Logan Deutchman

Mr. Pace
D.C. English IV
Essay
26 February 2017

Evil Breeds Evil

Throughout history, malevolence has always been a prevalent concept. Evil lies within

everyone and everything and, therefore, is everywhere. Steven King uses evil as the main theme

in his novel Apt Pupil; the second story in his book Different Seasons. King reinforces the idea

that evil never ceases to exist even within the most innocent classifications of people along

with the idea that evil can be inherited. The argument of malevolence within Apt Pupil is

supported by Kings use of evil amongst the youth, within the elderly, and even amidst the

ignorant.

The first way King supports the idea that evil is transferable and ubiquitous is by showing

it amongst the youth. Todd Bowden, the main character in Apt Pupil, represents the youth in this

novel. He is a curious young teenager who is fascinated with the atrocities that occurred in the

Holocaust. By learning of the brutalities that took place in the Holocaust, Todd himself becomes

prone to these acts of violence. He first becomes a disturbed young man, then eventually resorts

to murder and inherits an anti-Semitic mentality. Todds metaphorical demise comes from when

King has him brutally murder a bluejay, representing the death of Todds youth, innocence, and

awareness: On the corner he saw a bluejay lying on the sidewalk [..] He rolled his bike over the

jay with exquisite slowness, hearing the newspaper crackle of its feathers and the crunch of its

small hollow bones as they fractured inside it (228). Since Todd symbolizes all of youth, King

establishes the notion that evil exists among even the most innocent; however, they have to learn

it somewhere.
 The next way King establishes evil and its inheritance is through the elderly. Kurt

Dussander is an old WWII Nazi hiding in the suburbs of California. Todd discovers Dussanders

true identity and blackmails Dussander into telling him every barbarity about the Holocaust. At

first, Dussander is hesitant, but as the stories continue, Dussander resorts to his old malevolent

ways. Like Todd symbolizes youth, Dussander represents the elderly; through Dussander, King

metaphorically shows that evil never perishes. Likewise, since the young learn from the old,

Todd inherits evil from Dussander. Dussander thought he was a changed man who was almost

regretful about his past: Whatever happened at Patin, it happened to another man. Not to me

(164). Yet, because evil ceases to vanish, Dussander resorted to his old, corruptive behavior.

The last way King presents evil as an everlasting and interchangeable concept is through

ignorant people. In Apt Pupil, Todd Bowdens parents represent ignorant people. Todds parents

care for him and love him but are completely oblivious to the immense burden that Todd has to

endure for more than several years. Even though no direct fault can be put on his parents, their

ignorance allowed Todd to pursue a life full of malevolence: Monica looked at her son and

wondered if he had been sleeping well. He looked pale. And his grades had taken that

inexplicable dip (194). After Monica thought this, she just shrugged it off. If she had not

excused Todds behavior, it might have saved her sons life, along with many others. Ignorance

allows evil to not only exist, but to thrive.

One persons act of evil can and will produce more malevolent actions or thoughts. Evil

breeds evil. This is why King argues that malevolence is omnipresent in his story Apt Pupil.

People often focus on where major evil resides and forget about how it affects societies youthful

and elderly people. Along with this, communities oftentimes excuse ignorant people from

contributing to malevolence. Steven Kings Apt Pupil develops the theme of evil in an extensive

and analytical way.