Are people born wicked, or is wickedness thrust upon them? When people are born, they are innocent and pure. Does society have a role in changing that pure soul into something considered wicked, or evil? Even then, is what society considers to be evil always actually evil? These are all questions that have plagued humanity for millennia. In Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked, these questions are explored through the life of the protagonist, Elphaba. This novel uses the life of the Wicked Witch of the West to examine these questions and to convey to the audience that evil is not always black and white, and often, what society considers good could potentially be the straw that breaks the system’s back. Maguire develops his theme throughout the book by exploring the roots of evil through the development of a dynamic protagonist. …show more content…
Maguire does this not through changing Elphaba as a person, but instead by shaping the audience’s perspective by giving the background and reasons for why she turns out to be evil in the end. All the reader knows in the beginning is that Elphaba will inevitably be evil, however, the process through which that occurs makes all the difference in her actions in the end. This misunderstood girl, who grew up in a loveless, dysfunctional household, is only trying her best to give equality for everyone, The Animals are especially important to her possibly because she identifies with them because her parents never recognize the fact that she is a girl. Her green skin changes her family's entire perspective of her, and causes many of people she meets to think automatically think she is something created by evil