Hope in the Apocalypse
Clementine's struggles in TWD has gotten me thinking. She has watched a lot of friends die, and even found the walking corpses of her parents. She blames herself for a lot of those deaths yet she keeps going. This had made me think what if I was in her place? What if I was the one watching my friends and family die? Would i find any hope to continue on or would i just give up?
Now, recently I've been rewatching the series Avatar : The Last Airbender and one of the characters, Iroh, said a line that hit me. "You must never give into despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. In the darkest times, hope is something you give yourself. That is the meaning of inner strength." The way he delivered that line made it sound so powerful and it got me thinking upon this issue yet again, but much more positively.
The game itself has given me a view I could never get in real life. I was Lee. I died. Now I see Clem blaming herself for it and it makes me realize just how much I don't want the ones I love letting my death weigh them down. I'm certain a good majority share this view and any loved one who would die in my aforementioned situation wouldn't want their death to weigh me down either.
Before thinking about this issue this greatly, I might've been one to give up. Now, I have a different view of the situation. My friends and family wouldn't want me to give up. (a line I use to not think much of) I'd have to be strong and rise above any feelings of despair.
Hypothetical: You are in the zombie apocalypse. You are surviving. Your friends and family are slowly being killed off. Would you be able to keep going, or would you give in to despair?
Comments
If my family died, I'd probably give in to despair. I wouldn't be able to continue a meaningless existence in a world like TWD's. Maybe if I was in a group I could move on from it. But alone? I honestly doubt I would see the point.
I have to say, Clem is one tough cookie for surviving this long and not being heavily weighed down from all the deaths of people she's known. Nearly everybody who's been close to her is dead or went missing.
Like Iroh said "don't give into despair". If I lost my family I would not give up since I know they would want me to move on and find other people to care for like Lee did in season 1
Although I once said that I might be a mixture of Nick and Ben in the Apocalypse, I wouldn't give up. Even if one experience so much despair and death, one can't just give up. Because everyone lives in such danger, life has become much more precious.
You have to find some reason to live for, if it's to find a cure, or to find people, you have to find a reason to live or you just end up going insane.