Worldviews On Good And Evil In Louise Erdrich's The Round House

THEME: The line between good and evil is sometimes unclear, and as a result, people often think that they are doing the right thing when it is actually the wrong action, and vice versa.

It is a very arguable subject on whether or not people are born with good intentions, and therefore taught by others the ‘evil’ side of their personality. Whether it is the absence of ethical conduct in human nature, or just the way one perceives a situation, evil seems to be prominent in our everyday lives. Humans seem to have a moral code that follows them with every decision they make, yet despite the laws of morality and society, people of this world still seem to behave inhumanely because of the act of self-preservation, human interest, and who exactly the authority figure is at the time.

Most of us believe that if there is a God who has the power to nullify any evil characteristic. Wouldn’t He as the all-powerful God allow certain situations to occur in order for the good to arise from the sadistic or evil? If the world was solely good or morally virtuous, how would the Almighty God find a way to be glorified through things which man has done? To exemplify what has been asked, I would like to address the good that arise from the bad. Just like Professor Ed explained about his son’s dog, there is good that comes from the bad (loss of a pet), as there was plenty of good that occurred during the period of the life of the pet or human life if a human life was lost in an unrelated situation. The bad (death) can be turned into good simply by reflecting on the time they or we have had with that animal or person. To respond to the second question on how God can be glorified through the evil or bad, is He allows situations to occur in order for Him to be venerated. He created all life and He gave us the free will to act without restrictions, so that when we respond virtuously when evil comes our way, He is worshiped and esteemed as our

Many people have their own views on humanity. They can either be that humans are essentially good but can become corrupt or that people are just essentially evil. They have their own opinions, some people can tell their perspective on humans in other fashions. If people are essentially good, they how do they become corrupt? Or if are truly evil, then why do some people seem like they are kind people and they can never do such things? To take both of these into account, a person may saw that people are good but deep down have evil within them. People may ask how does the evil within a person come out, the answer to that is that it is thanks to their environment. The environment around a person can undoubtedly draw out the evil within them

An emphasis on family is one of the central facets of Native American culture. There is a sense of community between Native American. Louise Erdrich, a Chippewa Indian herself, writes a gripping bildungsroman about a thirteen year old boy named Joe who experiences all forms of family on the Native American Reserve where he lives. He learns to deal with the challenges of a blood family, witnesses toxic family relationships, and experiences a family-like love from the members of the community. In her book, The Round House, Louise Erdrich depicts three definitions of the word family and shows how these relationships affect Joe’s development into an adult.

The debate of whether man is born entirely good or evil is a universal discussion that never seems to resolve. Even though a human is a complex individual who cannot be defined by a simple assessment, the people of today are convinced that there is a straightforward explanation as to why acts of wickedness exist. Some believe negative influences taint the naturally innocent heart of man, while others suppose evil men are born with an unavoidable capacity for darkness. This however, suggests that the wicked are created from birth without morals or the ability to be considered righteous. Despite the theories that exist, good and evil are not always separate. Man typically is neither solely good or bad, but a combination of the both. In the

Therefore, it is not the case that God is an omnipotent and wholly good being.

If god was all good, all powerful and all knowing, he would not allow the existence of evil.

Many people don’t seem to understand how someone can see good after their loved one got killed by a juvenile for the thrill. In a surprising case a young women, named Nancy Bishop Langert was brutally murdered by a teen alongside her partner and unborn child. Her sister was devastated to find out the news but took a different approach to the situation. In the article “Behind one Supreme Court case, the tale of forgiveness for sister's killer” by Cristian Science Monitor, the author recalls a women’s approach towards her loved one being killed by a teen, she says “Bishop sought to make peace with her sister's death and with her killer. "I did it for Nancy because I didn't want her memorial to be hatred and vengeance……… "I said this to him. I looked into his eyes and said: 'Every day you wake up and open your eyes and see this world and draw a breath is a day that they didn't get to have. Every opportunity you have to do good for another person, to influence events around you, that's something they didn't get to do. You are living for them now, your life is not your own.' " (Cristian Science 1). Bishop, the sister is not bring hate to her sisters killer, but letting him know he took the life of innocent people that can no longer fulfill their dreams. He basically took their life and is now living their lives. The teen got sentenced to life but in the long run will be forgiven because of the remorse and work he has gain to realize what he did was out of

“The mind is its own place, and in itself Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n…Here we may reign secure, and in my choice to reign is worth ambition “ (Paradise lost.120-21). This explaining humans can't be naturally born to act evil but it can

No one is born good or evil; it is one's environment and the people they encounter in life which makes them good or evil. A lot of time it is not the individual's fault of the way they are, they might have seen so many bad doings that, they are use to it and might think that it is right. One is not born with a vision of knowing what is wrong and what is right in life, but learns when something happens to

A person is not born evil. In an article by Romig about why people are evil, he states that “Evil requires agency; one can’t be born with it. Terry Eagleton writes in “On Evil,” his rather flippant 2010 consideration of the dark side, “If some people really are born evil … they are no more responsible for this condition than being born with cystic fibrosis.”(Romig, Rollo). Evil is not a genetic disease. It does not get passed down through the DNA. When a child is born their brain is not developed enough to differentiate between good and bad. Therefore no one is born evil.

There are many theories why people could do evil things. Is it because they were abused or had a rough childhood? What if the society isn’t to blame at all for their behavior? (Olivia Goldhill “Are Some Humans born evil?”) People say people are born evil or people who are born good turn evil. This topic has been studied for many years and many people have different opinions about it. A person may say they don’t believe that people are born evil. Another person may think that people are born evil or good people turn evil. An example is babies aren’t born evil. Their minds are wonderful. Their minds are innocent and they don’t know much. A person can’t possibly be born evil. It really depends sometimes how a person is raised or what that person experiences in life.

 Evil doesn 't necessarily have to be an action by a human; it can also be a result of a natural disaster such as: hurricanes, earthquakes, illness, etc. A hurricane can take away everything from thousands of humans. This causes the people to have no home, clothes, or food. This is also a form of evil, due to the suffering it causes. This is called natural evil. People can bring about moral evil upon themselves, although, they rarely can bring natural evil upon themselves. There is a distinct difference between the two, and one evil does not cause the other. The reason I point the

Would these people be considered evil and if so how did they become this way? Were they born this was or was it some sort of external forces that led them to become evil? Well according to Hsun Tao, another Chinese philosopher, humans were born of an evil nature and with some sort of guidance from a teacher could learn to become good. He believed that what is natural to human beings is desire and desire inevitably leads to conflict; since this is evil then so is the nature the results within. Yet referring back to the young child and well example, why would most people do the right thing? Is it because they are taught to be good again is it something that is deeper? However, another Chinese philosopher, Kao Tzu, beleived that human nature is neither inherently good nor inherently evil but rather a "blank slate" that could be conditioned in both directions. When an individual is born he/she has no ideas or preexisting behaviors but that through life experiences and external forces, such as family and friends, that influence ones human nature. Or according to John Locke "the mind at birth is a blank white sheet of paper on which experience writes."