What does Roy Hammond's story show us about the nature of evil? Is he a product of his upbringing, or driven by his innate temperament?

What does Roy Hammond's story show us about the nature of evil? Is he a product of his upbringing, or driven by his innate temperament, or both?

I don't know that there's enough information about Roy to really form an opinion, but given the fact that his brother seemed reasonably OK I suspect it had to be something innate. Of course, it's also possible Roy suffered some childhood trauma of which we weren't informed.

Probably both but, as contrast, we saw his brother, Thomas, who had a similar upbringing who turned out very differently. Sometimes a bad seed is just that.

We only see Roy Hammond through the eyes of others. Gail talks about him inheriting his father's business sense, something that Thomas did not. As the elder son, did he learn a certain ruthlessness from his father that went beyond business?

Perhaps as the older son, he felt pressure to live up to his father's expectations. Once he found that he could get away with one indiscretion, greed and ruthlessness took over. It's like what Marshall tells Joey about fishing at the beginning of the novel: "You were fascinated by what you could see below the surface." That observation establishes that Joey will continue explore what lies under the surface of the Hammond family.

I agree with the earlier posts. I don’t think there is enough information to make an informed statement with certainty. However, by contrasting him to his brother and noting his behavior as a younger man it appears he was innately evil. Unfortunately, his family's powerful position in the community may have very well played a role in his horrible behavior by allowing him to avoid punishment for criminal or abhorrent deeds and thereby enabling him and allowing his evil nature to flourish unchecked.

Roy Hammond seems to have been an arrogant, bigoted individual who felt his family's money gave him an invulnerability and sense of entitlement. If he wanted something, even a person like Delphi, he was going to get it.

As others have said, we countenance much information about him. However, it appears that nature, not nurture, was most responsible for who he was.

Roy Hammond is an antagonist from the past, a real bad egg. But he’s a cut-out figure. We don’t have a scene where we see his point-of-view, or even where he’s prominent. He’s a hazy memory shared by Marshall and Bubba. As a reader, I could not cast any judgment on whether Roy was evil because of his entitled upbringing or because of his innate temperament.

Roy was a little of both. Roy learned how to be shrewd in business from his father; only Roy learned too well. People saw Roy as cunning to a much higher degree. He was also narcissistic. He disregarded people's feelings. He preyed on younger women and couldn't understand how Trip was more attractive to Delphi than he was. Delphi despised Roy.