In Alden Bell’s "The Reapers are the Angels" ethical behaviour is largely influenced by the most basic instinct: survival. The protagonist Temple lives in a world of zombies and these conditions coerce her to kill “meatskins” and grieve the loss of loved ones. The basic conception of ethics “What shall I do?” (cf. Schwerdtfeger, 2005, 14) is turned into the question: “Why did I have to do that?” and most importantly “Am I evil?”. Temple is determined to answer this question with “Yes!”. However, she is not depicted as such a person.
This paper’s aim is to discuss her evilness and to conclude that she is in fact not evil at all. For that reason two basic questions follow: Why does she think so? and how is she characterised? In order to answer these questions first an ethical theory is needed which shows that Temple is living an ethical life. Seneca, a Roman philosopher, provides this theory.
Furthermore, the term evil has to be explained and defined as far as it is possible. Lastly, I will discuss Temple’s killing scenes in The Reapers are the Angels and the two fellow, major characters Moses and Maury in terms of the before assembled theories in order to evaluate her evilness and to answer the above uttered questions.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Ethics and Evil
2.1 Seneca
2.1.1 Stoicism
2.1.2 How to master fate
2.1.3 Human nature
2.1.4 Ethical behaviour and value
2.2 Evil
2.2.1 ‘ Böse ’ and ‘Übel ’
2.2.2 Pleasure and Pain
3. The Reapers are the Angels
3.1 An evil post-apocalyptic world?
3.2 Temple
3.3 Moses and Maury
4. Conclusion - The Ethical and Mon-Evil Temlpe
- Quote paper
- Eva Heuft (Author), 2014, Alden Bell's "The Reapers are the Angels". Temple’s evilness and ethical behaviour, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/337469
-
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X. -
Upload your own papers! Earn money and win an iPhone X.