Three days ago, a famous children’s book author, Brian Jacques passed away at age 71. I own seventeen of his twenty one books, all part of the Redwall series. These books captivated my imagination till sixth grade. The series all pivot around one standard plot. The good guys are various woodland creatures, namely mice, otters, squirrels, moles, shrews, hares, badgers and hedgehogs. The bad guys are always Hawks, toads, foxes, rats, weasels, ferrets, and stoats. While the books do run similar, they are wonderfully written. He originally wrote them for blind children, so he uses a lot of description.
One thing that always bothered me however, is how the bad guys have not a scrap of goodness in them. They betray their friends, kill each other and ravage the country side. They have not one good asset to them. Maybe this is just to lay out good and evil simply for children. Or maybe it’s his way of justifying the good beats killing them but still.
i don’t know one human being that is so unforgivably evil. Not one. People aren’t black and white. They’re not good and evil. They’re more like shades of grey. They have good sides, and terrible sides. The stoats and foxes should have some pitiable sides. You should be able to see them care for their pups and babies. It can be flipped too. The good guys have no bad side. They are pure in their absolute kindness. There is no so-so character.
This is, of course, me reading it from an adult view. I still appreciate for a great work of writing and a beautiful children’s book. But every time I encounter an evil character I wince. Because I know that everyone has both a good side and a bad side, and that should be acknowledged in the book.
