Without having knowledge of different lifestyles, good or evil, no course of action would be pursued in order to obtain an orderly life.
The existence of evil provides the motivation and reasoning of why Helene “shielded Nel from the evils of the world in much the same way her grandmother Cecile shielded her” (pinkmonkeynotes).
The awareness of evil pushes individuals to achieve the opposite to improve upon their lives so they will not succumb to what they fear and abhor. When Sula returned back to the bottom, a series of “bad luck” followed her known as the “plague of Robbins,” that’s what the town claimed to be. Sula was labeled as a source of evil or evil itself because of her lifestyle.
Such things she did were ruining the marriage of a couple, having white lovers, dressing unfashionably to the town and also driving away her grandmother to a nursing home. The more mishaps that occurred around the bottom, the town pointed them towards a sign of evil. “Once the source of personal misfortune was identified, they had leave to protect and love one another. They began to cherish their husbands and wives, protect their children, repair their homes and in general band together against the devil in their midst” (118).
The Essay on Cost of the Good Life
Overall wellbeing, an extravagant lifestyle, and wealth all come to mind when I ponder the good life but what does the good life actually cost? At first glance, this seems like a loaded question that requires multiple dissertations in order to answer. I even contemplated whether or not the good life had a cost at all. Breaking the good life into separate topics relieves much of the stress when it ...
The dwelling presence of an evil source in the town created a reaction that brought out the better of the people. When Sula, or the source of evil died in the town, what was thought to be a good omen became the opposite.
The caution of evil faded away as well as their conviction to shield their lives with good. “mothers who had defended their children from Sula’s malevolence (or who had defended their positions as mothers from Sula’s scorn for the role) now had nothing to rub up against. The Tensions was gone and so was the reason for the effort they had made. Without her mockery, affection for others sank into flaccid disrepair… Wives un coddled their husband; their seemed no further need to reinforce their vanity” (153-154).
Since the cry during a crisis vanished, their cherishment for life and other importance’s faded. Law exists because of crime and disorder. Protection exists because of danger and fear. The many good aspects of our lives exist because of the opposite, the bad and the evil. Good cannot exist without evil, evil cannot exist without good. Society is able to able to maintain it’s ways because of the balance that is offered through good and evil.
A perfect society is an orderly society, not a utopia of happiness.
