falloutmonk
2013-03-05, 04:42 AM
I would love a discussion on the themes present in Order of the Stick if other folk are up for it! I wrote the following to get us started.
(This overview does not comprise information from any of the books, so it may be lacking veracity on certain details. I plan to read the book within the next week and will make edits as they are required.
Much of this is inspired by a post I read within the last few days regarding the connection of the Empire of Blood and family. I cannot find that post now, but if anyone recalls where it was I would much appreciate the link so I may provide full disclosure of my sources. )
Essay begins:
The Empire of Blood story arc in Order of the Stick addresses parental failure and the decay of familial relationships. Three father figures are introduced over the ac, each of whom has failed the core tenants of parenthood in some regard. Haley’s father did not provide emotional development while Malack failed to protect his children and also seems to be emotionally distant to those very same spawn. Order of the Stick has also created a new theme: the willing ideological failure of a parent as embodied by Tarquin and Elan.
Haley’s father is possessed of intense paranoia and irredeemable narcissism. He fails to emotionally recover from his wife’s death and instead uses it as a tool to protect himself from further emotional vulnerability. He teaches this same tactic to his daughter who requires significant mentorship from her friends in order to develop beyond the closed-off, paranoid we all met 877 strips ago.
However in terms of familial relationships we see regression in Haley’s family. When confronted by her emotionally distraught father and asked whether he raised her well, she lies and confirms that he did. Just as her father failed to raise her free from fear, she is now too afraid to face the painful truth and move forward as family. Perhaps this will be resolved later, towards the end of this arc but for now we must wait and see.
Whilst Haley’s father failed her emotionally, Malack has failed as a father in the most physical sense, as he failed to protect them from their murderer, Nale. While reasonable people maintain this is not Malack’s fault, it cannot be ignored that the vampire cleric fell short of the basic rigors of fatherhood: keep your children safe. Even Haley’s father managed this, though in his own twisted way.
Again, we have some regression here. Malack agrees to postpone his children’s vengeance in order to hasten his and Tarquin’s “business” plans. Shameful behavior for any father. The action is reasonable, certainly, but the word reasonable should not apply so easily to a situation involving your child’s murderer. Malack has little emotional commitment to his children, indeed, when he attempts to vampirize Belkar he does so in pursuit of his own needs. In this case because he “miss[es] the company of others of my own ilk.” Ultimately though, he decides against more children based on his own emotional needs, that of desiring a brother. Narcissistic parents abound!
Emotional and physical hardships are some of the most difficult challenges to overcome. Especially if your particular flavor of physical hardship involves a stake in the heart. Perhaps the most difficult emotional experience for any living individual to endure though, is to be disappointed in a loved one. We’ve seen this story all of our lives. The son or daughter who fails to live up to their parent’s ideals. It’s awful. But even worse is when a parent falls short of their children’s expectations as is the case for Elan and Tarquin.
Elan enjoys a very simple understanding of the world. He believes in being good so much that he can’t even begin to understand what it means to be evil. Which makes the revelation that his father is such an evil individual all the more shocking and painful to him. That same father refuses to be redeemed, and he staunchly opposes his son’s worldview even while recognizing the full extent of the crimes he has committed.
I say that this last is a new theme as the idea of a self-aware parent willing to disappoint his son is frankly unheard of. Literature is littered with anti-heroes, good-intentioned but bad execution, “I didn’t know I was a bad guy” types. This is the first time, that I am aware of, that the villain recognizes his place in the story and accepts with such confidence that he can sit at the table with a son who despises everything that he is without the slightest air of concern.
Emotional abuse can be overcome, even neglect can be forgiven if the individuals who caused the trauma are willing to repent. There will never be familial reconciliation for Elan. Tarquin stands defiant to these, aware of his place in the world, and doesn’t care at all.
(This overview does not comprise information from any of the books, so it may be lacking veracity on certain details. I plan to read the book within the next week and will make edits as they are required.
Much of this is inspired by a post I read within the last few days regarding the connection of the Empire of Blood and family. I cannot find that post now, but if anyone recalls where it was I would much appreciate the link so I may provide full disclosure of my sources. )
Essay begins:
The Empire of Blood story arc in Order of the Stick addresses parental failure and the decay of familial relationships. Three father figures are introduced over the ac, each of whom has failed the core tenants of parenthood in some regard. Haley’s father did not provide emotional development while Malack failed to protect his children and also seems to be emotionally distant to those very same spawn. Order of the Stick has also created a new theme: the willing ideological failure of a parent as embodied by Tarquin and Elan.
Haley’s father is possessed of intense paranoia and irredeemable narcissism. He fails to emotionally recover from his wife’s death and instead uses it as a tool to protect himself from further emotional vulnerability. He teaches this same tactic to his daughter who requires significant mentorship from her friends in order to develop beyond the closed-off, paranoid we all met 877 strips ago.
However in terms of familial relationships we see regression in Haley’s family. When confronted by her emotionally distraught father and asked whether he raised her well, she lies and confirms that he did. Just as her father failed to raise her free from fear, she is now too afraid to face the painful truth and move forward as family. Perhaps this will be resolved later, towards the end of this arc but for now we must wait and see.
Whilst Haley’s father failed her emotionally, Malack has failed as a father in the most physical sense, as he failed to protect them from their murderer, Nale. While reasonable people maintain this is not Malack’s fault, it cannot be ignored that the vampire cleric fell short of the basic rigors of fatherhood: keep your children safe. Even Haley’s father managed this, though in his own twisted way.
Again, we have some regression here. Malack agrees to postpone his children’s vengeance in order to hasten his and Tarquin’s “business” plans. Shameful behavior for any father. The action is reasonable, certainly, but the word reasonable should not apply so easily to a situation involving your child’s murderer. Malack has little emotional commitment to his children, indeed, when he attempts to vampirize Belkar he does so in pursuit of his own needs. In this case because he “miss[es] the company of others of my own ilk.” Ultimately though, he decides against more children based on his own emotional needs, that of desiring a brother. Narcissistic parents abound!
Emotional and physical hardships are some of the most difficult challenges to overcome. Especially if your particular flavor of physical hardship involves a stake in the heart. Perhaps the most difficult emotional experience for any living individual to endure though, is to be disappointed in a loved one. We’ve seen this story all of our lives. The son or daughter who fails to live up to their parent’s ideals. It’s awful. But even worse is when a parent falls short of their children’s expectations as is the case for Elan and Tarquin.
Elan enjoys a very simple understanding of the world. He believes in being good so much that he can’t even begin to understand what it means to be evil. Which makes the revelation that his father is such an evil individual all the more shocking and painful to him. That same father refuses to be redeemed, and he staunchly opposes his son’s worldview even while recognizing the full extent of the crimes he has committed.
I say that this last is a new theme as the idea of a self-aware parent willing to disappoint his son is frankly unheard of. Literature is littered with anti-heroes, good-intentioned but bad execution, “I didn’t know I was a bad guy” types. This is the first time, that I am aware of, that the villain recognizes his place in the story and accepts with such confidence that he can sit at the table with a son who despises everything that he is without the slightest air of concern.
Emotional abuse can be overcome, even neglect can be forgiven if the individuals who caused the trauma are willing to repent. There will never be familial reconciliation for Elan. Tarquin stands defiant to these, aware of his place in the world, and doesn’t care at all.