The Nature Of Evil In Candide By Voltaire And William Shakespeare's Othello

A quote given by William Shakespeare states; “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Some might claim the same statement can be applied to the conceptual idea of evil: some are born evil, some become evil, and some have evil thrust upon them. Evil, a scapegoat for explaining irrational occurrences, is perhaps a figment of mankind’s imagination or perhaps it was something that took root long before the existence of mankind. Literature often tussles with the origins, the cause, the coexistence with optimism, and the corrupting nature of evil which can be more specifically analyzed within Candide by Voltaire and William Shakespeare’s Othello.

The Origins

Does evil have a host or is it some type of parasite, slowly suffocating its victim of goodness and optimism? From the beginning of Biblical documentation, Adam and Eve dwelled in the Garden of Eden before being driven from the state of perfection due to them forfeiting to evil, commonly simulated by a devil or Satan; however, the controversy revolves around whether or not evil is housed by a someone/something or freestanding with the ability to travel from person to person. The origin of evil is not something that can be successfully defined for reason that it is something constantly interpreted through a variety of lenses resulting in numerous explanations.

Many rely solely on the knowledge of a God in order to explain the roots of evil and corruption. As stated in an article