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Corey Davis

Mrs. Jurczyk

ECE ENG 1011

21 January 2017

Wicked Essay

Development and Perception of Evil

Evil is centered around perception, specifically how the thoughts of others can impact an

individual. Typically, the development of evil can not be narrowed down to one happening, it is

created by a series of multiple events and opinions. Elphaba, a character from Gregory Maguires

novel, Wicked, is shown as an evil person in peoples opinions and other stories. In Elphabas

case an unhealthy beginning to life can cause people to be perceived as evil. Maguires novel

uses the character Elphaba to demonstrate that a series of negative events may damage people to

the point in which they are seen as evil.

Elphaba began her course towards evil through her relationship with her parents during

childhood. When not treated with care or appreciated during childhood people can develop

improperly in terms of mental soundness, as in Elphabas case. With the idea that talking among

children is an overrated concept (Maguire 60) Melena has attempted to isolate Elphaba from

other children, making her even less like the others. Through Melenas unnecessary seclusion,

Elphaba develops differences from the other members of society. One who is isolated throughout

their childhood might lack in social skills, which can cause others to judge harshly. Karyn Purvis,

Ph.D. and David Cross, professor in the department of psychology at Texas Christian University,

wrote an excellent article that explains how microsystems in a household can affect growing

children. According to Purvis and Cross, it is a well-documented fact that the parents of violent
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children are notoriously poor at fulfilling the normative roles associated with the microsystem of

the home (71). Microsystems, or the set of values and roles assumed in a family, are extremely

important to uphold in the developmental periods of children. Children are greatly affected by

the environment that they are raised in. Elphabas mother, Melena, shrouds the birth of her

daughter in negativity with comments such as, We can always drown the baby and start over

(Maguire 38). Comments such as are considered a root of negativity within Elphabas

microsystem, which can negatively impact her mental development. When raised in an

environment such as this, Elphaba could question her worthiness of life and whether or not she is

a good person. Even if Elphaba is good, being called bad for her entire life could have eventually

caused her to believe the claims. Upon birth, Elphaba seemingly had everything wrong with her

in Melenas eyes. Elphabas green skin and female gender did not sit well with Melena, allowing

her to justify threatening her child and wishes of never birthing her. The Munchkinlanders, who

were meant to one day be under the control of Elphaba, reject her and want her death. As a child,

Elphaba should be able to turn to Melena for support with struggles, such as the lack of

acceptance from her own people. Without being able to use her mother as an outlet to escape

from the harsh judgments of society, Elphaba does not have a strong person to turn when she

questions her own presence of evil.

During her young adulthood, Elphabas development of evil continues as she is

surrounded by social injustice in an environment that is meant for learning. Elphaba attends

Crage Hall, a female only college at Shiz university, and expects to learn from some of the best

teaching staff in Oz. Unbeknownst to Elphaba, Shiz university is a breeding ground for hatred

and affiliated with the Wizard, who will later become Elphabas greatest enemy. After exploring

the improper treatment of Animals through her professor, Doctor Dillamonds death, Elphabas
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new life science teacher dismisses the potential abuse of an Animal by reassuring the class that

some Animals are going back to the wild to escape the implications of the current laws

(Maguire 186). From her new professors comments, Elphaba can gather that many people at

Shiz university do not seem to care about the lives of Animals. As a student at Shiz and a

member of society, Elphaba must live according to the set of norms or else she risks being

viewed in a bad way. The disconnect between Elphaba and society becomes even greater with

the suspicious death of Ama Clutch, a person who is set in place to take care of Elphaba and her

roommate. Elphaba decides to completely distance herself from society when she goes into

hiding, turning others against her because of a choice to be different. Without learning in an

environment as harsh as the one at Shiz, Elphaba most likely would not have been inclined to

turn against society.

The Wicked Witch of the West is seen as evil by the people of Oz as a result of her life

events. It can be determined that the Witch is evil to some degree based on what others think

because the process of person perception is central to virtually all human social behaviors

(Smith 1). Eliot R. Smith, a social psychologist who has obtained a doctorate from Harvard

university used his article to illustrate that even when a person claims to not be affected by the

thoughts of others, there is some part of them that at least questions the criticism. The claims of

others apply to Witch greatly because when others accuse her of being bad, she has no one that

she can justify her differences with. The Witch has been instilled with a presence of isolation

from her childhood and solidified her differences throughout college. When rumors are spread,

they tend to get back to the subject person and can greatly impact the view they have of

themselves. Instead of giving in to the Wizards ideals and customs, The Witch decides to

continue on her own and disobey the Wizards requests. When attempting to reason with the
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Wizard, the Witch offers him the Grimmerie, a book from his world that he has been attempting

to find while in the land of Oz. Instead of agreeing to make the trade of peace for the book, the

Wizard asks the question: Why should I give up what I have worked for all these years?

(Maguire 451). Upon asking this question, the Wizard reveals that his main goal is to be against

the Witch, which he is successful in by turning society against her. The Witch becomes so

isolated and different from the rest of society towards the end of Maguires novel that she comes

to be known as the Witch within the narration instead of her previous name. This shows that over

time the Witch has assumed the role of a bad character, to the point where she has no possibility

to defend herself. The usage of the Witch as a name is a crucial factor in the presence of her evil.

The fact that society has labeled her as the Witch to the point in which that is now her name in

narration displays the vital role that perception plays when defining a person. Had the Witch led

a normal life according to society, she might not be viewed as evil by most of the people in Oz.

Since the Wizard is so powerful in the land of Oz, his actions and opinions can be used to

represent the people of Oz. When the Wizard had sent Dorothy, locked in those shoes as she

was, to kill the witch (Maguire 517) he makes it clear that society is against the Witch. Locked

in a state of isolation and difference, the Witch has no other choice but to become people. Once

the people of Oz deem the Witch to be evil there is no availability for debate on the topic, for that

is who she becomes with no one to help her.

Evil can be difficult to fight, as it can latch on at a young age and continue to grow with

the criticisms of others. Evil people do not have a say in whether or not they are evil to others, as

their legitimacy will always be questioned with the possibility of them being evil.

Word Count: 1,331

Works Cited
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Karyn B. Purvis, and David R. Cross. "Is Maternal Deprivation the Root of All Evil?" Avances

En Psicologa Latinoamericana 26.1 (2008): 66-81.

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo;jsessionid=64A3C7AEB3A980E18E9162F3866

C78EA.dialnet01?codigo=2724026.

This article was written by David Cross, a professor in the department of psychology at

Texas Christian University, and Karyn Purvis, Ph.D. Cross and Purvis provided an in

depth exploration based on evil being formed during childhood. The two authors went on

to explain how maternal deprivation at young ages can lead to violent acts later in life.

Cross and Purvis did an excellent job of providing visual analysis with the use of graphs

and diagrams, unlike many other articles related to this topic. I will be able to use this

article in my essay because it lends support to my topic of evil being nurtured into

people.

Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. HarperCollins,

Publishers, 2007, New York, NY.

Smith, Eliot R. "Evil Acts and Malicious Gossip." Personality and Social Psychology Review

18.4 (2014): 311-25.

http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy.lib.uconn.edu/doi/full/10.1177/1088868314530515.

Eliot R. Smith, Ph.D in Social Psychology wrote this article with a focus on social

cognition and personal perception. Smith explains how people develop opinions of others

based on gossip and rumors. Smith brings up many problems with gossip and how it used

by others to formulate opinions. The articles quality is excellent as it brings up many

valid points that I can use to help formulate my own ideas into a larger topic. They key
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areas of the article I will be able to use are the unreliability of gossip and the potential

falsehoods involved in gossip.