Analysis Of Theodore Dalrymple's Frivolity Of Evil

Improved Essays
Theodore Dalrymple, a doctor from Britain that worked in prisons and hospitals for 14 years, spent several years during the course of his work touring the world. During his travels, Dalrymple witnessed abundant malevolent behavior. In Central America, he witnessed a civil war where there was complete tyranny over the society and armies that did not even think twice about massacring. In Equatorial Guinea, he saw malicious dictators who killed or exiled one-third of the population just for wearing glasses because they were a “disaffected intellectual.” In Liberia, he went to a church where 600 people were captured and slaughtered by their own president, all while being videotaped during the torture (Page 156). In Frivolity of Evil, Theodore Dalrymple amplifies his preoccupying thoughts he inherited over his course of work traveling and listening to …show more content…
I agree with Dalrymple and reason with what he has to say in Frivolity of Evil. Personally, I think it is fair for single mother’s who are neglected by their baby’s father to receive help so that the baby can survive and be fed. The baby did not choose to have a spineless, selfish man as a father. Women indulge with these cowardly men and expose themselves to vulnerable situations because they desire the feeling of attention or love. They make these choices out of selfish craving, bare a child, and are not capable of taking care of it. The welfare system frees them from their immoralities. Like it says in Frivolity of Evil, people will commit evil to the extent they think they can get away with.
There are people that feel like they are entitled that they can get away with certain things. These people are sometimes given an advantage from their social standing that causes them to act this way. They almost feel like it is their given right. We have the right to act evil, or the right to be good. It is simply the matter of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee ‘The consequences of evilness on others and how good and evil can coexist in a person’ One main theme, which is commonly seen throughout ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, is the coexistence of good and bad people in society, and how the evilness of people can affect others. The protagonist, Scout, and her brother, Jem, think that everyone in Maycomb is good, from their childish perspectives. Throughout the story, Jem and Scout both start to develop and they learn how to not be affected by the malice of others. They learn through their father and from experience.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Frivolity of Evil In his article titled “the frivolity of evil,” Dr. Dalrymple admits that he has become preoccupied with the problem of evil. Specifically the evil found in the everyday actions of men. This brand of evil spreads through a community like a virus until no one is left untouched. Through the insight he has gained working as a prison psychiatrist, Dr. Dalrymple has been able to find the answers to the questions that occupied his mind for the past fourteen years” why do people commit evil, what conditions allow it to flourish, how it is best prevented?”…

    • 1038 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Philip Zimbardo’s TEDTalk “The Psychology of Evil” discusses the line that separates good from evil, and how any human, placed under the right circumstances, can be swayed to either side of that line. Zimbardo begins his talk by discussing the century old question “What makes people go wrong?”. While some people may argue that humans are born either intrinsically good or evil, Zimbardo refutes this claim stating how, as a young boy growing up in the Bronx, he personally witnessed many of his friends cross the line from good to evil. Zimbardo calls this phenomenon the “Lucifer Effect” after the biblical story of the fallen angel Lucifer, once God’s favorite angel who falls from grace to eventually become Satan, epitome of all evil. Zimbardo’s…

    • 1635 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The lack of proper checks when applying for assistance is the primary reason why welfare abuse occurs. In addition, legislators and the creators have made assistance so easy to get, which is why so many people are on assistance. I have over two years of experience working in retail and have seen first hand how many people don’t deserve to have it. Multiple times I have witnessed a person use welfare assistance to pay for their groceries, and walk out to a brand new or next to new vehicle. Similarly, some people will have top of the line technology and/or be a tobacco user.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dehumanization Human beings love to search for the meaning behind everything because once meaning is found, then justification and rationalization can be given. Genocide is a very complex term, but the act of genocide itself is unfathomable. People always want a reason for why presidents or dictators allow genocide to happen, and the only option that can make everything clear is that human evil must have developed. Although human evil provides an explanation, there is something true about human evil.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some may disagree with the system completely but others are in certain situations and are in need of the assistance such as the disabled, who can’t physically work while others abuse it. Welfare benefits should require stricter laws and follow ups. Welfare creates dependency, people…

    • 573 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Welfare Epidemic

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Regardless of everything said I personally do not believe welfare is a bad thing, it is simply not done properly. Money that I earn should be my money, if I wanted to give my money away I would. You as well should be able to make that decision for yourself. Overall, the welfare system is a great idea done wrong. The potential is there but the government set it up wrong.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are some people under welfare programs who were found to be abusing then and even came to a point of being dishonest of their status (Green Garage 3). This is because they have become too dependent on these programs, which should not be the case (Green Garage 3). Welfare also has some issues with regards to the cost to the exchequer (Green Garage 3). The money that funds all the welfare reform comes from the citizen’s taxes. While it is good to know that that tax money is going into those welfare programs, there are times that it becomes very costly for that state or country to bear (Green Garage 3).…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Stanford Prison Experiment was a proposed two-week experiment that turned into a six day nightmare. “The original intent was to study whether the behavior of prisoners and guards was dispositional or situational” (McLeod, 2008). However, what they got out of the experiment was a “situation in which prisoners were withdrawing and behaving in pathological ways” and where some of the guards “were behaving sadistically” (Zimbardo). The Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most controversial studies ever conducted in the “history of social psychology” (Konnikova, 2015). The results of this experiment show the truth of how absolute power corrupts absolutely, why good people do bad things, and how it can be applied to real life situations (Dalberg-Acton).…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the January 1995 issue of The Nation, Katha Pollitt writes an article entitle, "It Takes Two: A Modest Proposal for Holding Fathers Equally Accountable." In her essay, she attacks Newt Gingrich's current Personal Responsibility Act (PRA) saying that this act only recognizes the responsibility of mothers on welfare and the actions needed to be taken against them. Pollitt argues that the fathers of these children on welfare be held equally accountable by the legislature. To summarize the article, Pollitt states that male politicians always focus on the welfare mother's behavior in "a punitive way."…

    • 1005 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They do this by having more children out of wedlock to attain more money in their welfare check. Finally these welfare payment overall destroy a person’s morale to work hard. These welfare check receivers no longer work because they do not need to in order to get by every single…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “No woman can call herself free until she can choose consciously whether she will or will not be a mother,” This quote, spoken many years ago by Margaret Sanger, a prominent pioneer in the history of contraceptives, still has immense relevance in today’s society. Many women every year find themselves with unwanted pregnancies, but why does it make sense for someone not carrying the child and feeling the effects of it to decide the circumstances under which she can terminate it? The conclusion a multitude of people come to is that it should not be anyone’s decision but hers. In the United States, abortion should be available for all women with less restrictions and the final choice should be theirs, because a woman is entitled to rights over her own body, and it is a healthier, safer option for the woman that does not wish to carry to term and for the child.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Each year, millions of Americans receive government benefits such as housing assistance, food stamps, telephone service, and other funds. Rather than supporting themselves, many of these citizens feel the taxpayers should, basically, pay their bills. Welfare comes out of the taxes of people who work hard for what they earn in life. A large amount of people who pay taxes do not like the idea of their money supporting someone who doesn't work for what they need or want and are waiting for their welfare money to get to them. There is no enough number of welfare programs existing that will be able to sustain the growing of the population in this country.…

    • 211 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The article “The Frivolity of Evil” was written by Theodore Dalrymple. The writer of this article works in the hospital and prison. While working he saw different types of people. He heard different types of story from different people. In this article he tries to explain who does more wrong in life wants to become good.…

    • 1049 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The welfare program in the United States is abused by many Americans. Citizens in the program get their sense of responsibility muted causing dependency on the government. The government does not give its users a limit of how many people they will provide for, causing them to have bigger families in return for more money. There is a misuse of government grants and aids, and many abuse the money received. Welfare is intended to be an aid for the citizens who have an actual need for it while they become financially stable.…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays