![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
kunoichi-jaden.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
chuunin_archiveI have never written a fan essay before. I have never willingly written an essay before.
I really am a Narutard.
This was rather hastily done, as the words have been on my mind for a while. Its not really proofread very well, (I'm so bad at proofing my work) so please excuse any stupid grammatical/spelling errors for now. Really, I'm not an idiot, I assure you.
I don't think it's too lengthy (700 or so words) so please give it a chance! ^_^ I haven't really seen this idea pop up around the internet (then again, I'm fairly new to Naruto fandom) but I think you guys will find it interesting. ^^
Team Seven, The Sannin, and the Teamwork Lesson
By now, it’s no mystery to anyone that Kishimoto-san has set an immensely important character parallel between the Sannin and Team Seven. For all intents and purposes; Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are basically the spitting images (in character) of their respective teachers: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. As Team 7 progressed, they have followed the same path of the Sannin: Naruto has gone from being a hopeless case to a powerful ninja, Sakura has trained in medical ninjutsu, and Sasuke has followed his own path and separated the team. No wonder people like to call Team 7 the Neo-sannin.
With all that said and done, the important question here is: what is the true fate of Team Seven? Will they continue along their seemingly pre-destined path, only to become three people with a lot of history and no sense of unity? Or will they reunite?
The answer to these questions, I believe, actually lies in the comparison of two past events, both of which were very important to both Team Seven and the Sannin.
Remember Kakashi’s survival training way back on Team Seven’s first full day of training? Of course you do, since it’s the team’s very first defining moment. Before Kakashi leaves Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to mull over their awful performance, he makes it clear to them that had they worked together, they would’ve stood a better chance at getting a bell. Following in this vein of thought, Kakashi would’ve still failed the whole team if they managed to get the bells through solo work. Poor Kakashi-sensei almost incurred the wrath of the heavens in order to get Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke to declare togetherness.
So what, you say? Compare Kakashi’s core lesson to Sandaime’s survival training with the Sannin. In Jiraiya’s flashback, he’s the one left tied to the log and Tsunade and Orochimaru are allowed to go home. In their very first operation as a team, the Sannin did not get any type of teamwork lesson.
Of course, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya knew the importance of working together on missions, but Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke learned that teamwork can make the difference between life and death.
The significance of the teamwork lesson lies here: Naruto and Sakura show no signs of giving up on Sasuke, unlike Jiraiya and Tsunade’s eventual attitude toward Ororchimaru.
This is in no way saying that Jiraiya and Tsunade didn’t care about their teammate, because we do know that Jiraiya continually attempted to bring him back to Konoha. For Tsunade, on the other hand, it seems that she was much too absorbed in the sorrowful events of her own life to be too concerned with Orochimaru.
Naruto and Sakura are well aware that they are the only people that can possibly save Sasuke from being killed by Orochimaru (or even Itachi, perhaps.) It is also apparent that both Sakura and Naruto have dedicated their two and a half years of training to preparing themselves for saving Sasuke.
Of course, this leaves one final issue- what about Sasuke and his teamwork ideals? They seem strikingly different from that of Naruto and Sakura, right? The fact of the matter here is, Sasuke’s sense of teamwork does not differ drastically; in fact he appears to worry about teamwork more than Naruto and Sakura do. During the chuunin exam, Sasuke’s first priority is getting himself and his teammates out of danger, even at the cost of failing the exam. Soon after receiving the curse seal, he asks Sakura to not tell Naruto about it, so that it wouldn’t become a burden and hinder their teamwork. Later on, during his preliminary match, he’s angry at himself for making Naruto and Sakura worry. Last, but certainly not least, Sasuke was declaring his dedication to his friends right through the big fight with Gaara. Remember, Sasuke’s position on teamwork and loyalty only begins to falter when Itachi, the person that made him a loner in the first place, reappears in his life.
The last key to Team Seven’s puzzling future is whether Sasuke still has an emotional attachment and some sense of loyalty towards Naruto and Sakura? Or do his loyalties only lie in himself and his quest for revenge? It really is hard to say for a fact, but I believe that Kishimoto’s message of teamwork and friendship will be exemplified by Sasuke’s reunification with Naruto and Sakura.
Well, discuss! (Please?!)
Oh and if you have any... technical comments about the essay (grammar, structure, style, that stuff), flames, or even ego-boosters (haha!) feel free to drop them off at the entry on my journal ^_^: http://www.livejournal.com/users/kunoichi_jaden/1059.html?mode=reply
I really am a Narutard.
This was rather hastily done, as the words have been on my mind for a while. Its not really proofread very well, (I'm so bad at proofing my work) so please excuse any stupid grammatical/spelling errors for now. Really, I'm not an idiot, I assure you.
I don't think it's too lengthy (700 or so words) so please give it a chance! ^_^ I haven't really seen this idea pop up around the internet (then again, I'm fairly new to Naruto fandom) but I think you guys will find it interesting. ^^
Team Seven, The Sannin, and the Teamwork Lesson
By now, it’s no mystery to anyone that Kishimoto-san has set an immensely important character parallel between the Sannin and Team Seven. For all intents and purposes; Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura are basically the spitting images (in character) of their respective teachers: Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade. As Team 7 progressed, they have followed the same path of the Sannin: Naruto has gone from being a hopeless case to a powerful ninja, Sakura has trained in medical ninjutsu, and Sasuke has followed his own path and separated the team. No wonder people like to call Team 7 the Neo-sannin.
With all that said and done, the important question here is: what is the true fate of Team Seven? Will they continue along their seemingly pre-destined path, only to become three people with a lot of history and no sense of unity? Or will they reunite?
The answer to these questions, I believe, actually lies in the comparison of two past events, both of which were very important to both Team Seven and the Sannin.
Remember Kakashi’s survival training way back on Team Seven’s first full day of training? Of course you do, since it’s the team’s very first defining moment. Before Kakashi leaves Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura to mull over their awful performance, he makes it clear to them that had they worked together, they would’ve stood a better chance at getting a bell. Following in this vein of thought, Kakashi would’ve still failed the whole team if they managed to get the bells through solo work. Poor Kakashi-sensei almost incurred the wrath of the heavens in order to get Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke to declare togetherness.
So what, you say? Compare Kakashi’s core lesson to Sandaime’s survival training with the Sannin. In Jiraiya’s flashback, he’s the one left tied to the log and Tsunade and Orochimaru are allowed to go home. In their very first operation as a team, the Sannin did not get any type of teamwork lesson.
Of course, Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya knew the importance of working together on missions, but Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke learned that teamwork can make the difference between life and death.
The significance of the teamwork lesson lies here: Naruto and Sakura show no signs of giving up on Sasuke, unlike Jiraiya and Tsunade’s eventual attitude toward Ororchimaru.
This is in no way saying that Jiraiya and Tsunade didn’t care about their teammate, because we do know that Jiraiya continually attempted to bring him back to Konoha. For Tsunade, on the other hand, it seems that she was much too absorbed in the sorrowful events of her own life to be too concerned with Orochimaru.
Naruto and Sakura are well aware that they are the only people that can possibly save Sasuke from being killed by Orochimaru (or even Itachi, perhaps.) It is also apparent that both Sakura and Naruto have dedicated their two and a half years of training to preparing themselves for saving Sasuke.
Of course, this leaves one final issue- what about Sasuke and his teamwork ideals? They seem strikingly different from that of Naruto and Sakura, right? The fact of the matter here is, Sasuke’s sense of teamwork does not differ drastically; in fact he appears to worry about teamwork more than Naruto and Sakura do. During the chuunin exam, Sasuke’s first priority is getting himself and his teammates out of danger, even at the cost of failing the exam. Soon after receiving the curse seal, he asks Sakura to not tell Naruto about it, so that it wouldn’t become a burden and hinder their teamwork. Later on, during his preliminary match, he’s angry at himself for making Naruto and Sakura worry. Last, but certainly not least, Sasuke was declaring his dedication to his friends right through the big fight with Gaara. Remember, Sasuke’s position on teamwork and loyalty only begins to falter when Itachi, the person that made him a loner in the first place, reappears in his life.
The last key to Team Seven’s puzzling future is whether Sasuke still has an emotional attachment and some sense of loyalty towards Naruto and Sakura? Or do his loyalties only lie in himself and his quest for revenge? It really is hard to say for a fact, but I believe that Kishimoto’s message of teamwork and friendship will be exemplified by Sasuke’s reunification with Naruto and Sakura.
Well, discuss! (Please?!)
Oh and if you have any... technical comments about the essay (grammar, structure, style, that stuff), flames, or even ego-boosters (haha!) feel free to drop them off at the entry on my journal ^_^: http://www.livejournal.com/users/kunoichi_jaden/1059.html?mode=reply
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 01:40 am (UTC)we already know team seven parallels the sannin, and we know the events that have already happened in team seven parallel those that happened to their mentors. However, team seven differs greatly from the sannin in that they've already learned their mentors' lessons (well maybe except Sasuke). Since Naruto and Sakura know what failed with Jiraiya and Tsunade, they can try a different approach at rescuing Sasuke.
I might just be an optimist, but I believe deep down Sasuke still has loyalty toward Team Seven, especially Kakashi.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 01:51 am (UTC)I think you show the parallels between the teams well, as well as the important difference in their views on teamwork. I liked how you made it very clear that those views are a key issue in how things will turn out for Team 7. But I think you end the essay too soon. You had a whole momentum down your line of logic going, but you didn't follow through. The answers to your ending questions can still be answered by you in your essay, and you can come to an actual conclusion on the matter instead of ending it weakly with silly questions.
Even if you don't want to give a definitive answer, there are still key issues in the series to be brought forward as evidence to show that Sasuke's emotional attachment is questionable, at least. Present it!
Does Sasuke have any remaining emotional attachment to Naruto and Sakura? Well, for starters, he left on pretty emotional terms with both of them: Sakura crying and him telling her 'thank you'; and him unable to kill Naruto at the end of a very brutal fight despite everything he could have obtained from that death, and all the connections he could have cut with it. The key thing is that Sasuke didn't cut his connections with his team -- they're very much still emotionally attached, as we see through him leaving Naruto alive, telling Sakura "thank you" instead of lying to her to try and make her hate/forget him, and as we continue to see even in Sasuke's absence, with Naruto and Sakura training and searching desperately for him.
And then, does Sasuke's loyalties lie in himself and his quest for revenge? Personally, I don't think these two issues are mutually exclusive. He still has emotional attachment to his team, or did when he left them, but he also has a strong sense of obligation to obtain power and avenge his family. Perhaps a better question for discussion would be, if he had to choose between the two, (which he probably will have to,) which will win him over in the end? Will Team 7 be reunited as a team, or will they be destined to break apart as the Sannin they parallel? But show both sides of it.
Personally, I think they will be reunited as a team. I also think that's the conclusion your essay is pointing at. That being said, I really liked how you laid out this essay, I just think you need to finish it on a stronger note. *thumbs up!* =D
no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-20 05:12 am (UTC)I think Sasuke will come back to them somehow when Itachi is dead. He doesn't give a crap about Orochimaru's plans. I've never thought Sasuke was evil, just misguided... so let's cross our fingers that Sakura and Naruto are right.