Student’s Name

Instructor

Course title

Date

Banality of evil

In life some situations and circumstances happen that force us to be what we never imagined yet these acts are normal to them and nothing is wrong. A normal person does something that cast doubts whether that person was really in a stable mind. Cases have been reported where real parents especially the father killing the child and also murdering the mother this is an onslaught murder. Cases of homicides been reported on a daily basis in the federal bureau of police. But why does this happen? These are normal people in their normal behavior but abruptly change and their behavior create an impact that affects the lives of others forever. For others, their presence only affects others and makes their lives look more disastrous this is the life we live and we have to accept the changes that occur and influence us (Adams and Balfour)

The life history of great people like Adolf Hitler who just had normal life, but later on we see a change of things suddenly. Nobody had trained to be a murder and kill the Jews in the first place. No single parents teach their kid s to kill as part of learning in the early stages of life. Thus it is evident theta these are normal people who just change because of situations they are put in or may be because of the circumstances they find themselves in.All people are born and grow well with moral basics and principles but later on things change.

In this text Lucifer effect, there are many instances where different people with different and outstanding personality initially change after being assigned the various tasks they play in different set ups.In the first day in prison, we see what the typical prisons look like in the states where there is real mistreatment in these places. Prisoners who never had the intentions of v rebelling because of the way they are treated they end up changing for worse. Initially, the prison had 3 cells each with three prisoners and an approximate number of prison guards was close to six.in the first day they introduce what we call exercises for the prisoners. Jump-ups and sit up s became the routine on the first day and this totally unexpected of a place like that.

In any harsh environment, the first day is always an introduction where it is pampered with a good stuff just to buy the minds of the people confined in those places. However, this is totally a different scenario, the first day all the miseries are portrayed just before their eyes. It reflects the experience likely to be faced for the rest of the days. For instance prisoner 8612 by the name Dough, rebels constantly and creates another funny environment. Dough goes ahead and halts insults at the guard on the first day after seeing that humiliation was too much for him. Dough had no choice but to act this way simply because things were not going the way he intended them to be (Bartlette)

Prisoners in cell 2 were constantly rebellious and create a lot of trouble for the rest in the prison. Initially, the aim of this whole set up an experiment a controlled experiment that seemed to produce desired results. With a provided facility that resembled the art of state prison and guards and prisoners who played their role seemed a perfect combination. Guard decide the prisoners by putting stickers on their blankets and requiring them to remove them before they sleep as a result of their disobedience is another point to note. Why should the guards be so evil to do such a thing.Prisonhers did not do anything to warrant this kind of punishment?

Guards have gone to the extreme and are taking things to the extreme by punishing the prisoners unlawfully. Small mistakes that do not require grave punishments are given capital punishment that require spending the whole day in the hole or the dungeon in solitude. Prisoner 8612 and also prisoner 5604 namely Rich are subjects of the dungeon and every time they make a mistake they are driven there. This is a clear depiction of how the guard shave turned out to be monsters of their own kind and find pleasure in punishing the prisoners. A well-intended control experiment by a well-known Dr.Zimbado turns out to be ill- fated because the guard are overpowering the prisoners.

Guard Arnett and Burdan are the most brutal of all the guards in the prison. Caring for the prisoners is none of their business and they have the power to do as they will and administer the kind of punishment that seems best for them. Stripping of prisoners and letting them sleep n naked is also dehumanizing. After some prisoners rebelled and violated some of the self-proclaimed rules they are forced to face and pay the price for their evil misdeeds. Being stripped off their clothes is one of the punishment that seemed perfect for them. At one time, they are denied (Zimbardo)

Prisoner Dough goes to the point of reacting physically in order to save the situation that he once facing. When one of the guards threw the beddings out, he engages in a physical confrontation and once again that warrants the hole to spend a perfect solitude moment once missed. However as time goes by, Dough becomes tired and opts for another strategy that of pretentious sickness in order to buy time for another strategy. One thing to note is that the behavior of this particular prisoner has really changed. Dough is portrayed as one who is abusive through the experiment calling all sort of names to the guards who insult him and abuse him verbally (Zimbardo)

Cell one and cell two collaborate in their effort to counter effect the power of the tyrant guards. At one time cell one refuse to open their cell door and they put their beds behind the bars. With support of their fellow brothers, this mission goes successful and they forego their lunch. This goes on for some time before their operation fails again due to lack of proper strategies to hold their plans. Guard on the other hand triumph over this and proclaim themselves heroes of the day.Although,they had tried their best their efforts and endeavors were to total fiasco, the prisoners did not want this to happen but due to the mistreatments they face daily and also humiliations they had to fight back and take the necessary steps and measures required. All these guys initially had well informed intentions and never expected things would out to be this way. Only one mission brought them to this facility and that was to earn within a span of two weeks. Frequent visits to the famous hole was now a custom well embraced by the custodians of that fateful place and also customization of one of the places to handle more participants was also another strategy.

Regular unnecessary exercises by the guards are also another evil reported in the text. Every day and anytime that the guard thought of administering such kind of punishment they prescribed it as often. At one time some prisoners rebelled and refused to take orders as such violating the rules that landed them trouble of the day.Also,the senses that they had to sing each timed the guards asked them to do so is another inhuman act to qualify as evil. Guard inhaling insults at the prisoners as they sang and recited the rules and also performing the tiring exercises all prove the evil actions of the guards who were once good guys but have been transformed by circumstances.

In the current situation, the most shocking and dehumanizing act was the acts of genocide in Rwanda in Africa that portrayed the evil in our systems and in our people who were once human and had human hearts. Millions of people of innocent lives were lost through such a tragic incident in Rwanda claiming more lives than any country in country. During this period, there was great atrocities and hatred between the warring communities the Tutsi and the Huttu.Rumours spread by the perpetrators of this act spread everywhere and war was everywhere in the country.Overnight,women were screaming and children crying for help ,their men had been slaughtered and butchered like a sheep or a cow is butchered (Steiner and Osmond)

Women raped, their men killed mercilessly and children tortured and some suffered sins of their parents. Houses destroyed, property damaged, lives lost that are never to be seen again are the pains that were left on those that were lucky to see life after the war. Another reported case was in Uganda where scores of victims were burnt in a church. Following the cases closely, it was the church leader that performed that particular act, putting thousands of people to death. Some of the questions that come and ring at the back of our minds what really went wrong with this kind of a preacher that he had to perform this kind of act. Skulls of those burnt still have been preserved to remain as history and reminder of what really happened. This sounds like a horror movie but is a clear revelation of what really happened and reported in Africa. Mostly, the people who perform these acts of atrocities are normal people in their state of mind but some hidden force that is hidden in them portrays itself and exhibits a dominant character (Weil)

Dough goes further and destroys the hidden camera in the prison facilties.This creates further confusion and further damage to the property. Guards are really angry with this kind of behavior exhibited by dough and other prisoners and means trouble for them. That fateful day this particular prisoner faces the wrath of spending some time in the dungeon. However, on the other hand, the prisoners in cell three are really cooperative and are willing to give themselves to their best to be slaves of the guards. As a result, some elements of betrayal are seen where the other prisoners are viewing cell three prisoners as betrayers.

Another problem arises when the prison warden Dr.Zimbardo has an appointment with the one and the only stubborn prisoner Dough. It is after the prisoner claimed that it was necessary for him to meet with the superintendant.However,the scheduled meeting turns out not as expected, since Dough is offered a chance to quit rather continue causing trouble. Dough is also offered a chance to be a spy and offer important information to the authorities a position he has to give much consideration and great weight. In conclusion, Dough is offered a chance to go and weigh options out and see the better ones that can suit his purpose.

Dough after getting back to the cell first makes a joke to the other prisoners and does not reveal the truth. In fact Dough lies all about the meeting, later, the prisoner reflects upon the offers and decides to quit although it was a hard choice for him. At some point, the prisoner breaks down, emotional aspects were getting part of him and could not help but give in.Finally, the prisoner is granted the freedom to walk out of the self-imposed misery to the doors of freedom. When this particular prisoner is walking out, plans are underway of escape by the rest of the prisoners.However, it turns out that all these plans were a plan carried by this particular prisoner. Also in earlier case, the lock of cell two was faulty and spoilt and the person responsible was the same prisoner. Luckily, the guards took an earlier note and corrected the whole scenario before the situation got out of hand.

An amazing chance happens to pass by, there was a visiting day for the prisoners and they were all happy to have it.All the prisoners were supposed to write letters to their parents and friends or family members inviting them for the auspicious occasion. Unfortunately, all the letters were to be screened and that meant they had to be read before they were mailed for security reasons. However, all the letters were sent to the relevant recipients. Before the actual activity took place that night there were numerous activities that were meant to torture the prisoners. They had to sing as they performed tiring exercises and sit ups.Some were taken to the hole where they spent some hours before joining the others for the tasks in preparation of what was to come.

Another problem was also in the blankets that had stickers and the prisoners had to remove them before they slept and this really felt bad and evil. Numerous counts after some time is also another thing that really disturbed the prisoners and made them be ruder. Prisoners were also denied food on that particular day and this made them even crueler than at any other time and this creates a lot of pressure on the authorities as they are afraid of a revolution that is to take place the next day. Already news had reached the warden and Dr.Zimbardo of a well-planned riot to take all other prisoners out of the misery they were going through.Adminstration had to figure out ways and device methods to take care of the already danger that was to occur. First, they had to contact a local police station and try to make use of an old facility that was already abandoned but used to serve as a prison. Although efforts seemed to bear fruits at first, later it turned out to be a misery as the police chief and the city manager turned down the doctor’s offer.

Failure of the first option meant that they had to use another different approach to ease the case as this would greatly affect results of the controlled experiment. However, it came to pass that no such riot was to happen and this shifts the focus of everything. A new prisoner is admitted to the facility who also becomes a header just like the others. Prisoners in cell three that were once more honest individuals also start rebelling and things take a new course from there. It is interesting how individuals that were once good turn out to be evil starting from the prisoners, the guards and every other person who chooses that path (Zimbardo)

Works cited

Adams, Guy B, and Danny L Balfour. Unmasking Administrative Evil. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 2009. Print.

Bartlett, Steven J. Normality Does Not Equal Mental Health. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger, 2011. Print.

Steiner, Rudolf, and D.S Osmond. The Influences Of Lucifer And Ahriman. Hudson: Anthroposophic Press, 1993. Print.

Weil, Zoe. Most Good, Least Harm. New York: Atria Books, 2009. Print.

Zimbardo, Philip G. The Lucifer Effect. New York: Random House, 2007. Print.