The world is full of evil, and whether one knows it or not there is no such thing as a faultless person. Everyone contains a weakness of some sort. The world is not a simple place, and humans are not simple creatures. One must first know themselves before they judge other people. Mrs. Hopewell, Joy-Hulga, Glynese, and Carramae all suffer because they don't understand their own weaknesses. Oftentimes people put on fake fronts and don't …showed first 75 words of 1388 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1388 total…they don't have anything left to offer the world. All of this degradation comes from a lack of not knowing one's own weaknesses. One must first learn about themselves before relying on others. All of the affected characters in this story failed to accomplish this seemingly simple task of inner self-knowledge, the key to defeating evil. Manley Pointer seems to understand and in a subtle way offer advice by suggesting that "You never can tell”.