The Lion King: The Christian Tale And The Messiah-Hero Myth

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.

"The King has returned." These are the powerful words Rafiki uses when telling Nala, Timon, and Pumba that Simba has gone back to the pride lands to overthrow Scar. Before making his entrance to Pride Rock, Simba's "palace," he gains three helpers to assist him in gaining his kingdom back; Nala, Timon, and Pumba all offer their services to him. There are a few scenes in the story that can be easily compared to the Odyssey. First, Simba wants everyone to continue to think he's dead, as Odysseus did prior to his own entrance. Second, Simba uses Timon and Pumba as a form of "Trojan Horse" to distract the hyenas while he and Nala sneak in. Third, Simba tells Nala to "rally the lionesses" as a form of weapon against the hyenas which are like suitors in his palace.

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

Simba is a very young, naive and doesn't quite understand the responsibilities he would have to have to become king. He thinks that being king would just mean freedom.

A couple minutes after Nala leaves, Simba is graced with the presence of a crazy baboon named Rafiki who tells him that his father is still alive, inside of him, and that he should follow him if he wants to see for himself. Simba follows the baboon to a pond and looks to where the monkey is pointing. Unfortunately he only sees his own reflection but Rafiki tells Simba to look harder. He then sees his father in the water, realizing what the baboon meant. Mufassa is now in the dark clouds telling Simba that he’s forgotten who he was, therefore he’s forgotten him, and this triggers Simba’s emotions making feel disappointed in himself for not going home like he should have. His father then tells him that he needs to find his place back in the circle of life and says “remember who you are. You are my son and the one true king. Remember who you are.” His voice is very deep and almost sounds like he is hurting. Then in an instant he is gone with the storm and Simba is chasing after him begging him not to go.

Authors, poets, and film directors have all used ancient stories to create new pieces of literature and film works for modern times. The animated Disney film Hercules (1997) and the myth of Hercules share the background of audience-driven narratives; however, Disney's aspiration to fill the theaters and earn money results in an unblemished narrative, while the original myth portrays an imperfect model to a flawed humanity.

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

Ancient Literature and Modern movies can portray the same messages. Both relate to human condition, but oftentimes the form reflects the age in which it is written. The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) uses a modern setting (1930s Mississippi) to relate to Homer’s epic The Odyssey (800 BCE). The epic The Odyssey by Homer and The movie O Brother Where Art Thou by The Coen Brothers both tell the story of a protagonist that takes a long journey home to his wife. Both face many obstacles along the way. In the movie, Sheriff Cooley is compared to Poseidon, the Blind old man is compared to Tiresias and Ulysses is compared to Odysseus reconnection with his wife. Both the movie and epic show that human nature are present in both the epic and movie.

Starting with setting, mythological stories often occur in historical time periods. Alongside remote and mysterious, the historical setting aids the believability of the story. When a work of fiction takes place in a time period that does not match the reader’s,

As a young boy he liked to explore, he didn't do what he was told by his father, and as a result, Simba believes his father died trying to save him from a stampede of wildebeests, as he wasn't supposed to be in the gorge, and his father saved him, then seeming to fall to his death because of Simba (though as it turns out his uncle

The Lion King has an underlying religious theme and it is positioned to speak on Christianity and contains a lot of theological references that can be acknowledged as important to understand the story. At one point, Simba believed that he killed his father and ran away from Pridelands to avoid humiliation. This notion can be compared to Moses ditching the desert after he had killed an Egyptian. After Mufasa’s death, the animal kingdom was quite lost and didn’t know

Thesis: Simba proves himself a hero throughout the story by taking on an adventure that would soon lead him to becoming the King of the Pride Land.

Mufasa in an earlier scene when showing Simba their kingdom deliberately tells him that the place where the light doesn’t touch, is a place he must never go. Then when Simba and Nala run off and go they are attacked by hyenas Mufasa is there to save them but is furious that Simba disobeyed him. Simba apologizes, but that doesn’t help, in regret for what he has done he walks with his head down on their path home. This guilt Simba feels helps to fix his bad behavior so he will not do it again, after seeing how disappointed his dad was with him. A shameful moment during the movie was what Simba feels because he felt like he was the blame for his father's death. Running away from his kingdom after Scar convinces him he was responsible for it all. Simba’s shame would be globalized for the kingdom to know that he was a murder, and as a young cub he just couldn’t face it, it devastated

On the other hand, in Disney's The Lion King, Simba's father is killed after he falls from a cliff into a herd of antelope. Simba falls into a deep depression after Scar twists things around and convinces Simba that he is the one responsible for Mufasa's death. Simba can not deal with what has happened and Simba exiles himself where he meets a warthog and meerkat, named Timon and Pumbaa, and develops a carefree lifestyle with them. Later on in the story, as an adult, Simba returns to the Pride Lands to reclaim the throne from Scar.