Section 2

1. “Evil” is a routine theme of our syllabus and there are some wicked characters in our
curriculum. Arnold Friend from “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, the
boyfriend from “Barn Burning” and Arthur Fleck from “Joker” has the characteristics of an
evil.

Arnold Friend from Joyce Carol Oates’s fiction “Where Are You Going, Where Have You
Been?” is evil in nature. He forcefully abducts a young girl to fulfill his sexual desire. He is
fake and abusive in nature. He lies about his age and tries to look younger than his real age.
But Connie finds “that he wasn’t a kid, he was much older—thirty, maybe more” (Oates,
p.56). He shows his abusive nature when his real identity begins to unfold. He emotionally
breaks Connie and compels her to leave her household. He forces Connie to leave her
adolescent immaturity and also introduces her with adolescent sexuality.

The boyfriend from “Barn Burning” is another dark character who likes to eliminate helpless
girls from the society. His physical appearance also gives a hint about his evil character. The
narrator points out that “His hands were large, with long fingers” (Murakami, p.36). His
unusual evil type hands indicate {{that he probably kill his girlfriend}}. The narrator also
expresses his doubt regarding his wealth and compares him with Gatsby. The boyfriend
confesses that “Sometimes I burn down barns” (Murakami, p.39). So it’s comprehensible that
he frequently kills young and helpless girls which display an upsetting scenario of his
character.

Arthur Fleck is also an evil character. But Todd Phillips gives a background story about
Arthur Fleck and shows how a failed comedian can become evil. Society’s ignorance is
responsible for his transformation. He has a mental illness, but society always disregards his
existence. He is abused, fired, dumped and also mocked by his closest people. Everyone
rejects him at every stage of his life. Society’s cruelty encourages him to link with crime and
violence. Gradually his character becomes evil, who does not feel guilty while killing
someone.

These characters are similar in terms of madness, crime and violence. All of them are linked
with wrong works. They also spread terror through their evil activities. But they have some
prominent differences as well. Arnold Friend and Arthur Fleck, both are hyper and
aggressive while the boyfriend is gentle and composed. Arnold Friend and the boyfriend
target teenagers. In contrast, Arthur Fleck targets those people who disregard him. Arthur
also has a mental illness. There is no background story of Arnold Friend and the boyfriend.
As a reader, I cannot figure out why they choose darkness. There is no clear reference that
justifies their evil activities. That’s why I do not feel any sympathy for the boyfriend and
Arnold Friend. However, I feel sympathy for Arthur Fleck. In his case, society is the real
antagonist. Society and its people are accountable for his darkness.

Interestingly, these evil characters represent different perspectives and also teach us about
life.