Blog Post #2

The play The Shape of Things centers around 4 characters living in a small college town. Though at the beginning of the play none of them seem particularly evil people, by the end we see all of the immoral acts they have done throughout the play. Though they all have their share of wrongdoings, there are some characters who are much worse off than the others.

The most immediately obvious answer to this question is Evelyn. Though viewers are not aware, she is deceitful from the very beginning. She pretends to be interested in Adam romantically, simply so that she can manipulate him. Though some changes she makes are good, such as cutting his hair and getting rid of the old jacket, the act itself is somewhat morally dubious. Despite positive change, she is still deceiving Adam. And in some cases, her manipulation leads to negative outcomes, such as when Adam decides to cut his closest friends from his life. He even goes so far as to get cosmetic surgery as a result of her influence. Regardless of your opinion on cosmetic surgery, it’s hard to argue that such a drastic change resulting from manipulation isn't crossing a line of some kind. Once her schemes are revealed, Evelyn tries to defend herself by pointing out the same immoral acts being committed by the media and society as a whole. But someone else committing the same immoral act as you doesn't absolve you of any guilt, it just means that both parties are in the wrong. Evelyn may have a point that today’s media is immorally influencing people to make drastic changes to themselves. That doesn’t mean she can do it too and it makes it ok. And even if you ignore the changes that she influenced him to make, pretending to be in a relationship with him for so long is wrong by itself.

Despite Evelyn’s questionable deeds, it's possible that Adam is even more immoral when you consider his actions. And make no mistake, they were his actions. Every change Adam made to himself was by his own volition. Sure, Evelyn may have brought up certain topics, or made a simple suggestion, but it was Adam who carried out everything. It is Adam’s fault for being so easily influenced into making major changes in his life. Adam let Evelyn’s view of him matter too much, and so he became willing to change his life at the drop of a hat just for her. In some cases, there didn’t have to be a cause. Evelyn never even mentioned a tattoo and yet he went out and got one of her initials. When presented with choosing between Evelyn and his friends, he chose Evelyn with little hesitation.

Quite a case can be made saying that both Evelyn and Adam are the most lacking in morals in the play. However when compared I would have to say Evelyn is worse off. Adams worst deed was cutting his friends out of his life. While it was a terrible thing to do, Evelyn still seems to be more lacking in morals. It is worsened by her complete lack of remorse. She manipulates and lies to Adam for weeks, publicly humiliates him, turns him into a piece of art, and feels absolutely no guilt for ruining his life. If the question posed was “Who committed the most immoral acts” it would probably be Adam. But since we are examining who is the most lacking in morals, the greater severity of her acts puts Evelyn at the top.