Wicked, by Gregory Maguire, explores the life of the infamous “Wicked Witch of the West,” formerly known as Elphaba. Elphaba is born green. On top of that, she is almost completely/entirely unloved by her parents. Elphaba must navigate through life in Oz, facing the challenges of her appearance, an unjust government, racial injustices, life in society, and a world that seems like it’s out to get her. Slowly and steadily, Elphaba begins to tumble down farther and farther away from her reasonable judgement and sanity. Many antagonists in stories are not inherently cruel or evil, their corrupt behavior stems and grows as a result of their surroundings and circumstances. This is presented in the book effectively through the use of flashbacks
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Through foreshadowing, the reader is notified about the outcome early on. Be seeing where Elphaba will end up and knowing that certain events will occur, readers can point out places in the book where she suffered and how that sparked her “wickedness.” One example of foreshadowing in the book can be seen in just the full title, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. This title makes readers aware of the fact the witch, Elphaba, will indeed come to be known as being wicked. Though, the readers do not yet know why and how the woman earned her name “the Wicked Witch.” When the terrible environment and trying circumstances that Elphaba is forced to endure are revealed, the foreshadowing from the title makes it clear that these factors will eventually emotionally harm enough to make her wicked. Another spot where foreshadowing helps to show that Elphaba’s evil did not come from birth is in the prologue, on page 2. A group of travelers discuss the witch and events from her life. “She was deprived of a mother’s love, is how I’ve heard it. She was an abused child,” mentions one character. “She has been unlucky in love,” another character adds. Later in the story, her rough childhood and the death of the only person she truly loved are elaborated on. These two events are major sources of Elphaba’s pain. With prior awareness of what will happen in Elphaba's life, these events and their overall grisly effect on …show more content…
Elphaba was not born already cruel. She becomes more and more lost in herself as her surroundings, loss, and memories took their toll. Had Elphaba been raised with loving parents and only known happiness, she most certainly would have been a completely different person. There seems to be an equal capacity for good and evil in every person. The deciding factor for whether or not a person will be a hero or villain truly is the environment and life events that the character is exposed to. If given a choice earlier on, Elphaba never wished to be the villain. She was a normal introverted teen who loved apples and books, until everything around her became to much and she had to snap. As asked by Elphaba herself on page 80, “But then was it your fault if you walked through a patch of darkness? If you couldn’t see
Through foreshadowing, the reader is notified about the outcome early on. Be seeing where Elphaba will end up and knowing that certain events will occur, readers can point out places in the book where she suffered and how that sparked her “wickedness.” One example of foreshadowing in the book can be seen in just the full title, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. This title makes readers aware of the fact the witch, Elphaba, will indeed come to be known as being wicked. Though, the readers do not yet know why and how the woman earned her name “the Wicked Witch.” When the terrible environment and trying circumstances that Elphaba is forced to endure are revealed, the foreshadowing from the title makes it clear that these factors will eventually emotionally harm enough to make her wicked. Another spot where foreshadowing helps to show that Elphaba’s evil did not come from birth is in the prologue, on page 2. A group of travelers discuss the witch and events from her life. “She was deprived of a mother’s love, is how I’ve heard it. She was an abused child,” mentions one character. “She has been unlucky in love,” another character adds. Later in the story, her rough childhood and the death of the only person she truly loved are elaborated on. These two events are major sources of Elphaba’s pain. With prior awareness of what will happen in Elphaba's life, these events and their overall grisly effect on …show more content…
Elphaba was not born already cruel. She becomes more and more lost in herself as her surroundings, loss, and memories took their toll. Had Elphaba been raised with loving parents and only known happiness, she most certainly would have been a completely different person. There seems to be an equal capacity for good and evil in every person. The deciding factor for whether or not a person will be a hero or villain truly is the environment and life events that the character is exposed to. If given a choice earlier on, Elphaba never wished to be the villain. She was a normal introverted teen who loved apples and books, until everything around her became to much and she had to snap. As asked by Elphaba herself on page 80, “But then was it your fault if you walked through a patch of darkness? If you couldn’t see