From the play “The Shape of Things”, by Neil LaBute, all the characters may have done some bad, or may have done much more. Which character though, is the most immoral and unethical? What actions and motives lead them to hold this status? Is it just the outcome of what happened due to their actions, or is it their intentions as well? Did Evelyn’s lack of good faith in her relationship with Adam cause her to be bad? Or is it Adam, with his uncaring and willingness to be her pawn, only wanting to go toward his desires, make him the unethical one? Could it even be Jenny or Philip, cheating on each other when they are fiancée? All things considered, who is responsible for who, and what is our liability toward?
Evelyn is an answer to whom is the most unethical. She leads Adam on, who genuinely believes that they are in love and in a reliable relationship. Toying with his feeling she makes him do things such as get cosmetic surgery, tattoos, give up his friendship with his closest friends, amongst other things. In the end she breaks the relationship in the cruelest of ways; even after he proposes. Her intention was not pure, her methods of getting what she needed neither. Breaking the relationship by going in front of the entire town and even proclaiming that she is doing so and knows so, by claiming that he's been lead on and used as a tool just for her college thesis.
Another possible claim as to who is unethical is surprisingly Adam. Adam, although lead on and returned in the most horrifying of ways, too had a part in the final result. How he acts before the relationship is unethical. He trusts Evelyn, a stranger who is not to trust due to coming to the museum with the intent of defacing a object in there. He quickly trusts her though, to the point of believing her when she says that he needs to fix his hair. He followed his desires too much as well, being with her because she is good looking, yet doing many things outside of the boundaries of the relationship such as looking at a waitress, or making out with his former crush, Jenny.
Overall, I believe that Evelyn is at hand for being the most unethical and immoral. She was in a dependent relationship with Adam, him being the dependent. She had his full trust and controlled his actions, yet in the end misled him to go astray. Her responsibility fell toward taking care of him according to what she had claimed, yet she did not do so.
I like how you pull in how Adams ethics of trusting a stranger led to all that happened. If he didn't trust her to begin with he would be better off.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Adam trusted Evelyn. However, I think Evelyn trusted Adam, and Adam cheated on her and continually lied about it. Adam abused the trust first when he cheated.
ReplyDeleteThe TV manipulates us all the time. Peers manipulate us all the time ("peer pressure"). I shiny object can distract us. Are those things evil? Isn't Eve just a shiny object to Adam? In exchange for pleasure, he does whatever she says. He doesn't bother to get to know her--if he'd actually asked real questions and asked to meet her parents, etc., the game would have been up.
ReplyDeleteThe irony in all of this is Eve didn't try to get Adam to do drugs or rob a bank or quit school. She altered him to fit society's idea of beauty. The "damage" she did wasn't damage at all, unless you count the hurt feelings. But all relationships involve hurt feelings at some point.
But it is troubling that Eve could be so detached from hurting Adam so badly because she wanted to make great art and was uncompromising in trying to make it (not interested in the "Ethic of Caring").
Any way, I hope we can agree Labute's play is great art--it is uncomfortable, makes us think, and brings to light something that beneath the surface. I think the strong female character is an added bonus. I suspect if Eve was a guy and Adam was a girl, we'd take less issue with the manipulation that went on.
The argument for Adam as the immoral character for trusting is a bit hard to digest. Is it really unethical to be trusting? I think it is illogical but not unethical.
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