Is Guybrush Threepwood...
...some sort of Christ figure? According to Wikipedia:
"A Christ figure is a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.
In general, a character should display more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. For instance, the character might display one or more of the following traits: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, display loving kindness and forgiveness, fight for justice, being guided by the spirit of the character's father, death and resurrection. Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves.
In postmodern literature, the resurrection theme is often abandoned, leaving us with the image of a martyr sacrificing himself for a greater good. It is common to see Christ figures displayed in a manner suggestive of crucifixion as well; this technique is more noticeable in films than in literature."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_figure
I noticed that though Guybrush is a plucky, yet stupid, goofy and incompetent pirate, treasure hunter and swashbuckler, yet he seems to have some sort of Christ qualities and traits (examples: Guybrush using voodoo powers for good under guidance of the unnamed Voodoo Lady, his almost supernatural ability to hold his breath underwater for 10 minutes, etc.), and on multiple occasions Guybrush presents himself as an unlikely sacrifice and, in doing so, is able to destroy the evil undead pirate LeChuck and his voodoo curses time and time again (see the examples on Curse of Monkey Island and Tales of Monkey Island).
So if Guybrush is a Christ figure, he sure seems to be an unlikely one, huh? :cool: :rolleyes:
"A Christ figure is a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.
In general, a character should display more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. For instance, the character might display one or more of the following traits: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, display loving kindness and forgiveness, fight for justice, being guided by the spirit of the character's father, death and resurrection. Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves.
In postmodern literature, the resurrection theme is often abandoned, leaving us with the image of a martyr sacrificing himself for a greater good. It is common to see Christ figures displayed in a manner suggestive of crucifixion as well; this technique is more noticeable in films than in literature."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_figure
I noticed that though Guybrush is a plucky, yet stupid, goofy and incompetent pirate, treasure hunter and swashbuckler, yet he seems to have some sort of Christ qualities and traits (examples: Guybrush using voodoo powers for good under guidance of the unnamed Voodoo Lady, his almost supernatural ability to hold his breath underwater for 10 minutes, etc.), and on multiple occasions Guybrush presents himself as an unlikely sacrifice and, in doing so, is able to destroy the evil undead pirate LeChuck and his voodoo curses time and time again (see the examples on Curse of Monkey Island and Tales of Monkey Island).
So if Guybrush is a Christ figure, he sure seems to be an unlikely one, huh? :cool: :rolleyes:
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Seriously Conspiracy, take a shower...
If it's anyone who represents Jesus, it's Winslow. (kidding, just kidding!!)
Neither of which Jesus would've had.
Considering he was a Rabbi, I'd kind of bet on him having had a beard.
But I have to agree that Guybrush != Jesus. Aside from that "rising from the dead" thing, I can't see a lot of parallels.
one could then just as well say that guybrush is an adventure-game-figure, that sam and max are so, too. or that jesus is a guybrush-figure.
Everyone knows that Winslow is God, Jesus, Buddah, Allah, Odin, Ra, The Creator of the Universe, The Keeper of the Map and the Destructor of Chuck Norris. Not to mention all the other 4567 deity titles he has and 423920959 godly deeds he has done.
YOU SHALL ALL BURN!!!
And there are references to Christ's Passion and resurrection in ToMI: Guybrush befriending and then being betrayed by Morgan LeFlay to the Marquis De Singe for 30,000 pieces of silver = Jesus befriending Judas Iscariot and then being betrayed by him to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver; Guybrush being brought to trial for charges, including that of spreading the Pox of LeChuck, and almost sentenced to death before LeChuck arrives to save him = Jesus' trial and condemnation before Pilate; Guybrush curing Elaine and everyone else of the Pox with La Esponja Grande and then being pierced by LeChuck's Cutlass of Kaflu before dying = Jesus being pierced by the nails of the cross and dying to save humanity; and finally (as it is told before) Guybrush's journey through the Crossroads, uniting himself with his body and returning to stop LeChuck once and for all through his trials and pains = Jesus' descent to the netherworld and resurrection from the tomb to destroy death and Satan once and for all.
Isn't that something deserving of being a bizarre Christ figure?
In this kind of game, it's just a great way to seemingly push the level of hope further down a dark hole before a plausible victory awaits. Not to mention, they kind of prelude the possibility of coming back first with a villain. Nobody does it better (or more often) than Lechuck, in this series.
Guybrush, may seem a bit bumbling. May seem innocent. But he is very much still a pirate. He even did, at one point, become the mightiest and feared pirate of the Carribean with the ability to even Fax a message for other pirates to surrender before he boarded them........................
...
...
...
That is, IF the other Pirates could've received a Fax.
And considering how many selfish things he did just to get what he needed. (And plenty of stealing left and right) I consider him a figure that hardly resembles any biblical figure I know. Maybe the story of someone of moderately ill-repute that grows a conscience and saves the day, perhaps. But then again, that could be Max. Another one who has travelled to the other side and back.
But really, Jesus came back with all his wounds, while Guybrush got a brand new body.
That makes Guybrush better.
Well, Guybrush, Morgan and Winslow being swallowed by a manatee and remaining there for a short time kind of references the story in which Jonah was swallowed by a whale and remaining there for three days and nights. Even Jesus made a reference when he said, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights" (Matthew 12:39-40, NAB).
Goes to show how little I know from the bible and what a bad christian I am...
What Do You Mean, It's Not Symbolic?
"He enters the series on top of a mountain, with no obvious point of entry...It's almost like he came down from somewhere."
[or something to that effect, I can't remember the exact quote.]
EDIT: Didn't see that Fawful beat me to the punch.
So, er, that would make him Moses then?
Right, cause he threw something from a mountain, too...some pyrite.
Be careful, though... As it is sung in Evita: "Better to win by admitting my sin than to lose with a halo."
The Trial and Execution might even symbolize Jesus being trailed by the High Priests, or Pontius Pilate.
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,365775,00.html
If you were to worship Guybrush or invoke him in a magic ritual, you could probably treat him like a solar god, which is the same category of Jesus. If I had to compare him to some god, though, I would probably choose Dyonisos before than Christ. He's another solar god, and a dying-god archetype, just like Christ, but has a cheerful/playful/kind of trickster side which resonates more with our mighty pirate.
Instead of making games dull by mixing them with spirituality, why don't we do it the other way around? Why don't we make spirituality fun by mixing it with games? I'm sure I would start going to church if we worshipped Guybrush, took communion with grog and baptized with root beer. You'd have to find a huge curseless diamond ring somewere in order to be able to marry, and when attacked, instead of offering the other cheek, you would be not only allowed but encouraged to INSULT your offender! And if it was in the sea, you'd have to do it in verse! Tell me how in hell can any monotheist religion beat that
Now, in magick theory, gods are usually understood as shapes and names given to abstract ideas, in a way that Jesus, Dyonisos and Guybrush would actually be just facades; different ways of looking at the same thing, like different facets of a gem. The archetype, the abstract idea is the real thing. So it doesn't really matter if you go hear the priest or stay home and play Monkey Island; you're getting closer to heaven anyway.
Diving further in the western occult tradition, one can understand all solar gods as metaphores of the soul, or true self. It is said that this is the place where humanity gets mixed with divinity, so when doing our true will -that is, when hearing the voice of our souls and sod the mind, the emotions and the rest of the noise within our heads- we are going with the universe's flow and nothing can go wrong. Think about it: this is the story of Guybrush's adventures. Nothing he ever does makes any sense, and he never has an explanation for his actions, but he always does just what he has to do, and in the end everything goes just as it has to. There's a waterfall blocking my way? No problem, because I have in my jacket a
Yeah. I am getting more and more convinced of this Guybrushianism thing...
:guybrush:
performance of miracles
> A lot of stuff Guybrush does IS a miracle, so: check.
manifestation of divine qualities
> Is the beard a divine quality?
healing others
> Yes, in TMI
display loving kindness and forgiveness
> He forgives LeChuck in MI2 and in TMI.
fight for justice
> Yes, despite ruining random people's lives...
being guided by the spirit of the character's father
> Yes, in MI2
death and resurrection.
> Yes, TMI
Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves.
> Yes, TMI
So, yeah, Guybrush is a Christ figure. And obviously, that makes Ron Gilbert god.