For my year 12 English assignment I have to find a movie, a novel, a short story and some poems/songs about how "Although we like to believe that the good in the world will always be stronger, the evil in human's nature will enable evil to be victorious."

...so basically I need some reccomendations for movies, short stories or poems/songs that I can use. I have already got the novel "Well Of Darkness" and am having trouble finding other things to use.

All it needs is to be based on the evil in human nature and that evil is victorious.

Thanks for any help that can be offered.

[ 10-31-2003, 03:12 AM: Message edited by: shadowhound ]

1984 the book.

Already have the novel ("Well of Darkness" Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman)

Its the short story, movie and poems/songs that I am after.

(Thanks anyway)

<font color=pink>I might suggest some passages from Paradise Lost. If you're not familiar with it, its like a 12 volume poem that was written way way long ago. Basically, its about the war between God and Satan...other things too. There is a particular passage where Satan as the Serpent gets Eve to eat the forbidden apple and she in turn gets Adam to. So you see, Eden is supposed to be paradise, right, untouched by evil and temptation, but look what happened [img]tongue.gif[/img] </font>

Will definatly look into that, thnx LB.

Lord of the Flies!

"Whilst superficially simple, Lord of the Flies is in fact a highly complex novel. Golding uses the story of a group of English schoolboys marooned on a deserted tropical island to explore the existence of evil and violence in human nature. Golding's views reflect his understanding of the world in which he was living and develop out of his experience and cultural background. However, as with most good literature, this novel is not simply a statement of Golding's political and cultural views; rather, it is an imaginative exploration of certain aspects of human nature and, as you will discover when we read, discuss and analyse the text, he does not provide his readers with a nicely packaged set of views that they can either accept or reject. Instead, through his exploration of the events which occur on the island, he challenges the readers to attempt to develop their own views about the existence of evil and violence in the human race."

Poor Piggy! :(

[ 10-31-2003, 06:53 AM: Message edited by: Donut ]

Oh yes Lord of the Flies is an excellent choice. It is an exploration of the consequences on society when the rule-books are thrown out of the window.

I believe that is is also the book that parents make their children read when they want them to grow to be lawyers ;)

[ 10-31-2003, 07:14 AM: Message edited by: Skunk ]

American Psycho, both the film and the book. TThe quote from the beginning sums up where I think its coming from:

And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
- Talking Heads

schindlers list lots of evil in that ......i think.....

Very good example for a movie, although it was a very strange movie. Anyway, it certainly fits the kind of movie he's looking for. The end centers on the apathy and moral laziness of the average person allowing evil to thrive.

This is one for your poem criteria. It's one I read in college and stuck with me. It's called Riddle, by William Heyen

From Belsen a crate of gold teeth,
from Dachau a mountain of shoes,
from Auschwitz a skin lampshade.
Who killed the Jews?
Not I, cries the typist,
not I, cries the engineer,
not I cries Adolf Eichmann,
not I, cries Albert Speer.
My friend Fritz Nova lost his father -
a petty official had to choose.
My friend Lou Abrahms lost his brother.
Who killed the Jews?
David Nova swallowed gas,
Hyman Abrahms was beaten and starved.
Some men signed their papers,
and some stood guard,
and some herded them in,
and some dropped the pellets,
and some spread the ashes,
and some hosed the walls,
and some planted the wheat,
and some poured the steel,
and some cleared the rails,
and some raised the cattle.
Some smelled the smoke,
some just heard the news.
Were they Germans? Were they Nazis?
Were they human? Who killed the Jews?
The stars will remember the gold,
the sun will remember the shoes,
the moon will remember the skin.
But who killed the Jews?

Very good example for a movie, although it was a very strange movie. Anyway, it certainly fits the kind of movie he's looking for. The end centers on the apathy and moral laziness of the average person allowing evil to thrive. </font>[/QUOTE]I agree, but I also think its about the general numbness of feeling towards our fellow man. Bret Easton Ellis' work in general is directed against the dangers of a sort of emotional nihilism that seems to have overtaken a certain section of society. Bateman is evil, but he doesn't feel evil. He doesn't feel good. he doesn't feel anything, despite being completely carrying out every whim, however horrible.

And the film has some hysterical moments... :D

<font face="Verdana" size="3" color="#00FF00"> "The Pearl" - A Pearl diver finds a large Pearl that is suppose to end his families poverty. But it only brings disaster, and evil. It is also a complex book on the evil and greed of man, and how a little stone can cause so much chaos because the hearts of men are weak. A lot of symbolism in it as well and I can't remember the end but I don't think it can be summed up as "they lived happily ever after".</font>

[ 10-31-2003, 03:20 PM: Message edited by: pritchke ]

Anyone here ever read a book named "Hiroshima Joe"? I read it a long time ago so I don't remember the author. It's about an English soldier captued by the Japanese at Singapore, he suffers through the hell of Japanese prison camps and survives. After the war ends his true hell begins. This book will haunt you long after you finish it.

Of course this doesn't help much since Shadowhound already has his book. Now he needs a movie. How about the Undefeated? I think that's the name. You know, the Clint Eastwood movie that won him the Academy award. There's also "The Treasure of The Sierrea Madre.(WE don't need no stinking badges.)And worst but not least "The Ring".

movie..the ring, in the end, the evil won [img]graemlins/1ponder.gif[/img] will never watch that movie again

"Perfume" by Patrick Suskind.

It's a nice shortish book, so you won't be overwhelmed by text (*cough* Milton *cough* [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) , but it's got a tonne of the kind of stuff you're looking for. The protaganist is as evil as they come - though in the end he's not "triumphant" (debateable) but only because of the evil that exists in other people.

Great wee book. [img]smile.gif[/img] Dunno if you could get away with calling it a short stoy though. ;)

[ 10-31-2003, 04:00 PM: Message edited by: Jerome ]

I think that's "Unforgiven". And I don't really see that as applying.

I don't know if it's cheating taking recommendations from an English Teacher, but here's a suggestion:

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson is a creepy short story that comes to mind. It's about a town that selects people in a lottery and then stones them to death. I'm sure there's some critique of modern society in there somewhere.

http://www.underthesun.cc/Classics/Jackson/lottery/

I think that's "Unforgiven". And I don't really see that as applying. </font>[/QUOTE]You're right it is Unforgiven. In the end he reverts back to his evil ways and kills half the bar.

There was an actual hour-long documentary on the nature of evil. I saw it for the first time on the USA network, but cannot for the life of me remember the name. It did a great job of talking about evil in myth, but also how it is a reflection of evil in people. I wish I could remember the name, but it was two years ago when I saw it (big time parental advisory on it, too).

Maybe an internet search might yield something (or USA network's sight). Sorry!

For a song how about: Four and Twenty - Crosby,Stills, Nash and Young
Epitath - King Crimson
Darkness, Darkness - Jessie Colin Young
Sober - Tool
Countdown to Extinction - Megadeath
War Pigs - Black Sabbath

[ 10-31-2003, 10:39 PM: Message edited by: antryg ]

Damn Antyreg- you must as old as I am.

You should definately looks into Lord Of The Flies. William Golding was fascinated by Froyd's beliefs on Human Nature (Id, Ego, and Superego), and he helps show this in a story. It's an extremely complex book, but you wouldn't realize it unless you paid attention to these ideas of human nature and literary devices. Look a lot at symbolism and foreshadowing.
If you want to know about man's evil side, you might want to read up on Hobbes. He believed that all mankind is evil and selfish at heart.

For your movie:

The End of Evangelion.

Not only do humans end up being initially evil, we all turn out to be the bastard children of Adam and Lillith and the human race is infact the lilum which are spoken of in the Latin Genesis. O_o Yeeeh... Nerv was set up to protect the world and in the end the company destroys all of mankind, which turns out to not even be mankind... We just kept seeing the good in ourselves to the extent where we belived we were human, and that had to be it. Who really is human in Evangelion? I have no idea... It's a deep film that touches on everything, litterally.

[ 11-01-2003, 12:58 AM: Message edited by: /)eathKiller ]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, I am looking into the songs and movies (there goes another trip to the video store).

Thank you Father Bronze, I think that story will be perfect. Still deciding between that and a short story called "The examination" that I have lieing around somewhere.

harleyquinn that poem will probably be one of the ones I use, thnx.

As for movies I have to see American Psycho & The End of Evangelion (why have I never heard of that movie? [img]tongue.gif[/img] ). I have seen Lord of the Flies and am considering it.

Nah, no supernatural movies. The Ring wasn't about the evil in human nature... actually that movie's themes etc really left alot to be desired :D [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Good movie though!