tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888438300076664400.post1024644155532611315..comments2014-12-09T17:25:07.561-08:00Comments on Words and Images: Evil: Inherited not LearnedAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5888438300076664400.post-86064542420261420582014-10-18T12:11:23.326-07:002014-10-18T12:11:23.326-07:00“Crumb emphasizes the human characteristics in the...“Crumb emphasizes the human characteristics in the serpent to show that humans have always possessed evil attributes.” -- I’ve been dealing with lots of unclear and nonexistent arguments today, so this is a nice change.<br /><br />“Crumb is trying to show that the serpent and man are essentially the same cunning creature.” -- excellent second paragraph.<br /><br />I like the third paragraph a lot. Your writing is good & compact and the argument is reasonably compelling. I do think there is a kind of contradiction here, though. You assert that Crumb finds people “bestial” and evil. You also assert that they cannot be reformed, in his view: “Crumb does not call for a reformation of society, instead his view is darker. He does not think that man can improve from the destructive nature he has and will always possess.” Here’s my question: if your reading is correct, and the mirroring of Eve & the serpent is as important as you argue, is crumb really showing us an *evil* humanity or is he showing us our nature as animals? You are opening up a good topic, and you’re doing it in depth, which is why I pose that challenge. Is Eve evil, is she an animal, or is she an evil animal? The three are rather different. The obvious way to turn this essay into a religion is to use the portrayal of Eve & the serpent as a lever to pry open Crumb’s views on evil.<br /><br />Your discussion of the back cover is excellent.<br /><br />Your last paragraph is ok. Mostly I want to go back to my questions about whether he (or you) are concerned with evil or our animal nature, but also I wonder whether in some ways this is an essay that could be used to write about Crumb - where the serpent and/or Eve become a way of investigating Crumb himself.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com