The Wise, The Foolish, The Evil
Literary characters often fall into one of three identifiable categories such as wise, foolish, and evil. Most characters in a story are stock or unchanging while a few or one of the characters is dynamic and moves between categories.
A wise character can assess problems and alter his or her behavior in order to deal effectively with the situation such as Odysseus in the Iliad, Nat in Carry on Mr. Bowditch, Corrie in The Hiding Place, and Bilbo in The Hobbit. All four characters face highly charged situations while eventually overcoming through reason, courage, humility, faith, and perseverance.
A foolish character is not necessarily concerned with potential problems but rather with the pain of consequences. It rarely does a foolish person any good to point out a potential pitfall or benefit. The foolish person has just enough mental space to consider what he wants and currently believes. He or she must usually experience a painful event in order to grow or gain knowledge. Often the foolish character will seek to reimagine reality in order to fit their experience into a story of victimhood or injustice. Achilles might be considered foolish as his rage was unrelenting against King Agamemnon that he willingly watched his countrymen lose to the Trojans that is until Patroclus was slaughtered. The pain of losing his cousin allowed Achilles’ rage to travel from Agamemnon to Hector and reenter the war. In the case of Johnny Tremain, after ignoring Mr. Latham’s pleas to stop being prideful, Johhny’s burnt hand and lost trade forced him to slowly reassess himself and others.
An evil character can be described as someone or something that is willing to do whatever it takes to gain his or her desired end even if it means harming or destroying others. The postmodern mind has eliminated the category evil. In the pre-modern or modern mind there are a few archetypes for evil. The first is Grendel from Beowulf. This character is outside the human community and irrationally seeks to destroy it. The second is Frankenstein’s monster. Dr. Frankenstein is out to find the secret to life and assembles or makes a man. Frankenstein’s monster is born good but from Dr. Frankenstein’s immediate rejection, society’s ongoing violence and abandonment, and the monster’s lack of companionship, the made man becomes a monster seeking revenge in exchange for the unjust treatment he has received. The third archetype is Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights. This deeply troubled and passionate boy who becomes a man wreaks havoc on multiple generations of a family that sought to offer comfort and shelter after his rough beginnings.
Hannah Arendt, a holocaust survivor and philosopher, believed that as a necessary precursor of the avoidance of evil people should practice independent, active, and reflective critical thinking rather than bump along in thoughtlessness and blind obedience. The developed ability to consider the perspectives of others and a recognition of different claims of authority such as social contract, natural law, and special revelation can make a world of difference in the potential outcomes of a lived life.
Literature offers a unique and profound way to examine the ends of the wise, foolish, and evil.