Marco, Cassie, & Selfishness
May. 11th, 2011 09:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blue_rampion posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
animorphsljSo, 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?
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?
Re: Spoilers for the series
Date: 2011-05-11 01:38 am (UTC)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.