Simba Essay

To exemplify Erickson’s psychosocial theory which emphasizes the emergence of the self, the search for identity, the individual’s relationships with others, and the role of culture throughout life (page), I will begin with the opening of the movie which shows Simba at the infancy stage where he is developing a trusting behavior from his parents (Mufasa and Sarabi) and the Hornbill bird, Zazu, who is always reminding everyone to be cautious and careful. His parents accomplished this by providing him a safe and comfortable living environment and Sarabi made sure there was someone wiser (Zazu) to go with him when he wanted to start exploring. Mufasa taught him how to make a living and other new activities,

At the beginning of the film the camera angle looks up towards him, the lights shine on young Simba; the importance of his birth is immense, although Simba may be oblivious to the fact at the time. Another parallel is the fact that both Simba and Hamlet at one stage wish to be dead. When Timon and Pumbaa find him, they believe Simba to be dead when they first find him. He is not – but wishes to be. The same could be said about Hamlet when he questions his life – “To be, or not to be”. Like Hamlet, Simba tends to need to be on his own to reflect. Hamlet and Simba are near perfect examples of tragic heroes. Both are tested to the extent of their inner strength and faith in the triumph of good.

Rafiki teaches him that, "you can either run from the past, or learn from it." This statement is important because Simba needed to put the death of his father behind him instead of running from it. Simba realizes he needs to return to his rightful place as king. The struggles he knows he must face are regaining his kingdom and defeating Scar.

Simba and Hamlet, the main protagonists of The Lion King and Hamlet, can represent both the exiled child and tragic hero archetypes. In The Lion King Simba was compelled to leave his homeland because he was led to believe he had killed his own father. In Hamlet, Hamlet was forced to leave by his uncle’s order. Likewise in The Lion King Simba’s leave was also influenced by his uncle’s action. Unlike Simba’s unawareness of his uncle’s role in his father’s death, Hamlet is fully aware of his father’s killer being his uncle. As of the beginning of Hamlet, he meets his father’s ghost who asks Hamlet for vengeance, as the ghost leaves he says “Adieu adieu Hamlet remember me”. This scene can be compared to when Simba also meets his father’s ghost, who says to Simba as he leaves “Remember who you are”. Simba’s father appears more concerned about Simba’s state of mind and convinces him to return to The Pride Lands, whereas Hamlet’s father shows little concern for Hamlet and wants to be remembered and avenged. Hamlet is older and spends less time than Simba in exile whereas Simba spends a few years exiled without a care, which is shown in the song Hakuna Matata. After his father’s influence, Simba returns. Upon both of their returns, a fight occurs. Hamlet kills his uncle and is also killed himself whereas in The Lion King Simba doesn’t actually kill scar but says to him “Run away Scar...Run. Run away and never return.” however Scar pounces on Simba and their duel begins, in the end, Simba throws Scar off a cliff leaving him to the hyenas. Hamlet and Simba both represent the exiled child and tragic by being forced to leave their homeland and to kill, fight their own uncles to save their homeland. The Lion King’s ending was altered to have almost no death to make the film

Young Simba’s costume is not as intricate as Scar’s to show that, Scar has an underlying plan whereas Simba is innocent.

Simba’s heroic qualities don’t just stand out when he is found by Nala begging him to return to Pride Rock to save everyone and the community, but also when he meets Pumbaa and Timon. He is learning how to survive on his own and how to be a true friend. Simba shows all characteristics of a hero throughout his journey, it begins with his separation from his family, and his choice to runaway. Simba has to deal with guilt and is tested emotionally, he has been told that he killed his father and needs

Although The Lion King and Macbeth seems like two different stories. One is set in the medieval era while the other is set in postmodernity, but both displays the similarities of the character’s strategic battle for power. Scar, known as the villain in the movie, The Lion King, committed selfish acts to fulfill his distorted desires. As Simba was at the edge of the cliff, about to be murdered by Scar, Scar snarled at him, “That [is] the way your father looked before I killed him” (The Lion King). Simba leaped up from the side of the cliff, and pushed Scar to the ground demanding him to confess to his crime of killing the king, his father, Mufasa. This quote proves that Scar’s ambition leads him to do ruthless acts, wanting to kill Simba, who was next in line of the throne. These malevolent plots are what fuels the battle of evil against the good. Scar stated to his three murders, the Hyenas, “We [are] going to kill him. And Simba, too” (The Lion King). In the movie, The Lion King, shows that Scar is resentful of the king, Mufasa, and the power he retains. In this quote, he plans a plot on who he wants to kill with the three hyenas to help him finish the deed, which shows his strong ambitions. Another

Though many reviewers like to focus on the comic relief characters of the movie: Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu, the characters that truly drove the movie were Simba and his conniving uncle, Scar. In one journal done by KINEMA a journal for film and audiovisual media, the writer describes how “... the physical portrayal of the two characters themselves already reveal their inner qualities” (KINEMA). Simba, at least as a child, is seen around vibrant colors, and the character himself is always energetic. Scar on the other hand, is always seen with poor posture and grim lighting (KINEMA). The way these two contrast throughout the movie, and then collide with their colors in the final fight scene of the movie, really ties the film together in a way that no other characters could.

Character summary: Mufasa from the Lion King Mufasa is one of the main characters of the movie he is also the tragic hero of the story. Mufasa is the father of Simba. Mufasa was ready to go beyond any forces to protect Simba no matter what it takes. When Scar, Mufasas brother, sets him up so that he could take Mufasas place, Scar tells him that Simba has been caught in a stampede so Mufasa sacrificed his own life for his son’s.

Out of spite, both protagonists plan to take revenge on their evil uncles. Hamlet ponders on the idea of revenging his father’s death, but it wasn’t until Claudius’ guilty conscience was exposed during the play and also when the Ghost orders Hamlet to “Revenge his soul!” that Hamlets purpose was clear. In the end, Hamlet confronts Claudius but it is pointless ending in a blood battle. Simba on the other hand was told, “Run away and never return!” after believing it was himself who killed his father. Wanting to do what was right, Simba followed his uncle’s orders and it wasn’t until a chance encounter with Nala, that he realised the damage he had caused. Trying to take back what was rightfully his, Simba defeats Scar but instead of death as his revenge, he banishes Scar from The Pride Lands, telling his “to never return”. Both antagonists in the texts experience the heartbreak and misfortune of revenge but deal with it in ways their intended audiences will understand and learn from.

In Bruno Bettelheim’s book The Uses of Enchantment he writes in his essay “Fairy Tales and The Existential Predicament” that there is a widespread refusal to let children know that the source of much that goes wrong in life is due to our very own nature–the propensity of all men for acting aggressively, asocially, selfishly, out of anger and anxiety. Bettelheim implies in his essay that safe stories do not give children opportunity to experience in his or her mind the good and bad in life. In the scene where Scar meets Simba in the gorge for a talk, Scar tells Simba to stay there while he fetches his father. Scar deceives him by lying about the reason he wants him to wait in this location. What follows is a horrific scene. Earlier, there was a plan set-up by Scar with the hyenas to trigger the antelope to stampede through the gorge putting Simba’s life in danger. Scar runs to Mufasa telling him about the stampede and that Simba is in the gorge. Mufasa runs to save Simba.

The story begins with the hero’s father being a king. In this story Simba is the son of king Mufasa of Pride Land. He is also reputed to be a Son of God, because Simba is the supposed to the be the successor to Mufasa’s reign. During his birth an attempt was made to kill him by his uncle Scar. Not only does Scar try to kill Simba but also his brother and king, Mufasa in order to gain the throne.

There is a clear distinction between good and bad in The Lion King, this makes the audience highly suspect scar’s future betrayal of Mufasa and Simba. While in

Mufasa was the brother that was more extroverted, he had the throne, the strength, and all the good looks. Throughout the scenes in the movie you could see Mufasa had a personality of someone that was a strong, proud, and the dominant ruler of his kingdom. He was willing to protect his kingdom prepared to fight when he thought Scar had challenged him. He did all of that until his death, dying when recusing Simba from the stampede of wildebeest. He puts his trust into his brother who very easily betrayed him. Scar was the more introverted brother, he was much smarter than Mufasa, but didn’t have the looks, and his longing for the throne made him very deceptive. He produced the plan to at first kill his nephew, and then his brother. The first plan to kill Simba was by tricking him into going out into the elephant graveyard to be attacked and eaten by the hyenas. When that didn’t work he came up with the plan to kill Mufasa by not actually having to do it himself, giving the hyenas instructions when to create the stampede in which he had placed Simba right down in the middle of, knowing Mufasa would try to save him, because that is his son. These two brothers were very different Scar had a dark side going on while Mufasa was more of the bright light. One could say the message is that it it is brawn over brains which gets you money, power, and respect in the world we are living in

His uncle Scar, the second in line to the throne, plots with the hyenas to kill King Mufasa and Prince Simba, thus making himself King. The Lion Mufasa dies, and Simba is led to believe by Scar that it was his fault, and so flees the kingdom in shame. After years of exile he is convinced to return home to overthrow Scar and claim the kingdom as his own, thus completing the "Circle of Life". Even though it is an animated movie, it taught me two principal life lessons: “The importance of family and friends” and “Hakuna Matata”.