“I will tell you as I
see it. I think most of the things we call evil are not evil at all; it is just
that we don’t understand those things and so we call them evil. And we fear
evil only because we do not understand it”
Bless me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, page
262
This is
the answer Gabriel, Antonio’s father gives him when Antonio asks him why there
is evil in the world. Antonio is seeking understanding and does not understand
why he does not understand more, especially about good, evil, mercy, justice,
and God. In addition to this answer, his father tells him that understanding
comes with life, not all at once. It takes time and learning. Ultima also helped Antonio realize how balance and understanding were achieved through patience and calm.
In the movie Batman Begins by Christopher Nolan, Bruce Wayne goes down to The
Narrows, to confront Falcone—the city’s crime boss- and declares to Falcone
that he is not afraid of him. These
scene interestingly portrays contradictory representations of the relationship
between fear and understanding. Falcone calmly tells Bruce that he is not
afraid because he does not understand who he (Falcone) is. He later informs Bruce
that he is in fact afraid. Because he is from the privileged upper class he
does not understand the world The Narrows and Falcone is a part of, he says, “It
is a world you will never understand. And you always fear what you don’t
understand.”
Fear because of understanding and
fear of the unknown are valid fears, though fear of the unknown is the more
dangerous of the two. It is more potent and debilitating. But greater strength
is gained when this fear is overcome. When Bruce Wayne overcame his fear of the
unknown of darkness and bats-the inhabitants of darkness, by embracing and
seeking to understand them. When he did so he was capable of more than he was
previously. Similarly, when Antonio faced the unknown and came to be at peace
with it, he was much more balanced, sure of himself, and at peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment