"Kisasian, the Tragic Antagonist" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A personal essay by: Kevin C. Bissessar 94bisses@wave.scar.utoronto.ca Permission is granted to reproduce this essay as long as the author's name is present. Recommended reading: Arthur Miller's essay, "On the Nature of Tragedy", located in alt.fan.lion-king. (And of course, Joshua Templin's _The Tales of Tanabi_, somewhere in WWW or a.f.l-k). Throughout human history, tragedies have played an important part in our literature. They have been with us as early as ancient Greek times, existing in the forms of plays, short stories, or novels. The structural make-up of tragedies have been altered by Shakespeare, and even by modern tragic playwrights and novelists. But the essence of tragedy is still there. We the readers are capable of learning something. It is usually "the tragic hero" that most literary analysts focuses their attention on. This essay will look at a character from a different point of view -- the antagonist. Or, "the tragic antagonist". Mind you, the concept of the tragic antagonist is something new to the modern literary world. I myself have never applied it, nor do I know *if* such a concept truly exists. But I am willing to make that journey into the unknown, and I will try to evaluate Kisasian, the dark lion character from Josh Templin's _The Tales of Tanabi_, as the tragic antagonist -- or the tragic antagonist that he could have become. Before I get into the essay itself, you will probably need a reference to what the tragic antagonist is all about. Here is a list of qualities that makes a character, a tragic antagonist. They come from Arthur Miller, adapted to suit my essay needs: 1. Tragedy, as distinct from pathos, must bring us not only sadness but also an enlightenment, a knowledge pertaining to the right way of living in the world. 2. The essential focus of the tragic antagonist's plight must involve a sense of personal dignity and the underlying struggle of the individual attempting to gain his rightful place in society; in his search and defense of dignity, he is willing to risk his life. 3. Tragedy, itself, then is the consequence of man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly. 4. The tragic man must be perceived as a man who has missed accomplishing; he must know where happiness lies and be capable of attaining it; his failure to do so is the bases of the tragedy. 5. The antagonist's fate must have, to a certain degree, an effect or comment upon the world; his struggle cannot be wholly in vain. Looking at this list, it is apparent that Arthur Miller's view of the tragic character is more suited towards the protagonist than the antagonist. But I feel I can apply some of Miller's points towards Kisasian, and illustrate that even though there are elements of tragedy inside _The Tales of Tanabi_, it is not completely whole. Kisasian is the partial tragic antagonist. I should also note, however, that even though these are anthropomorphic characters, they transcend their animal shells and take on humanistic forms. The tragic hero or antagonist, can be applied to either man, or beast. Firstly, _The Tales of Tanabi_ has the power to bring its readers not only sadness, but also enlightenment. Kisasian and Ngwame have underwent personal suffering -- Ngwame was banished from Sarabi's pride, and Kisasian lives life without a father ... a father who could have been alive for him. Through contrasting Kisasian's and Mwangalizi's way of life, _The Tales of Tanabi_ provides direction to the right way of living in the world. Mwangalizi, during his final moments of life, says: In the endless river of time, we are but droplets of water...Take pride in the good of life, and give good to others. For all the droplets flowing together form the mighty river ... and with that anything is possible. (Templin, Chap 6) Mwangalizi provides the readers with the right way of living in the world. Mwangalizi's way is the right way, for if one were to compare his way to that of Kisasian's, Mwangalizi's way is the more preferable of the two. To borrow from Chapter 6 of _TToT_, Scar tells his son that "You have failed yourself, and therefore, have failed me. It is time you dealt justice to Simba ... You will kill him." Kisasian's immediate response is, "I will! I promise you, I will!" (Templin, Chap 6). Apparently, this is Kisasian's direction in life. And even though the reader may not have a Simba in his or her life, the concept of vengeance towards someone may be present. Mwangalizi provides us with a lasting view on how to live in this world. Kisasian's view is only temporary and incomplete. _The Tales of Tanabi_ satisfies Miller's first point on what he considers to be "tragedy." To apply Miller's second point to Kisasian and _The Tales of Tanabi_, one has to analyze not only Kisasian's place in society, but also his dignity. Starting off with the latter point, the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary says that dignity is "the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed." I will focus in on the "honoured" part, seeing that Kisasian feels "dishonoured" by crimes that went unpunished for the death of his father. Kisasian's sense of dignity is challenged, and he is willing to put that dignity in danger. It is clear that Kisasian's path in _The Tales of Tanabi_ is to kill Simba. Kisasian is the lion who is willing to risk his life to defend is dignity. Already, one half of Miller's second point on what makes drama a tragedy has been satisfied. Now, we must analyze Kisasian's place in society. (Something which may prove to be difficult). Depending on one's point of view, lions do not have a highly organized social structure as humans do. This would be the naturalist's point of view, causing _The Tales of Tanabi_ to not quite easily fit under Miller's second point. Other views may include that because it is natural for male lions to fight for a pride, Kisasian and Simba are just behaving like their natural lion selves and thus, we cannot apply any kind of human element to these characters. Again, this point of view is also true. If we focus in on "the underlying struggle of the individual attempting to gain his rightful place in society" (Miller, 1), the question which appears before you is this: is Kisasian *really* struggling to gain his rightful place in society? The answer is no. There is no direction for Kisasian. The reader is never made aware of what the lion's rightful position in society is. With that in mind, Kisasian never does struggle to gain his rightful place in society. It never occurs to him. And thus, only half of Miller's second point can be applied to _The Tales of Tanabi_. Kisasian is willing to risk his life to defend his dignity, but never does he attempt to gain his rightful place in society. Miller's third point, "Tragedy, itself, then is the consequence of man's total compulsion to evaluate himself justly" is much more difficult to apply to Kisasian than his second or first point. Reflecting back on Kisasian's actions, no where is there evidence that this lion is trying to evaluate himself in his society. Instead, the lion tries to evaluate society justly, and passes sentence on all the creatures who have made his life miserable. The lion lashes out at the hyenas, takes on Simba's pride, and slaps around Mwangalizi. Apparently, Miller's third point on what makes modern fiction tragic does not neatly fit Templin's _The Tales of Tanabi_. Taking a look at Miller's fourth point, a couple of questions must be asked about Kisasian. Does he know where happiness lies? And, is he capable of attaining it? Throughout _The Tales of Tanabi_, we see Kisasian trying to accomplish his goal of avenging his father. But does the accomplishment of this goal result in happiness for Kisasian? Or is it ... approval by his father? Looking at Kisasian, it is in the opinion of this essayist that Kisasian does not know what, or where happiness lies and thus, is not capable of attaining it. "The tragic man must be perceived as a man who has missed accomplishing." (Miller, 1). Kisasian would be the tragic lion who has missed accomplishing, *BUT*, considering that Kisasian's goals do not involve his own personal happiness, one cannot apply Miller's fourth point to Kisasian. The opportunity for Kisasian to be truly happy is never there, and so, his failure to accomplish his tasks does not provide _The Tales of Tanabi_ the strong structural base for a tragedy. Miller's last point on the making of a tragedy could be, to some degree, applicable to _The Tales of Tanabi_. "The antagonist's fate must have, to a certain degree, an effect or comment upon the world; his struggle cannot be wholly in vain." Looking at Kisasian, the reader receives a realistic portrayal of how potent a force anger, hatred, and vengeance is. What is even better is learning how these emotions clouded Kisasian's judgement. It is hard to isolate Kisasian's tragic flaw (I don't know if such a flaw exists), but being too dedicated and committed to avenging his father made Kisasian miss out on the other things in life: love, happiness, knowledge and peace. Kisasian never accepts Lisani's love, he never hears the wisdom of Mwangalizi, and never takes Simba's offer to leave Pride Rock in peace. Instead, Kisasian ends up being lonely, unwise, and injures his pride of lions. Being dedicated and committed are nice qualities, but having too much of these can cause judgement to be clouded. The tragic flaw(s) becomes undesirable, and unacceptable, and Kisasian's dedication and commitment are his tragic flaws. To wrap up Miller's fifth point, Kisasian's struggle does comment upon the world, ... or to be more specific, on human nature. It is through Kisasian that we learn how certain emotions, mixed in with the right characteristics, can make an antagonist, tragic. And it is through tragedy, to whatever small or large degree, that the readers are able to learn and grow. The intent on this essay was to evaluate how much of a tragic story is _The Tales of Tanabi_. But on a lesser scale, it was this essayist hope to elevate Templin's _The Tales of Tanabi_ to a higher pedestal than just "another Lion King fictional story". Because it is much more than that. It is a fine, quality piece of work, and an example of what animal literature should be. It follows in the footsteps of animal author Richard Adams, and speaks the wisdom you would find in Aesop's Fables. _The Tales of Tanabi_, after my evaluation of Kisasian and the story, cannot be easily classified as a tragedy. BUT, there are many reasons for this. Number one: Miller's points of the making of a modern tragedy applies to a PROtagonist, and not an ANtagonist (change "antagonist" to "hero" in Miller's points, and you'll see what I mean). Miller's points make any kind of analysis difficult if one chooses to evaluate the antagonist and not the protagonist. Number two: the fact that _The Tales of Tanabi_ deals with a small time span of Kisasian's life may not provide enough information to make a full assessment of his character. Whereas Arthur Miller's tragic hero, Willy Loman, from "Death of a Salesman", has lived a full life on stage, Kisasian is only seen as long as it takes for a lion cub to be born (whatever the time span is. I don't know how long it takes for a cub to be born). In conclusion, _The Tales of Tanabi_ is not a 100% tragic story, but this does not diminish the fact that the readers can still gain some insight into the human condition. _TToT_ is tragic, in the sense that You are witnessing a tragedy when the characters before you are wholly and intensely realized, to the degree that your belief in their reality is all but complete. ... the story is most serious - so serious that you have been brought to the state of outright fear for the people involved, as though for yourself. (Miller, 1) Kisasian would definitely fall under this category -- his character is wholly and intensely realized. And the fear of the story, or of Kisasian itself, is real enough. BUT, _TToT_ is not tragic, in the sense that Tragedy arises when you are in the presence of a man who has missed accomplishing his joy; but the joy *MUST* be there, the promise of the right way of life *MUST* be there [my emphasis]. Otherwise pathos reigns, and an endless, meaningless and essentially untrue picture of man is created - ... man wholly lost in a universe which by its very nature is too hostile to be mastered. (Miller, 1) _The Tales of Tanabi_ has the elements to make up a tragedy, but since Kisasian does not have any kind of direction towards happiness in life, _TToT_ cannot be considered a pure tragedy. And with that, Kisasian fails to be, the "tragic antagonist." =============================================================================== Bibliography ~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1. Miller, Arthur. "Tragedy and the Common Man". _New York Times_, 27 Feb, 1949. sec 2, pp. 1,3. 2. Miller, Arthur. (1) "On the Nature of Tragedy." (publishing date, company and location not available). 3. Templin, Joshua C. _The Tales of Tanabi_. 1995. (no publishing company). ============================================================================= Message from the essayist: Reading stories, novels, poetry, or plays provides only half the appreciation of the text. The other half comes from the discussions, the literary analyses, and the criticisms derived from that specific piece of fiction. That is why I felt it was important to write this essay on _The Tales of Tanabi_ and about Kisasian in general. I wanted to fully appreciate the work of fiction I had before me, and to not let it sit idle in an electronic textfile on my hard disk. _TToT_ deserves more than that. It is through literary criticisms and analyses that readers can fully appreciate the stories, poetry, and plays that they have before them. They are essential to literature and allow us to gain a better insight into ourselves, and the human race. Thank you, Joshua, for an excellent piece of work. Comments and/or criticisms are welcomed on "Kisasian, the Tragic Antagonist." You can also find a copy of this essay on Joshua Templin's TToT homepage. No flames please. Kevin C. Bissessar