Good and Evil

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AS - Level English Literature (Brighton Rock (crime)) Mind Map on Good and Evil, created by Lizzie Glover on 04/01/2016.
Lizzie Glover
Mind Map by Lizzie Glover, updated more than 1 year ago
Lizzie Glover
Created by Lizzie Glover almost 9 years ago
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Resource summary

Good and Evil
  1. Part One introduces the two main protagonists, Ida and Pinkie who act as vessels for the side of Good vs. Evil/Right vs. Wrong, as it becomes clear from Part 2 onwards that the novel addresses metaphysical issues of Good vs. Evil and the influence of the Roman Catholic Church.
    1. Pinkie- it is ironic that he plays Evil, and chooses Hell over Heaven 'Heaven was a word: hell was something he could trust' when he maintains all the rules of the book that would mean he would go to heaven by rigorously avoiding giving in to vices (except for GBH and murder ofc) 'You could lose vice as easily as you could lose virtue'
      1. Ida- much more comfortable with a hedonistic lifestyle. She loves life and embraces it fully "Life was sunlight on brass bedposts, Ruby port, the leap of the heart when the outsider you have backed passes the post . . . Death shocked her, life was so important"
        1. Vice 1: Drinking
          1. In Part 1 Pinkie is shown to be drinking non-alcoholic drinks “ I don’t drink, Fred ” although it could be symbolic that the glass is dropped and smashes, foreshadowing of the breaking of Pinkie's will when he later gives in and drinks
            1. Vice 2: Sex
              1. Pinkie is appalled at the idea of sexual contact: 'a prick of sexual desire disturbed him like a sickness . . . He felt desire move again, like nausea in the belly'. This is partly a result of having watched his parents' weekly sexual activities while he was a child. In order to consummate his marriage he needs to tell both Rose and himself that they are committing a mortal sin because they were not married in church.
                1. Ida is a key role reversal for gender for the 1930s, although she describes herself as a bit free and easy, she believes that sex is part of human nature and just a bit of fun. This is further seen in her relationship with Phil Corkery, who is essentially just someone she uses for companionship and sex, with him acting as her sexy sidekick (usually a role played by women to male heroes) "She was shaken by a Bacchic and bawdy mood...Corkery blushed, plunged deeper in his embarrassment"
                2. There is regular evidence of Ida drinking right from the outset " she was only a little drunk in a friendly accommodating way ” as is fitting with her hedonistic ideology, and this makes her pointedly different from Pinkie
              2. The two protagonists have different motivations that drive them along their path of goof or evil, these being tied in closely with their characteristics
                1. Pinkie is not driven by self-confidence - almost the opposite. He was a bully at school, always trying to prove he was tougher than another child. He has not changed. He is very concerned about how people view him and when he believes neither Colleoni nor the police take him seriously, he becomes very bitter: "The poison twisted in the Boy's veins. He had been insulted. He had to show someone he was - a man."
                  1. Ida takes on the role of avenging angel. Following leads from the newspaper she meets Molly, the girl Hale tried to pick up on the beach. After their conversation Ida is convinced of foul play. In addition, the word PHIL comes out of a session with the Board and Ida believes this refers to an acquaintance, Phil Corkery and is a supernatural (not religious) sign that she must act "God doesn't mind...I know the difference between Right and Wrong"
                  2. Rose represents a connection between Good and Evil: her good completes Pinkie's evil (different to Ida who fights him). Rose lives in a grey middle ground between Ida and Pinkie, where good and evil coexist. She is good enough to believe in Pinkie's love, but weak enough to follow him onto the evil path he has chosen for himself. She goes to confession, still believing Pinkie loved her and wanting to be damned.
                    1. Rose initially appears to be the opposite of Pinkie - a good Catholic who says her prayers, attends mass, confesses and hopes for heaven. She reminds Pinkie too much of his own background as they are from the same part of town and Pinkie has ambitions to move on like Colleoni. However, he reluctantly recognises that he needs Rose: "He was aware that she belonged to his life, like a room or a chair: she was something which completed him . . . What was most evil in him needed her: it couldn't get along without goodness."
                      1. Ida sees the good in Rose and wants to save her from Pinkie, and Rose is part of Ida's motivation for continuing her quest. But Rose has convinced herself that Pinkie loves her and wouldn't do her any harm. She has, through her association with Pinkie, lost some of her goodness. She is loyal to a murderer. So when in the end Pinkie achieves his ultimate goal and dies in the fires of Hell. Ida feels vindicated, she has solved the puzzle and saved Rose but the experience has changed her - perhaps she has had enough adventure and excitement.
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