Anyone Can Be A Monster Faith Jennrich College

Primo Levi, an Italian Jewish chemist, writer, and Holocaust survivor, once said that "Monsters exist, but they are far too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the common men, the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions." When people think of evil people or monsters, we typically think of the main figure of a movement or group. The most evil person people think of is Hitler or Stalin. It is easy to blame the main figure solely, but by doing this we fail to remember the ordinary people who are involved in letting horrendous acts occur. These people did not work alone. It is everyday people who have the power to control what will happen. It is through civilian opinions and actions that evil acts can occur. Hitler had millions of followers and supporters that did not question what he was doing to Jews. They and many other countries failed to realize by following blindly without questioning, they were condemning a group of people to death. Monsters do not have to be a completely evil being. Many people do not realize that all monsters are just ordinary people. In her short story, "The Lottery", Shirley Jackson is able to express the chilling horror of blind obedience. Jackson is able...