Good vs. Evil
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Good vs. Evil
I find the biggest downfall with these types of books is that many times they become predictable because we assume Good will prevail. I also dislike when 'evil' characters are one dimensional as they tend to be incredibly annoying to read about.
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I am a bit of a macabre consumer, though. I tend to enjoy movies and books where evil does prevail as it seems more parallel to the dark realities of the real world. The stunned feeling of how the "good fight" was all for naught.
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Great point @Aimy! Though sometimes we may know how a story will end, it can be just as fun seeing how the characters end up there.Aimy wrote:I like this theme. You are right the ending of the story becomes predictable. However, unpredictable events leading to a predictable ending keep me interested.
- kandscreeley
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I agree that sometimes these books portray things as too black and white. I also wouldn't mind seeing things a little more turned around as far as good and bad guys. However, I still like good prevailing in the end. Probably because it doesn't always turn out that way in real life.Mune wrote:My problem with Good versus Evil is that it paints things as black and white. Nothing is black or white, but various shades of gray. Our own prejudices decide what we believe is good or evil based on preconceived notions. This makes the topic lopsided in many instances and thus very predictable on average. I like stories that topple preconception, ones that throw the ideas out on their head and reimagine the what is really right and what is wrong. My favorite stories are ones that turn them around. The good guy is actually bad and the bad guy is good. These, though, also tend to become predictable if the writer lets the true nature's out too early. If someone seems overly good, I always assume they have to have a skeleton in the closet, anything else is just not realistic.
I am a bit of a macabre consumer, though. I tend to enjoy movies and books where evil does prevail as it seems more parallel to the dark realities of the real world. The stunned feeling of how the "good fight" was all for naught.
—Neil Gaiman
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I agree with you. I enjoy stories that don't follow the same cookie cutter standard. I enjoy stories where the protagonist is actually evil and the antagonist is the good guy. I also like stories with an anti-hero or an anti-villian. It makes things way more interesting.Jasmine M Wardiya wrote:I find it interesting when it's not the typical black and white evil and good and good prevails. Stories were the antagonist is the main character puts an interesting spin on it, I think. Depends on the readership too: the typical black and white image is pretty appropriate for books aimed at younger readers. At this stage, I find morally challenging more interesting and thought provoking - but when I'm feeling like a lazy read, the typical good vs. evil wins out.
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It turns out, quite a lot, and a lot is in moral gray areas or "blue and orange morality," that I find a lot more compelling than good vs evil.
Knowing that somebody is kind and loving, and watching them argue in favor of atrocities, for reasons you used to believe yourself--that just feels a lot more interesting to me than moral absolutes.