Friday, November 8, 2013

201: The Avatar State

Monk Gyatso:   The scary side of the avatar state.  In this episode we learn that although the avatar state wields a lot of power, it is also out of Aang’s control.  This mirrors strong emotions in real life.  We can become very angry and destroy things or hurt others if we do not keep things under control. 
We can become afraid, infatuated, or excited and ride these emotions to a point where we are forgetting things we need to consider when we are making choices.  We also see Zuko learn this lesson, when his excitement over the possibility that his father might really want him to come home almost leads him into a trap by his sister.  He was so excited and happy that he failed to see what was going on.  We all need to learn to control our emotions somewhat; we should listen to them, but don’t allow ourselves to be swept away by them so that we don’t realize what we are doing.


Another lesson we see here is the bullying Aang receives by the Earth Kingdom general.  He pushes Aang into doing things he is not comfortable doing.  He makes him feel like it is his fault that the war has gone on so long.  There is a proper order to things in life, and trying to skip necessary steps can lead to painful experiences and consequences.  Even though we might feel we are on the same side as someone, if they are pushing us too hard we need to not let them bully us and make our own choices.  So, there are two lessons here: do things in the proper order and don’t be pushed into things you are uncomfortable with.

No comments:

Post a Comment