2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.
In fairy tales such as Hansel and Gretel or Sleeping Beauty, the princess is always good and the witch is always evil. In his novel Wicked, Gregory Maguire plays on this archetype with many morally ambiguous characters, especially the protagonist, Elphaba, the “Wicked Witch of the West”. Throughout the novel, Maguire tests the reader’s preconceptions of the fairy tale “wicked witch” in order to make the reader think about their own prejudices and ethics.
Elphaba’s moral ambiguity is established as soon as the novel begins in two principal ways. First, the entire novel has a narrative structure closely allied with Elphaba. The reader essentially sees “her side of the story.” This is an allowance never given to the indisputably, inexcusably evil witches of fairy tales, or the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz (the novel Maguire is actively responding to). Maguire is offering the reader the chance that there is a reason for the “wickedness.” Secondly, the baby is identified as Elphaba. She is not the Wicked Witch. She has no affiliation with good or evil one way or the other. The reader goes into the story assuming Elphaba is “wicked”, and when that title is striped—when the character is given a name—the reader is a) shown that perhaps Elphaba was not always “bad”, and b) if this is the case, we must consider the possibility that some outside factor caused Elphaba’s fall into “the Wicked Witch.”
As the novel continues, the reader sees that Elphaba is alienated because of her skin. Here Maguire shows the reader the tendency of society to judge based on appearances, to be scared of diversity. Because of this fear, society expects Elphaba to be “wicked." Their fear is hypocritical, because Oz is quickly revealed to be a corrupt and lawless place, where nothing is certain, despite its many positive qualities. Furthermore, Elphaba is surrounded by people neither “good” nor “bad”, whose actions create a “gray area” of ethical certainty. As time goes on, Elphaba spirals deeper and deeper into that gray area, continually making morally uncertain decisions. For example, she becomes an assassin—but the government is oppressive, and may be corrupt and killing its own people. She has an affair with a married man, but they are in love and the man is a Prince who has an arranged marriage in which he had no say. Maguire forces the reader to question the very existence of good or bad, and also to consider the relevance of intentions. Elphaba tries to do good, but her actions often result in atrocious results. Certainly, she has done “bad” things, but is she really “evil” if her intentions were good? Also, Elphaba suffers greatly throughout her entire life, and many questionable deeds stem from problems in her childhood. There is a reason (not always logical, but a reason) behind every action she takes, and that reason is not an inherent desire to make others suffer. Outside factors pushed Elphaba into “the Wicked Witch”—and so Maguire forces us to ask whether she is then wicked at all.
Elphaba’s skin color also serves as a symbol which contributes to the ambiguity of Elphaba’s character. From the moment of her birth, she is “green as a sin.” Elphaba seems to have the mark of Cain—she is the embodiment of sin, of original sin, and she is indeed “wicked”, so impure that water cannot touch her (curiously, though, she is born in the rain). She even goes out into the desert as Cain does. However, her skin could be interpreted in a more positive light for Elphaba. Her hue marks her not as a sinful person, but the scapegoat on whom all of Oz’s sins have been cast--not wholly "evil", but society needs someone to blame and picks her because she is different. Through this interpretation, we see another explanation for her desert exile: she is goat with the red thread. Here, Maguire shows the reader the tendency of society to create a scapegoat, and blame one particular person or group for their problems, based on prejudice. This interpretation is supported by Elphaba’s inability to touch water. She carries all of society’s sins in the pigment of her skin, and so she is too impure for water to touch her.
The reader can never decide whether Elphaba is really “good” or “evil”, and through this ambiguity, Maguire argues that there is no such thing: good and evil cannot be defined or even exist alone. Everyone has both good and evil in them. Maguire forces the reader to realize society’s tendency to jump to conclusions, judge a book by its cover, force labels on people, and blame one person or group for all of society’s problems. He even raises the idea that those who are viewed as “bad” are that way because they have suffered in their own past. The Wicked Witch of the West is that scapegoat, and that adult with the difficult past. The ambiguity of her character not only gives her a second chance to tell her side of the story, but gives the reader the opportunity to look at the world with a more open mind.
This is an excellent essay! I once again marvel at how you managed to write so much in such a short amount of time. My only suggestion is that you include a quote, something they seem to look for in high scoring essays on the AP. Other than that, your essay flows nicely and is quite polished. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYou make a very interesting argument in this, and it's well written. The second half of your fourth paragraph gets a bit redundant. You could elaborate on her relationship with water, but I suppose, as interesting as it would be, it might be off topic.
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