Morality AP Essay

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Black 1
Alanis Black
Mrs. Baumgardt
AP English
15 August 2014
The Truth about Morality Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is apparently follows good and evil. Who is to know that kind of question? What deems good or evil in the end? This popular novel is written by a nineteen year old, known among most, has always been given that main question. The characters are usually described as evil, while some argue that they are just misunderstood or purely innocent of such an idea. In the end, the concept of good and evil, is really only an opinion of thought, matter and perspective of oneself. Everything is up to the person who is observing the situation. Whether they deem it a certain way, is up to them, through and through. With this type of ordeal, thinking outside of the box is necessary, outside of laws and other unknown reasoning.
This is something, a lot of people have an issue with. If it is seen the other way, it is crazy, if it is seen their way, it is sane. Now let’s look at both of these texts; Frankenstein and The Concept of
Evil. Then maybe this idea that it is just opinion may open up eyes. There are some themes in this book that actually can be considered morally wrong, such as: dangerous knowledge, secrecy, monstrosity, and deadly creation. That idea of good vs evil comes from : socialism, society, culture, religion, morality, opinion, law, and everything in between that can be thought of.

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Firstly, there is socialism and society, the driving force of it all. Society influences many of our beliefs, so it is no surprise that the concept of good and evil is a part of these influences.
We have many concepts and ideas that we associate with good and evil. For instance, homicide is considered to be evil by most “individuals” in our society, whereas saving someone’s life is considered to be good. Though the concept of good and evil may be considered self­evident and inheritant by many, some consider it to be the result of the environmental factors of our society.
If we look at homicide in a more logical light, we can see that making it illegal or a wrong thing to do creates a sense of security and safety for those amongst a society. It can be a control mechanism to ensure less rebellious behavior as well. One can also think of it as a sort of safety net to ensure that nobody loses a person important to them. The point is that societal factors and an overall need for safety, security and control can affect what is considered to be good and evil.
Just like The Concept of Evil quotes “(2) we are by nature inclined towards goodness,” (2.2
Kant’s Theory of Evil). This is, from observation, what our society basically sees as true. So to them, evil does exist, but; in the form of insanity. The society in the book Frankenstein is none the less the same, “I am by no means indifferent to the manner in which whatever moral tendencies exist in the sentiments or characters it contains shall affect the reader. ” ( Shelley 2 ). Then, there’s culture, a subcategory of society. Who is to say which culture is wrong and which is right? Which is the best culture? Some say it is, the basis of society, but there’s so many different cultures out there. A culture has its own line of being a group. It has its own, religion, moral ideas, heritage, customs, foods, etc. With so many different ideas, clashing, it is not surprising morality and the main idea of good vs evil comes into play. In most cultures, murder

Black 3 is bad, in others; not so much. Some see murder, cannibalism and rape as a sacred practice.
People are born with these ideas, on each and every side of the world. They have a hard time understanding each other at all. They grow up and live by them, like if they didn’t, they would die for it. They, live, eat, and breathe their own culture and so many are guessing, what is wrong and right. Another quote from The Concept of Evil is, “It seems that, to be evil,
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