The word evil can have several meanings, such as morally bad or wrong, the act of causing others to reevaluate their beliefs and take on an entirely new persona, or abusive of an immense amount of power. One can only vaguely grasp the term evil given its definition. It takes one's own experiences to fully understand evil. Evil is when you intentionally marginalize a mass of people because of a common attribute. You are proceeding to do something immoral while recognizing the potential risks. Through the voice of Elaine Aron, Zimbardo states that such qualities are embodied among ordinary people subjected to various pressures to create an evil situation. These traits appear repeatedly among characters in both literature and American history in Arthur Miller's The Crucible, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery,” and events related to McCarthyism. they demand obedience and expect the norm from “their people”. They are expected to use beneficial judgment and lead society forward and on the right path, but given power, leaders' minds are tainted. People in authority are often assigned “responsible roles such as “guardian,” “teacher,” [or] “defenders of the law” (Aron 4). This results in the manipulation of people's minds as they tend to trust those who have a name of great significance and respect. The society in Shirley Jackson's “The Lottery” is often faced with the difficult task of distinguishing between the immoral and the moral to the point of losing the ability to recognize the non-existence of morality. People “have done it so many times” (Jackson 296), yet they don't question their traditions and simply stick to the ru...... middle of paper ...... has passed and moves on , while using this new found strength for the betterment of society. She transforms into a benefactor of society, being “so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable with the afflicted” (Hawthorne 111). Hester demonstrates that she can overcome society's marginalization of her actions and turns the A for adultery into an A for angel. Being evil is not admirable, yet without it there is no definition of morality. Good without evil is like black without white, darkness without light, yin without yang: one does not exist without the other, yet both exist in harmony. Good can exist in evil and evil can exist in good. There is no clear line between moral and immoral, and therefore they tend to cross over into each other's territory, as described in Zimbardo's article. As long as humanity exists, good and evil will always coexist.