Reflective Essay
Throughout the history of man, there have been numerous
evil people. Hitler, Sadaam Hussein, Charles Manson, Stalin, and many other men
have wrecked havoc in our world for centuries. But, what sets the evil men from
the psychotically evil men is their motive. Those who are truly wicked have no
motive. They find their amusement in the death and fall of men. Those with the
usual motives of money, power, control, and revenge have clear and predictable
motives. But, those who just do evil deeds for the sake of evil are often more
unpredictable, diabolical, and therefore more fearful. Characters like Iago and
the Joker in The Dark Knight and a person like mass murderer Jim Jones
exemplify people with evil at their core, psychotic, and caused chaos within
their respective worlds.
One of the strongest and most immersive characters in
film history in the last 10 years was Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the deranged
Joker in the Dark Knight. From the opening scene in which the Joker
manipulates local criminals to do his dirty work and rob a bank, telling each
to kill the man doing the previous job in the plan, he is established as a
manipulative character. As Iago is able to manipulate Cassio, Othello, Emilia, and
Roderigo, the Joker is also able to shake the foundations of the most hardened
criminals of Gotham to put immense pressure on the Batman. Also, like Iago, the
Joker changes his story. While Iago claims that the reason he is after the Moor
is because he “twixt” his sheets or he wanted the duties of Cassio, it becomes
clear throughout the plot neither is the truth (I.i.367). Likewise, the Joker
offers many explanations for his scars. First he speaks of an episode with his
drunken father and a kitchen knife saying, “Then,
he looks at me and says, 'Why so serious?' Comes at me with the knife, 'Why so serious?'
Sticks the blade in my mouth, 'Let's put a smile on that face.'”. Then, he
tells a story of his supposed wife: “Hey, one day they carve her face. We have no money for
surgeries, she can't take it. I just want to see her smile again. I just want
her to know that I don't care about the scars. So I stick a razor in my
mouth...and do this...to myself. And you know what? She can't stand the sight
of me! She leaves. Now I start to see the funny side. Now I'm always smiling
(Nolan)." Which story is true? Like Iago’s unclear motives, the Joker’s
deranged stories of his scars are irrelevant in that the point is to reveal
their psychopathic nature.
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| Jim Jones of Lynn, Indiana |
Without a doubt, the most powerful
people in the world are leaders. While it takes followers for a movement to
gain steam, it takes a strong leader to maintain a movement. Objectively, one
cannot argue that Jim Jones was not a powerful leader with an innate ability to
get others to follow whatever he preached. Like Iago, Jones is able to persuade
people to do the unthinkable. Even in the face of repeated failure, Iago is
able to persuade Roderigo one last time to try to kill Cassio for him
(IV.ii.206-11). Jones was able to
convince hundreds of people to kill themselves as a part of a mass suicide by
saying, “We committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions
of an inhumane world (Introduction-Jonestown).” Due to dedication to their
causes, both men are persuasive enough to convince their followers to do the as
they wish.
 |
| Two Face, previously Harvey Dent |
With the demented minds and
intentions of these three men, their plans caused chaos. Iago was able to
corrupt and control numerous people that ended in the death of 5 main
characters and the corruption of the most noble man of all, Othello. In the
case of the Joker, he created bedlam in the city of Gotham with his killings,
collaboration with thugs, corruption of local law enforcement, and completely
transforming upstanding crime fighter and Gotham City District Attorney Harvey
Dent into the evil Two Face. Jim Jones was able to get hundreds of people to
buy into his philosophies and kill themselves in the greatest American civilian
casualty before September 11, 2001. The
quote that can help best explain men like this comes from Alfred in The Dark
Knight in explaining the Joker: “Because some men aren't looking for
anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or
negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.” Unfortunately for society, these misguided men
pop up in history every now and again with no precursor and will not stop until
their death.
Works Cited
Dark Knight, The. By Christopher Nolan. Perf. Christian Bale, Heath Ledger,
and Kirsten Dunst. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2008. Film.
"Introduction-Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples
Temple." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 13 Feb. 2012.
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/introduction/jonestown-introduction/>.
Perrine, Laurence. “Othello.” Perrine’s Literature: Structures,
Sound, and Sense. Fort Worth. Harcourt College. 2002. 1362-462. Print.
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