Nazia Week 10

How does Buffy deconstruct traditional literary notions of good and evil?

Buffy deconstructs the traditional literary notions of good and evil by the complexity of its characters. Each of its characters has a multifaceted personality, meaning one person is neither completely good nor evil. Braun (2000) refers to Klein’s theory which states that this mentality that we have is developed from infancy and that we are conditioned to expect and deal with both “good” and “bad” from our close and loved ones throughout our lives. Furthermore, Braun relates this theory to Buffy and Angel’s relationship. In the series the shift of Angel’s character from good to the evil Angelus (and back again) and the change in Buffy’s feeling towards him are firstly caused by sex and then the solution is mirrored and remedied by more “thrusting” in the form of a sword (Buffy ends up stabbing Angel). The intricacy of the characters in Buffy and their relationships demonstrate that each of them is capable of both good deeds and bad which aptly reflects the complexity of human nature.

References:
Braum, B. (2000) The X-files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The ambiguity of evil in supernatural representations. Retrieved 18 October, 2005 from: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0412/is_2_28/ai_64688900