Scar's Soliloquy

George R.R. Martin once said "Nobody is a villain in their own story. We're all the heroes of our own stories." After reading the archaic Anglo-Saxon tale Beowulf and John Gardener's Grendel, I began to see some semblance of truth in Martin's words. Grendel is the villain in Beowulf, yet in Beowulf, Grendel is displayed as a bloodthirsty monster, who lacks any conscience or thought. However, in Grendel, the reader gets to see that Grendel is much more than bestial exterior; on the inside, he is inquisitive, thoughtful, reflective, and curious. This revelation in no way excuses the actions that he does, but it provides light to Grendel's perspective and gives clarity to his motives. Inspired, I wanted to take a classic movie villain and write a Grendel-like soliloquy. I chose Scar, from the film Lion King. After writing this piece (to paraphrase C.S. Lewis' words after he wrote The Screwtape Letters) I felt awful and "dirty," (not being a fan of excusing a murderer's motives) but it was an insightful experience to (potentially) see Scar's point of view for his actions. I am in no way a fan of Scar's character. But his tragic arc still has lessons that can be learned. Here is Scar's Soliloquy. 

Even from a young age, I was neglected and scarred for life. My older brother, “the wise and great Mufasa” was always the pinnacle of good behavior and the paragon of virtue. But it was not his seemingly noble personality that irked me (to each his own, as I always say). It was the fact that his pattern of life had to be the one that all of the lions had to follow. Allow me to explain. I was a much more docile and analytical kind of cub. While my brother would gladly puff out his chest and run head first into his problems (being the dumb brute he is), I took a more precise and deceptive route, eliminating obstacles in the shadows with maximum efficiency. Yet, such a personality (or set of attributes) does not get you a wife, a kingdom, or an inheritance. These “gifts” and choice societal attributes were bestowed upon my brother, while I received nothing. Why did I need to conform to this universal definition of “good” character? Why did could I not accept myself the way I was? Why could society not accept me? It was these many years of yearning and sick exhaustion with the world caused me to cleanse and murder my dear brother in such a macabre manner. Finally, the world would take me for who I was, not what I was supposed to be. But the death of Mufasa was not the end of the problem. No, the curse needed to end with Simba. His very ascension to the throne would be proof that this horrid legacy of living a fake life would persevere. That poor, spoiled cub would take the throne, and having only seen the "stellar" example that his father set out for him, become just like Mufasa. This is not what I want to teach my future generation, nor did I want to see Mufasa's death occur in vain. Without a doubt, some will see my actions as barbaric and sinister. But where they see cruelty, I see necessity. Where they see murder, I see retribution. After all my years of struggle, there shall finally be peace across the land.