Just in case you haven’t check out my very first guest blog, here is the site one more time: http://www.annastan.com/2010/11/letter-to-myself-courtney-rene/
I was reading this week that in non-adult books, all the “bad” people in stories need/should have a redeeming quality in them. It is suppose to make them more personable and more likeable even though they are in fact, the bad guy. My question….Why?
In the real world, some people are just evil. There is not one single thing that is redeeming about them. I know, as I have met a couple in my lifetime. Here’s another shocker, it’s not always a guy either. Women are just as capable of being evil as men. We all say, “Well of course. We know that.” But do you. Do you really? Most people have both good and bad qualities in them. However, I am not talking about good and bad here. I’m talking about the truly evil. Would you know the difference if you saw it? Something to think about, eh?
My real concern and question is, why do ‘we’ insist on teaching our children that even though there is evil out there, there is still good in them, you just have to find it. They just need love and compassion. Oh vomit! I don’t want my children, or any children for that matter, to be come face to face with evil and instead of running for their lives, instead they stop to see if they can find the good inside the evil. Are we that stupid that we believe that our children or we ourselves will never really be faced with any type of real evil? I would hope not. What’s that saying about an ounce of prevention?
I write sometimes about the darkness that I see in the world all around me. I may wrap it all up in fantasy, but in the end, it’s as close to non-fiction as I can make it. Maybe it’s my way of teaching about it, and maybe it’s just my way of bringing attention to it. I don’t really know, but what I do know is that I teach my children that evil is not to be greeting with friendship. Evil is to be feared, but also overcome. After all, good must conquer all, right? Otherwise where will we be?
This is a great topic/post. I can see a place for plain evil in YA... middle-grade, I'm not as sure, but maybe. After reading one of your YA characters, you convinced me. It's true though, I always thought there was a good reason for the way nasty people behaved, and yeah, that there was something good within them, somewhere. We all make mistakes, or lose our temper, but usually, the only person we hurt is ourselves. Some people enjoy being cruel and see no reason why they should change. I agree, my daughter won't be scared about monsters under the bed or in the closet, I want her to be prepared, because there truly are "evil" people out there and forgiveness means nothing to them. Oh, here's a quick thought... remember Sid in Toy Story? There's an evil kid if ever I saw one. :)
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