THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL

Soman Chainani

Soman Chainani is an American author and filmmaker, best known

for writing the children's book series, The School for Good and Evil. He
attended Harvard University, where he graduated with a degree in
English and American Literature in 2001. He received his MFA in film
from Columbia University. Every year, he visits schools around the
world to speak to kids and share his secret: that reading is the path to
a better life.

The School for Good and Evil is a fairytale fantasy series by Soman Chainani comprising
seven total books, two main trilogies and one additional extra book.

The School for Good and Evil is a fantasy adventure film based on the best-selling series of
books by Soman Chainani. Set in a school divided along the lines of good and evil, the film
follows the journey of best friends Sophie and Agatha who ultimately find themselves pitted
against each other.

SUMMARY OF THE STORY (BOOK 1)

In a fairy tale world of magic, twin brothers Rhian and Rafal founded the School for Good
and Evil to groom fairy tale heroes (called "Evers") and villains (called "Nevers"). They coexist
peacefully until one brother becomes tired of sharing power and uses the dark forces of blood
magic to try and kill the other. The ‘good’ brother is victorious and becomes headmaster. He
prefers to sit aloft in his tower and leaves the everyday running of the school to Lady Lesso,
the Dean of The School of Evil, and Professor Dovey, the Dean of The School of Good.

Meanwhile, in the village of Gavaldon, two girls, outcasts from a young age, have developed
a powerful friendship. Sophie, who lost her mother when she was small, is forced by her
stepmother to slave away doing all sorts of menial tasks. Sophie endures patiently and seems
to embody kindness itself, but all she really wants is to become a princess. At the same time,
her best friend Agatha is relentlessly bullied and tormented by the townspeople who accuse
her of being a witch.

When Sophie learns the legend of ‘The School for Good and Evil’ and then discovers she
will be forced to work in a factory, she hatches a plan to escape the town, find the school, and
train to be a princess. Agatha tries to convince her to stay, but ultimately won’t let her go alone.
When both girls are taken, Sophie is dropped off at the School for Evil and Agatha at the
School for Good. Both girls maintain that there has been a terrible mistake—that Sophie has
been dropped off at the wrong school and that Agatha just needs to go home.
 Stuck where they are, the girls try to show the school where it went wrong and that Sophie
is truly a princess, capable of having a prince fall in love with her. The headmaster, however,
has other plans, and the school is in far more danger than anyone could ever imagine.

At the end of the book, Sophie turns into a witch, and Agatha finally understands that she is
a real princess and Tedros is her prince. But the war between the school for good and the
school for evil is going on. Students are fighting. A crisis emerges, forcing both schools to work
together. Sophie and Agatha, defying expectations, find themselves at the center of the
conflict. They must use their newfound skills and their unlikely friendship to save the schools
and perhaps even rewrite their own destinies, and in the end, Agatha and Sophie return to the
Gavaldon leaving the school, classmates and new friends behind.

CHARACTERS

the hidden identity of the School Master,

Rafal Rafal. He is a supposedly immortal Never
that secretly takes on the role of School
Master.

Rhian was a twin of Rafal who reminded his

Rhian brother of the balance they must protect and
held Rafal back from his Evil acts.

Agatha's best friend who is characterized as

Sophie selfish and vain. Sophie mainly befriends
Agatha as a necessary "good dead" for her
princess journey.

the gloomy outcast of Gavaldon who has

greasy jet-black hair and bug eyes, who was
Agatha ostracized in her village, believing that her
mother is a witch and that evil runs in her
blood.

son of King Arthur and Queen Guinnevere.

Tedros He is the School of Good's model prince and
Agatha's love interest.

Dean of Evil, Sophie's witch mentor and best

Lady Lesso friend to fellow dean, Professor Dovey of the
School of Good.

Dean of Good. She is also Agatha and

Professor Dovey Cinderella's fairy godmother, and best friend
to fellow dean, Lady Lesso of the School of
Evil.

The School of Good's teacher for

Professor Anemone beautification. She and Agatha don't have
the best relationship in the beginning, since
Agatha hated vanity.
 a mysterious man who wears a silver mask
and locks himself in a tall tower between the
School Master School of Good and Evil. He spends most of
his time with the powerful Storian, an ancient
artifact that writes the stories of the Endless
Woods.

LITERARY DEVICES

Much of the imagery follows the magical

Imagery surroundings, ideas of beauty and uglieness
reflecting good and evil.

Many classic fairy tales and myths are

alluded to, for example, Tedros is the son of
Allusion King Arthur, and Millicent, the granddaughter
of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty.

Sophie's selfish attitude vs Agatha's kind

Foreshadowing ways foreshadow that they will not be sent to
the schools that people expect of them.

The students of the school of good believe

they are inherently good and cannot do evil,
Irony yet the way they act around and treat the
children of the school of evil prove that they
are just as spiteful and often cruel as their evil
school counterparts.

The story often makes use of physical

Parallelism appearances as representative of
personality, the magic used by the school
changes outside looks to parallel the inside.

The Schools of Good and Evil themselves

Symbolism are symbolic of societal expectations and the
idea of inherent good vs. evil.

THEME

Despite their contrasting destinies, Sophie

Friendship and defying expectations are
powerful forces.
and Agatha's deep friendship endures. Their
bond helps them see beyond societal labels
and expectations. No matter how society
views them or expects them to do, they still
learned that true friendship can overcome
societal pressure.

MORAL

People are not inherently good or bad. In

fact, it is a blend of both. There are some
Good and evil exist within us all. times that you are good and some times that
 you are bad. It just depends on how you act
or make choices that will determine who you
are.

Do not live by the expectations of other

people, because real power comes from
understanding who you are. It is about living
Real power lies in being true to yourself and according to your morals, even though they
not being swayed by the opinions or actions differ from those around you. This doesn't
of other people. mean that you are being stubborn or that you
refuse to learn. It's just you believing in
yourself that you can create your own tale
even if you stand alone, because you're the
one who's living your life and not the others.

REFERENCES

The School for Good and Evil — “The School for Good and Evil” series. (2020, February 25).
Plugged In. https://www.pluggedin.com/book-reviews/school-for-good-and-evil/

Contributors to The School for Good and Evil Library. (n.d.). The School for Good and Evil
(book). The School for Good and Evil Library. https://the-school-for-good-and-
evil.fandom.com/wiki/The_School_for_Good_and_Evil_(book)?fbclid=IwAR0dFWcilsxxl3iEf-
RmyVElH3XsywSZ8c3_cN94uq1irYlCv30QXDtntDo

GradeSaver. (n.d.). The school for good and evil literary elements. GradeSaver.
https://www.gradesaver.com/the-school-for-good-and-evil/study-guide/literary-elements

The school for good and evil. (n.d.). Google Books.

https://books.google.com.ph/books/about/The_School_for_Good_and_Evil.html?id=Y8MTHn
6j9W4C&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button&hl=en&newbks=1&newks_redir=0&g
boemv=1&ovdme=1&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false