Doing Things
Mar. 2nd, 2003 07:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterHeh... my laundry's in the machine, the relatives have gone away, and I did my grocery shopping. I also succumbed to the evil that is Krispy Kremes once again. Now I have a dozen sitting on the kitchen table. I'm not gonna eat them ALL, I told my cousins they can have some, too. Aren't I generous?
Anyway, now that I'm hopped up on sugar and dearly avoiding folding my laundry or doing my Civil Procedure reading, I will take this opportunity to do some in-depth character analysis.
See,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
zerotwofan pulled the puppy eyes out on me and I was powerless to resist. After many hours of talking with aoi, we think we've figured out why Wufei acts the way he does during Endless Waltz (and during the series, for that matter). Aoi-chan? If I miss anything, feel free to add on... I know how much you adore Wu.
Chang Wufei is a pretty complex character, when you get down to it. Once you strip away all the "onnas" and "Injustice," you have a rather confused indivicual he isn't quite sure of his place in the scheme of things.
I guess the place this all starts is with Meiran. If you read through Wufei's Episode Zero, there's a scene at the beginning where Meiran is yelling at Wufei for not being a warrior. After browbeating him for a bit, she then challenges him to a fight to prove who's the stronger fighter. Wufei manages to kick Meiran's ass pretty easily. Wufei tells Meiran, point blank, because she was wrong, she lost. Later, Master O somehow learns of the incident (maybe Wufei tells him?), and tells Wufei that though he defeated Meiran, it doesn't mean that Wufei was right.
That really explains Wufei's mindset. Here, we have a pretty much sheltered boy, placed into a high position. He's a scholar who feels that fighting is actually unneccesary and foolish. And he's married to a girl who thinks that you should never stop fighting. Once Meiran dies at the hands of the Federation (or was it OZ?), Wufei is faced with a rather large problem. Meiran gave her LIFE to protect the colony, an ideal that couldn't be considered foolish. Meiran DIED while Wufei, the coward who didn't want to fight, LIVED.
Enter... trauma!
After this, with Meiran dying to protect Wufei's field of flowers, Wufei declares that he will fight in Meiran's, oops, make that NATAKU's name. In essence, he takes on Meiran's beliefs and ideologies because of Meiran's sacrifice for him. Unfortunately, this is rather tainted with some of Wufei's own lingering beliefs, which shows up later.
So, Wufei joins Operation M. He fights in Shenlong/Nataku against OZ. What happens? He duels with Treize. Now let's take a step back for a second. From the beginning of the series, we can see Wufei's own arrogance coming to the fore. He refuses to fight "weaklings and women." Why? Because the weak should KNOW they are weak, and not attempt to fight the strong. It will only get them killed. Wufei, because he has never been defeated, believes himself to be the strongest fighter. He has no match. He is RIGHT.
Enter... Treize.
In an honorable duel with Treize (really, Wu should've just stomped him with his Gundam), Wufei loses, and he loses in a BIG WAY. That fight took all of what? A minute? And to add insult to injury, Treize doesn't kill him.
This TOTALLY shatters Wufei's beliefs. He'd been running in the mindset that your beliefs make you strong, and if you lose, you are wrong. But how can Wufei's beliefs -- MEIRAN'S beliefs -- be WRONG? Also, instead of being given an honorable death, thus proving Wufei's theory, Treize lets him live. In shame, if you want to call it that.
If you can follow the logic, Treize is right, Wufei is wrong, therefore Wufei shouldn't even be fighting at all because he's weak. He's been defeated. He's not worthy of Nataku.
This explains why, during the beginning/middle of the series, Wufei disappears and refuses to fight or accept any missions. This is also when he meets Sally, a WOMAN who is WEAK, but still FIGHTS even though she knows she might LOSE. Then Sally explains her motivations, that she fights because somebody has to... because someone needs to protect those who cannot fight.
This is very much a kick to the head for Wufei.
Oh yeah, and let's not forget that Wufei's colony BLEW ITSELF UP just to save him. A whole colony full of all of Wufei's family and friends... GONE. For HIM. As if the poor boy wasn't already carrying around boatloads of guilt for Meiran's death, this had to happen. I personally think Wufei snapped a little at this point. He's supposed to be the Warrior, the strongest in the Clan, and yet they all sacrificed themselves. The many for the one, instead of the other way around.
Then the rest of the series goes on, with Wufei thirsting to fight Treize again, to PROVE that Treize's win over him was just a fluke. And guess what? Treize dies. Yet, Wufei isn't happy with that. There's no resolution because Treize WANTED to die in the first place. If you watch that battle with Treize closely, Wufei is actually surprised when Atlong punches through Tallgeese II's armor. (I have a niggling feeling that Wufei thought he was going to lose again, but die this time, just to justify his own beliefs, but I'm not quite sure yet).
So Wufei defeats his archnemesis and peace reigns in the Earthsphere.
NOT.
Enter... Mariemaia!
Wufei plays turncoat this time around, joining the ranks of the Barton Foundation. This seems totally insane. Why would Wufei help start another war, when he previously fought to end one? It all goes back to Wufei's confused beliefs.
Heero: Wufei, Treize is no longer here! You defeated him!
Wufei: You're wrong. I'm still fighting him!
Well, there ya go. All during his fights with Heero, Wufei continues to spout out about how he's fighting for the other soldiers, for all those people who lived through the war, yet have nothing left to turn to.
Wufei: I speak for all the soldiers who were used as weapons! I fight for all the soldiers, including you!... You and I are fighting! Aren't we fulfilled only when we fight?... You and I are the same! We can only find the meaning of our existence on the battlefield!
I tend to see Wufei's fight with Heero as more of a reaching out thing, like leaving a suicide note in hopes someone will find it in time. Of all the other pilots, Heero was the one who was bred for war, who should have been the most out of place. Wufei's actually trying to convince Heero that only through fighting do their lives have any meaning.
And isn't that right? For the Gundam pilots especially, their whole lives were built around the war. To destroy all weapons in the Earthsphere for peace means to destroy themselves. It's a rather empty thing to live through. And Wufei, who already feels horribly out of place since his colony destroyed itself, has nothing to go back to. Also, Wufei only piloted Shenlong in Meiran's name. If he stops fighting, doesn't that mean he must put away Meiran's memory as well?
Then, of course, Heero brings out the big guns (nono, not the Buster Rifle), by purposely shutting down Wing Zero and asking the infamous question:
Heero: Wufei, tell me. How many more people do we have to kill? How many times do I have to kill that girl and her puppy?
And there you go. Wufei is shocked as he watches Wing Zero plunge into the ocean, and he asks himself if war will continue to be repeated, even IF there is a strong leader. And I think it shows, deep down, how much Wufei loathes to fight. So many people have died in his life from war, and yet he has always survived. The scholarly boy who only wanted to be with his books, forced to fight because he felt he had no other choice.
Then, at the end, Wufei arrives with the people of the world (okay, just Brussels), who are vigorously opposing Mariemaia's regime. It seems that finally Wufei has realized that it's just not soldiers and warriors who must fight, but regular people must stick up for themselves.
Wufei: Wars aren't fought by soldiers. At last I can leave the fighting behind me. Goodbye, Treize!
Has Wufei achieved peace? I can't really say. At least it seems that by the end of Endless Waltz, when Wufei joins the Preventers, he's at last following a path that's truly his own, and not guided by someone else's ideals.
Whew!
I think I got everything. Hopefully. ^___^
Anyway, now that I'm hopped up on sugar and dearly avoiding folding my laundry or doing my Civil Procedure reading, I will take this opportunity to do some in-depth character analysis.
See,
zerotwofan pulled the puppy eyes out on me and I was powerless to resist. After many hours of talking with aoi, we think we've figured out why Wufei acts the way he does during Endless Waltz (and during the series, for that matter). Aoi-chan? If I miss anything, feel free to add on... I know how much you adore Wu.Chang Wufei is a pretty complex character, when you get down to it. Once you strip away all the "onnas" and "Injustice," you have a rather confused indivicual he isn't quite sure of his place in the scheme of things.
I guess the place this all starts is with Meiran. If you read through Wufei's Episode Zero, there's a scene at the beginning where Meiran is yelling at Wufei for not being a warrior. After browbeating him for a bit, she then challenges him to a fight to prove who's the stronger fighter. Wufei manages to kick Meiran's ass pretty easily. Wufei tells Meiran, point blank, because she was wrong, she lost. Later, Master O somehow learns of the incident (maybe Wufei tells him?), and tells Wufei that though he defeated Meiran, it doesn't mean that Wufei was right.
That really explains Wufei's mindset. Here, we have a pretty much sheltered boy, placed into a high position. He's a scholar who feels that fighting is actually unneccesary and foolish. And he's married to a girl who thinks that you should never stop fighting. Once Meiran dies at the hands of the Federation (or was it OZ?), Wufei is faced with a rather large problem. Meiran gave her LIFE to protect the colony, an ideal that couldn't be considered foolish. Meiran DIED while Wufei, the coward who didn't want to fight, LIVED.
Enter... trauma!
After this, with Meiran dying to protect Wufei's field of flowers, Wufei declares that he will fight in Meiran's, oops, make that NATAKU's name. In essence, he takes on Meiran's beliefs and ideologies because of Meiran's sacrifice for him. Unfortunately, this is rather tainted with some of Wufei's own lingering beliefs, which shows up later.
So, Wufei joins Operation M. He fights in Shenlong/Nataku against OZ. What happens? He duels with Treize. Now let's take a step back for a second. From the beginning of the series, we can see Wufei's own arrogance coming to the fore. He refuses to fight "weaklings and women." Why? Because the weak should KNOW they are weak, and not attempt to fight the strong. It will only get them killed. Wufei, because he has never been defeated, believes himself to be the strongest fighter. He has no match. He is RIGHT.
Enter... Treize.
In an honorable duel with Treize (really, Wu should've just stomped him with his Gundam), Wufei loses, and he loses in a BIG WAY. That fight took all of what? A minute? And to add insult to injury, Treize doesn't kill him.
This TOTALLY shatters Wufei's beliefs. He'd been running in the mindset that your beliefs make you strong, and if you lose, you are wrong. But how can Wufei's beliefs -- MEIRAN'S beliefs -- be WRONG? Also, instead of being given an honorable death, thus proving Wufei's theory, Treize lets him live. In shame, if you want to call it that.
If you can follow the logic, Treize is right, Wufei is wrong, therefore Wufei shouldn't even be fighting at all because he's weak. He's been defeated. He's not worthy of Nataku.
This explains why, during the beginning/middle of the series, Wufei disappears and refuses to fight or accept any missions. This is also when he meets Sally, a WOMAN who is WEAK, but still FIGHTS even though she knows she might LOSE. Then Sally explains her motivations, that she fights because somebody has to... because someone needs to protect those who cannot fight.
This is very much a kick to the head for Wufei.
Oh yeah, and let's not forget that Wufei's colony BLEW ITSELF UP just to save him. A whole colony full of all of Wufei's family and friends... GONE. For HIM. As if the poor boy wasn't already carrying around boatloads of guilt for Meiran's death, this had to happen. I personally think Wufei snapped a little at this point. He's supposed to be the Warrior, the strongest in the Clan, and yet they all sacrificed themselves. The many for the one, instead of the other way around.
Then the rest of the series goes on, with Wufei thirsting to fight Treize again, to PROVE that Treize's win over him was just a fluke. And guess what? Treize dies. Yet, Wufei isn't happy with that. There's no resolution because Treize WANTED to die in the first place. If you watch that battle with Treize closely, Wufei is actually surprised when Atlong punches through Tallgeese II's armor. (I have a niggling feeling that Wufei thought he was going to lose again, but die this time, just to justify his own beliefs, but I'm not quite sure yet).
So Wufei defeats his archnemesis and peace reigns in the Earthsphere.
NOT.
Enter... Mariemaia!
Wufei plays turncoat this time around, joining the ranks of the Barton Foundation. This seems totally insane. Why would Wufei help start another war, when he previously fought to end one? It all goes back to Wufei's confused beliefs.
Heero: Wufei, Treize is no longer here! You defeated him!
Wufei: You're wrong. I'm still fighting him!
Well, there ya go. All during his fights with Heero, Wufei continues to spout out about how he's fighting for the other soldiers, for all those people who lived through the war, yet have nothing left to turn to.
Wufei: I speak for all the soldiers who were used as weapons! I fight for all the soldiers, including you!... You and I are fighting! Aren't we fulfilled only when we fight?... You and I are the same! We can only find the meaning of our existence on the battlefield!
I tend to see Wufei's fight with Heero as more of a reaching out thing, like leaving a suicide note in hopes someone will find it in time. Of all the other pilots, Heero was the one who was bred for war, who should have been the most out of place. Wufei's actually trying to convince Heero that only through fighting do their lives have any meaning.
And isn't that right? For the Gundam pilots especially, their whole lives were built around the war. To destroy all weapons in the Earthsphere for peace means to destroy themselves. It's a rather empty thing to live through. And Wufei, who already feels horribly out of place since his colony destroyed itself, has nothing to go back to. Also, Wufei only piloted Shenlong in Meiran's name. If he stops fighting, doesn't that mean he must put away Meiran's memory as well?
Then, of course, Heero brings out the big guns (nono, not the Buster Rifle), by purposely shutting down Wing Zero and asking the infamous question:
Heero: Wufei, tell me. How many more people do we have to kill? How many times do I have to kill that girl and her puppy?
And there you go. Wufei is shocked as he watches Wing Zero plunge into the ocean, and he asks himself if war will continue to be repeated, even IF there is a strong leader. And I think it shows, deep down, how much Wufei loathes to fight. So many people have died in his life from war, and yet he has always survived. The scholarly boy who only wanted to be with his books, forced to fight because he felt he had no other choice.
Then, at the end, Wufei arrives with the people of the world (okay, just Brussels), who are vigorously opposing Mariemaia's regime. It seems that finally Wufei has realized that it's just not soldiers and warriors who must fight, but regular people must stick up for themselves.
Wufei: Wars aren't fought by soldiers. At last I can leave the fighting behind me. Goodbye, Treize!
Has Wufei achieved peace? I can't really say. At least it seems that by the end of Endless Waltz, when Wufei joins the Preventers, he's at last following a path that's truly his own, and not guided by someone else's ideals.
Whew!
I think I got everything. Hopefully. ^___^
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-03-03 07:28 am (UTC)Yikes! That makes it sound like I'm abusing puppy dogs. *grimace*
Thanks SO much for explaining Wufei for me. I understand his actions in the first war, I just don't get him in the second. I know you explained it, but I still can't see why he would value the fighting more than the ideals he fought the first war for. I guess, like you said, he's just very confused. He's fighting to keep alive the spirit of his wife who would probably have been happy with the peace that he'd already helped attain. Poor, confused Wufei...