World Literature: Manson "Helter Skelter"

Name Tutor Course Date World Literature: Manson Research Paper Simplifying the concept that some people are innately good while other people are innately evil is highly dangerous. Human nature is complex than this as people can be a combination of good and evil qualities. Some individuals that behave cruelly and brutally can be rehabilitated and may display good qualities such as empathy. However, such individuals may not be rehabilitated and may act without compassion again. The paper will analyze good and evil through evaluating individuals from the film, Helter Skelter and also from the Manson interviews. It will examine Charles Manson and his actions and how this is associated with the concept of good and evil. Analysis Helter Skelter was a film released in 1976 which was a depiction of Manson’s assertions regarding African Americans. Manson believed that tensions between African Americans and Caucasian Americans would eventually erupt into a catastrophic race war that would lead to the deaths of numerous Caucasian Americans (Romano 24). Therefore, Manson indicated that white people should be afraid of this occurrence and can even turn against their African American counterparts which would prevent the helter-skelter from occurring. This line of thought can be justified by the fact that Manson grew up in a highly neglectful environment. By the time he became a teenager, he had already done numerous petty crimes. He also endured sexual assault and abuse at school, and after repeated escape attempts, he started committing violent sexual assault on other boys (Romano 10-13). From such experiences, Manson is the product of his environment. He clearly internalized all the issues he experienced in his early life, and eventually, he justified his actions by the violent assault he committed later on. Another instance is whereby Mason threatened members of her family such as Susan Atkins against testifying in court. Susan Atkins immediately after the threats announced that she would not testify at the trial (Felton & Dalton 51-55). He also tried with another sibling, Linda Kasabian but he failed since Kasabian testified against Charles Manson in court. She highlighted the manner that Manson typically scared her other siblings as well as they had to be at Manson’s beck and call whenever they were needed. Manson also began coercing and manipulating people especially young women. He continuously committed theft and other crimes. From this evidence, it is clear that Manson taught himself how to become evil even though his environment plays a huge factor. Numerous testimonies corroborated Kasabian’s testimoni...