Quote: "All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil."
It is said that, “All conflict in in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil.” Though many may agree with this statement, conflict cannot be polarized into such simplistic terms as good and evil. Rather, conflict in literature often dwells in a “gray” area so to speak; an area that is far more complicated than good or evil. In Paradise Lost, by John Milton, and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the conflict is not easily placed into the two above categories. Instead the conflict is more complexly constructed through the use of elements such as characterization and theme.
Conflict can best be defined as the struggle faced by characters in literature. In Milton’s Paradise Lost the characters Adam and Eve struggle to live a life free of temptation and to live in accordance with God’s Laws. Adam, being a pure being, has very little difficulty maintaining a sin-free existence. Eve, being a lesser being is therefore more prone to sin, winds-up being tricked into temptation by Satan. When discovering that Eve has betrayed God by eating the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, Adam willingly takes a bite of the fruit so that he may still be with Eve, even in damnation. The conflict in this story is not just good verses evil, but rather choosing the love for one over another. Yet another example of conflict not being polarized comes from Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne has a child outside of wedlock and refuses to say who the father is. She struggles to exist in a Puritan society; a society that believes in a fundamental goodness, and sees Hester as evil. The reader however, views Hester as he protagonist so again, it is not nearly as simple as “good verse evil,” as we learn that she keeps her secret only to protect Dimmesdale.
Characterization is the physical, mental or emotional traits of an established literary character. Conflict often involves characters which are far more complicated than simply good or evil. In Paradise Lost, Satan begins as a loyal soldier who questions the authority of God. Satan feels betrayed by God, and rebels though he knows losing in inevitable. Though God is the ultimate form of goodness, Satan is not totally evil but martyred for fighting a losing fight. A similar situation develops in The Scarlet Letter, with the character of Arthur Dimmesdale. Though he is a reverend, he falls in love with Hester and impregnates her. Though she will not tell the community he is the father, he struggles with keeping the secret that not only does he love her, but that he is the ultimate cause of her suffering. There is, again, no way to place this conflict of heart as either good or evil, thus proving the quote untrue.
In addition to conflict and characterization, theme is another element that disproves that all conflict in literature is basically good versus evil. Theme is essentially the message that the reader is suppose to take away from the text, and is usually directly correlated with the outcome of the conflict. Themes are rarely, if ever, about good winning over evil or vice-versa. The theme of Paradise Lost is ultimately that love for God must be the greatest, unless one should one’s self predisposed to fail. There is nothing that reader takes away in favor of either good or evil. The same can be said of The Scarlet Letter. The theme of this text is that the goodness within can overcome the hatred of an entire society. Though closer to the idea of all conflict in literature being simply good verses evil, there is much more intricacy to the conflict, thus disproving the quote.
The statement, “All conflict in literature is, in its simplest form, a struggle between good and evil,” is simply untrue. Though seemingly viable, conflict, theme, and characterization are often more complex and simply cannot be reduced so cleanly into “good and evil.” Paradise Lost and The Scarlet Letter contain intricate elements ascertain a “gray” area on the spectrum of good and evil, just as it occurs in real life.
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