The conflict between good and evil is a prevalent theme in literature. Graham Greene incorporates conflict throughout the text of his novel Brighton Rock. To do this it uses two prominent characters, Ida Arnold and Pinkie Brown. Ida represents "good" and is portrayed as a woman with high morals and sensitivity, while Pinkie represents "evil" and is portrayed as a ruthless sociopath. Throughout the Brighton Rock storyline, the two characters continually clash, which helps create the theme of good versus evil. The characterizations of Ida and Pinkie, as well as the underlying themes of morality and malevolence, create the conflict between good and evil in Brighton Rock. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay At the beginning of the novel, Pinkie approaches Hale on the street while he is talking to two girls. During her conversation with Hale and the girls, Pinkie is described as someone with "gray, inhuman eyes" (12) and a "dead, serious voice" (13). These characteristics immediately put Pinkie in a negative light, as his eyes convey that he lacks the qualities of compassion and mercy, and his voice reflects his lack of emotion and liveliness. Therefore, Greene characterizes Pinkie as some sort of bestial creature, as she appears to lack typical human qualities. Pinkie's characterization also allows Greene to introduce "evil" into the text, as her personal qualities align with those of someone who would be considered evil. As soon as Pinkie leaves, Ida is formally introduced when Hale asks if he can sit next to her. In stark contrast to Pinkie's personality, Ida is portrayed as someone who is caring and compassionate and smells of "comfort and peace... a touch of daycare" (14). She also has a lively attitude, being “just a little drunk and happy” (15). Greene effectively introduces Pinkie's complement in the novel, a person who represents the "good", illustrating a clear contrast between Pinkie and Ida. It also gives readers an insight into Ida's moral sense. When Hale tells her he is sick, Ida comments “You shouldn't be alone. What's the matter with you?" (16), which reflects his concern. Thus, Greene's initial characterization of Ida develops her “good image” and role as the moral backbone in Brighton Rock. At the end of the first chapter , Greene is able to set up the conventional theme of good versus evil by introducing and characterizing Pinkie and Ida After Hale is killed by Pinkie's gang, Ida considers investigating his death, "The more she thought about [Hale's death] the more she longed to be there: it was like a pain in her heart, the thought that no one at the inquest was interested" (32). Her worries and curiosity about Hale's death push her to get involved, despite her friend Clarence telling her that it's none of her business. “'I know,' said [Ida]. 'It's none of my business.' ” (33).Hale's murder remains close to Ida's heart and, determined to find out what really happened, Ida takes it upon herself to investigate his death. Ida's behavior reflects responsibility, as she decides to confront Hale's murder after no one wants to question his death. She also demonstrates righteous character, as she is hurt that Hale's death was not properly investigated, and in turn, feels she is doing it justice by trying to deduce what really happened. Greene is deceptively skilled in building and developing Ida's role in representing the "good" in Brighton Rock, as she portrays Ida as a determined woman with astrong morals and values. Greene also continues to build Pinkie's role in representing "evil" in the text. When Pinkie discusses Hale's murder with her gang members, she observes, "When people commit one murder, I've read that sometimes they have to do another – to clean up the mess" (47). Pinkie's utter contempt for the life is evident, as he nonchalantly talks about how a murder must be balanced with the killing of another person. Furthermore, “the word murder [communicates] to him nothing other than the word 'box,' 'collar,' 'giraffe'” (47). Greene's characterization of Pinkie shows that he is unfazed by the loss of life and that the murder does not have any negative connotations in his mind. Therefore, Pinkie is portrayed as a psychopath, which goes along with his role of representing evil in the text. Pinkie's psychopathic nature is further demonstrated when it is said that she "could not see through the eyes of others, or feel with their nerves" (47), which demonstrates her lack of empathy. As the novel progresses, Greene is actually able to demonstrate how Ida plays the role of the "good guy" and how Pinkie plays the role of the "bad guy", delving into their psychological thought processes. Later at Brighton Rock, Pinkie forms a romantic relationship with a waitress named Rose, to prevent her from providing incriminating evidence to the police. Ida, realizing that Pinkie is trying to use Rose, confronts her several times to tell her the truth. Ida is also relentless in her pursuit of Rose, once saying "I'll work on that boy every hour of the day until I get something" (129). Furthermore, his aggressive approach is supported by “ruthless compassion” (129), an intriguing oxymoron. Ida is portrayed as someone who desperately wants to help Rose, as she is willing to spend as much time as possible to talk to Rose about Pinkie's malicious behavior. Therefore, Ida completes her "good" role in the text as she tries to protect Rose from succumbing to Pinkie and her evil intentions. In essence, Ida is a guardian angel to Rose, except Rose tries to thwart her. When Rose asks Ida "Why should you care about me?" (130), Ida replies “I don't want the Innocent to suffer” (130). Once again, this shows how Ida is trying to be a guardian figure for Rose, except that Rose believes she doesn't need any help, as she is too naive to understand Pinkie's true intentions. Ida also continues to pursue Rose, saying, “Don't be silly now…I'm your friend. I just want to save you from [Pinkie]…he's evil” (130). Here we can see the conflict between good and evil. Rose she wants to be with Pinkie even though he is manipulating her, and Ida is trying to convince Rose to leave him, while he is trying to protect her from evil Rose is essentially a see-saw, where “evil” is on one side and “good” is on one side. on the other. At this point in the text, she leans towards “evil” as she is attracted to Pinkie and continues to ignore Ida's advice about him. However, Ida does not hold back, continuing to tell Rose why she should leave Pinkie , claiming, “He doesn’t care about you… I’ve loved a guy or two in my time. Because, it's natural. It's like breathing. You just don't want to get too worked up about it. There isn't one that's worth it, leave it alone. He is evil” (130-131). Finally Ida holds out her hand and says to Rose “it's in my hand: the girdle of Venus. But I've always been on the right side... Don't take away the idea that I'm against love... Move away from that wall and behave sensibly. He doesn't love you” (131). Ida continues to demonstrate her moral character, claiming to always be on the side of justice, but she also gives one final piece of advice to Rose: Pinkie doesn't love her. In conclusion, Ida's discussion with Rose proves her point.