Marco, Cassie, & Selfishness

[blue_rampion]

So, I was just watching the most recent Opinionated Animorphs video on #19, and one thing that particularly struck me was poparena's argument that Marco was the least selfish of the Animorphs, while Cassie is the most selfish. And thinking about it, I have to say that I agree. And yet if you just looked at both of them superficially, you'd think it was the other way around.

Marco constantly complains, and often suggests that they should all go an use their powers to get rich instead of fighting the war. He's usually the one saying that they shouldn't do a mission on account of it being insane and they may end up dead. Most people meeting someone like Marco would just assume that he's a self-absorbs selfish bastard. And yet he had a completely valid reason for not fighting in the beginning, one that was more about being concerned for someone else for himself, and unless I've missed something he never actually does back out of a mission. He always goes along.

Cassie, on the other hand, is someone you would assume is not selfish at all when you first meet her. She saves animals. She is concerned about right and wrong. She's compassionate and understanding. Normally all traits you would associate with someone who is not selfish. And yet under the surface, Cassie's actions are often concerned with what she wants for herself. She argues for the moral action not to protect others, but because she wants to be someone who does the right thing. Take David, for example - she traps him in morph not because it is better for David, but because doing so lets her take what she sees as the more moral option, and not have to have blood on her hands. And in book 19, she leaves the group not for other people, but because she doesn't want to become the person the war is making her into. It's an understandable reaction to have, but it is still one born of her being more concerned about herself than about the other Animorphs, or the rest of the world.

There's also a lot of other interesting thoughts on Cassie in #19's Opinionated Animorphs video, buuuuut if I started talking about them too this post would go on forever. So, thoughts?

Comments

Spoilers for the series

[penandpaper71.livejournal.com]

It is funny how readings can change over time. Although I never classified Marco as selfish when I was younger as his actions actually usually seemed to be aimed at protecting someone else be it the human race, the Animorphs in general, his father, his best friend (I wonder if, given Marco's reluctance to get involved in the war in the first place, he'd have stayed have stayed involved as long as he did if not for Jake. He states explicitly in the first book that he's only going along on that mission because he wasn't going to let Jake go alone and he doesn't find out about his mother until the fifth book, which is when he decides he's done with the war and even then he decides to go ahead with one last mission, where he finds out about his mother and that becomes a major part of his motivation for fighting. After that, I don't think that he ever talks about bailing out again. Why did he stay for so long after that first mission, which he swore was the only one that he'd do?), etc. On the other hand, I'd probably have laughed if I'd heard Cassie called selfish, but as I go through the series again now, I'm surprised that I missed that side of her because it definitely seems to be a part of her character.

I actually do like Cassie and I don't mind that aspect of her character (It makes her seem more human and she comes across as a more rounded character for me because of it), but I'm more bothered by the fact that the books seem to always justify it. She does something, like trust Aftran enough to let her in her head- It's not the fact that she tries to protect Karen that I'd really consider "selfish" so much as the fact that she lets a Yeerk that has already stated that she plans to turn her over to Visser Three into her head, revealing everything about their resistance efforts- (Potentially selling out the whole group, including people she claims to love, and possibly even handing the world to the Yeerks right there and then given that the Animorphs are the only real resistance at the time) in The Departure and it turns out that she was totally right in doing this. I wouldn't have minded it once or twice (Luck happens and maybe Cassie's instincts are really that good), but it seems a bit much to have every her impulsive and sometimes selfish choice turn out to be correct. It's not believable for me and, even though I like Cassie, in my opinion, it's this point that hurts her character far more then the selfishness in some of her actions. Off the top of my head, I can only think of the decision over David's fate ever really calling her judgement into question when he returns, but then it's not Cassie who ends up having to face the consequences of her decision.

Selfishness, although not generally a "good" trait, is human and often, at least, understandable. All the Animorphs have moments of selfishness during the series (The fourth Megamorphs book is based around Jake's own understandable and sympathetic, but still rather selfish wish that they could never have become involved in the war, but it's shown over the course of the book what a poor choice that would have been. It isn't justified as the "right" decision like most Cassie's moments usually are.)

It's something that I wish had actually been confronted in the books. I think that it would have added to her character development a lot.

I'm sorry. I'm babbling now. I'll stop.

Reposted to fix a grammar error. My apologies!

Re: Spoilers for the series

[blue_rampion]

It is kinda odd how long Marco sticks around at the beginning, really. Even after he nearly drowns in a Yeerk transport ship, gets bitten in half by a shark, nearly killed as an ant...really Marco, what were you doing still hanging around? XD

I agree with you there - I like Cassie too, and her selfishness makes her more well-rounded, and relatable. I think all of us can understand not wanting to turn into someone that you don't want to be. (Also, you have a point that it's more the "saving Aftran" thing that's selfish, rather than wanting to save Karen.) And in #19 at least, it gives her some really interesting internal conflict.

And you know, to be selfish is well...human. We all think about ourselves, it's just a question of how much we put ourselves above others. And seeing Cassie confront that part of herself would have been awesome to see, as would have her dealing with being wrong. That's one of the things that makes me sad about Cassie, is that there's so much missed potential with her. I think if she had gotten a character arc or two surrounding her selfishness and/or her being wrong, she'd have a lot less hate directed at her today.