Gloria answers “Is Teresa considered good or bad? After...”

winnie m. asked this question about The Maze Runner (The Maze Runner, #1):

Is Teresa considered good or bad? After reading the rest of the series, I am completely torn on her.

Gloria I, like you, have gone through a torturous love-hate relationship with Miss. Teresa Agnes, as others in the fandom would agree. I have seen this case …moreI, like you, have gone through a torturous love-hate relationship with Miss. Teresa Agnes, as others in the fandom would agree. I have seen this case before, so I do have some insight. But it's like in the classic musical 'Les Miserables' (sorry, I don't have any accents on my computer) with the character Javert. He is someone who believes he is doing right in the eyes of God, though he is considered the antagonist of the play. This is because he is so focused on abiding by the law and following the rules, there is no room inside him for emotion, that little voice in his head telling him that what he is doing is wrong, because he believes it is for the greater good, not unlike the countless antagonists in other movies, TV shows and books before and after. They push it away because it is not about the obstacles you have to take down, it is the end goal that matters.

Teresa is very similar, someone who is so focused on WICKED's cure, that she doesn't care how many she has to take down, be it a group of Cranks or her best friend. They lack the characteristic known as 'being human', and that is what makes her so despicable. WICKED itself, is the exact same. They will torture a group of kids who don't know anything about themselves for the good of the human race.

When you put it like that, what's good and what's bad?

Villains like her are difficult to pin for this reason. They don't prance around in weird costumes and want the world to die, go around plotting their revenge and have a frightening laugh. They just want to do the right thing. but have no idea how to go about it, and usually end up with a bad solution and *boom*, they are considered evil.

And my point is?

It is not the fact of "Good vs Evil". Sure, in Disney Movies and children's stories, but this is not one of them. In those kinds of movies and books, it's black and white. You're either a good person or bad person. No exceptions. But I think the point the point I'm trying to get to is in reality, there is a whole lot of grey.

And that is that.

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