McNair Research Journal - University of St. Thomas

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Humanities & Social Sciences shinobi: “Master Ebisu is an exclusive private tutor who teaches the elite…he’s a special jonin…And well, Naruto, among the three genin in cell seven, you’re the weakest at the basics. This time, listen closely and learn it right.” (Vol. 10, p. 160). [Note: Genin is a highly experienced ninja with great individual skill who serve as military captains]. Naruto also has positive peer influences. Neji (a male classmate) had hurt Hinata (a female classmate) very badly when they were battling. Following the defeat of Hinata, Neji was still ridiculing Hinata and even Naruto. Naruto almost fought with Neji, which would disqualify him from competing in the Chunin Exam. Fortunately, Lee, one of Naruto’s friends, calmed Naruto down and rationalized the importance of sticking to the rule: Neji: “You may as well accept who you are. Once a failure, always a failure!” Naruto: “You wanna try me?” Lee: “I understand almost painfully well what you’re feeling, Naruto! But…we have to limit our battles to the confines of the scheduled fights.” (Vol. 9, pp. 165-166). In this scene, Neji clearly angered both Naruto and Lee. However, Lee was able to model mature and responsible behavior to Naruto. By reminding him that the schedule of the battles are time-restricted and that Naruto still has a chance to battle Neji later, Naruto calmed down. This scene clearly shows that positive peer influence (e.g. Lee’s behavior of stopping Naruto from fighting with Neji) is very significant in building healthy relationships and appropriate behaviors. 4. CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF TIME - - omitted from analysis Internal Assets 5. COMMITMENT TO LEARNING - - achievement learning, learning engagement, homework, bonding to school, and reading for pleasure. Naruto Naruto is one of the most excited people when it comes to training. Because of his goal to become the next Hokage, he has high achievement motivation: “Hey, come on! I need to start training now!” (Vol. 10 p. 147) Naruto’s motivation to become a better ninja through training is so high that he will demand those who interrupt his training to be responsible for his training, as demonstrated below when Master Jiraiya disturbed Naruto’s training and caused Naruto’s teacher to faint: Naruto: …all I want to know is, what are you going to do about my training? Master Jiraiya: Training? You mean the walking-on-water drill you were just doing now? Naruto: y-you know that exercise? Then do your duty…and take over as the supervisor of my training! (Vol. 11, p. 10-11). Gaara Gaara, in his earlier childhood, was committed to learning engagement and achievement motivation, monitored by his father. His father taught him all the secret shinobi skills he needed to know to become the ultimate ninja. However, Gaara was motivated to learn even though he was lonely was because he thought he was loved: “My father taught me secret shinobi skills, one after another. I was raised in isolation, spoiled and overprotected…At first, I thought that was love…” (Vol. 11, p. 136). After the first assassination failed started by Yashamaru, learning was no longer mentioned. The reader may infer that of the two, Gaara did not maintain a commitment to learning. He is not motivated to do learn about anything nor does he cares about bonding with anyone, because he was betrayed by both his caretaker (Yashamaru) and father (Kazekage), which is the ultimate betrayal of trust and safety. 5. POSITIVE VALUES - - caring, equality and social justice, integrity, honesty, responsibility, and healthy lifestyle. Mai Cha Vang Trauma and Resilience Naruto Naruto has no parents. However, in his current circumstance, he has several adult figures who watch out for him. One of them is the 3rd Hokage. The 3rd Hokage is a man who possesses great influence over the village. He deeply believes in social justice and caring for other people. “You only live once! You need not choose an impossible path. You may live as you like, die as you like…just no matter what path you choose…never forget to protect those who are precious to you!” said the 3rd Hokage to the students at the Academy. (Vol.11, pp. 79-80). The 3rd Hokage can be seen as a parental figure to Naruto. Because Naruto lives in the village of Konoha, ruled by the 3rd Hokage, they share similar values. Both want to protect and be in the company of those they cherish. Gaara A ninja becomes the way he is because of the influence of his family and the values of the community. In Gaara’s case, his village is dependent on military strength, which is why Gaara was born fused with a demon inside him—to give him strength. However, to be born different from everyone, and only be treated as a tool is dehumanizing. The adults who interact with Gaara simply see him as an instrument of strength, including the leader of the Gaara’s team: “Shinobi are fundamentally instruments of conflict…In order to maintain its military strength, our village had no choice but to raise the quality of each shinobi. That is why shinobi like you were ‘manufacture’…Gaara.” (Vol. 11, pp. 96-97). This clearly demonstrates that the adults in Gaara’s village do not teach positive values such as caring and equality. In other words, Gaara was never taught that it is important to help others or to accept responsibility for his own behavior. Through internalization of these teachings, Gaara also came to see himself as a tool to be used according to the needs of the village. Gaara has no positive values. 6. SOCIAL COMPETENCIES - - planning and decision-making, interpersonal competence, cultural competence, resistance skills, and peaceful resolution. Naruto Naruto has a lot of interpersonal competence. Growing up experiencing isolation and rejection, he empathizes with people who have sad backgrounds, especially Gaara because they both have a demon inside them. However, because Naruto was saved from the loneliness by his peers and mentors, his outlook on life becomes more positive. “That…pain…of being all alone…It’s not trivial…the way you feel…I dunno why, but…I understand it so well…the hurt…But…I’ve got people who care about me now…people that are important to me…” said Naruto to Gaara. (Vol. 15, pp. 115-116). Gaara Gaara on the other hand, is still stuck in that world of loneliness where no one understood him. Because of this it appears that he cannot fathom or even comprehend love, care, or support from others. Gaara: Why…why should you care about others…? Naruto: They saved me from my pit of loneliness…and they understand me…I couldn’t live without them…I love them. Gaara’s solution to everything is to kill others or be killed himself, even if he holds no grudge anyone: “I want to kill him because…I just want to kill him.” (Vol. 11, p. 129). To him, life has no meaning other than to recognize that he himself is alive. 7. POSITIVE IDENTITY - - personal power, self-esteem, sense of purpose, and positive view of personal future. Naruto As a result of being acknowledged and mentored by Master Iruka, Naruto became more optimistic about his future because he believed he could change his destiny. Prior to Master Iruka’s acknowledgement of him, Naruto was simply trying to gain attention to gain attention and not 56 University of St. Thomas McNair Research Journal
Humanities & Social Sciences being ignored. However, after Master’s Iruka’s acknowledgement of Naruto, Naruto’s self-esteem is boosted and his sense of purpose, even if it remains to be the next Hokage, is also filled with the desire to protect those precious to him: “I didn’t know who or what I was to be so hated so much, or why I existed…But…I started meeting folk who would acknowledge me…so even though I had a fox demon inside me and people looked coldly at me, I got used to it. Cuz…I wasn’t alone anymore. I never imagined it would be so joyful and happy…I am so grateful, deeply grateful…it’s okay for me to be alive…to exist.” (Vol. 15, pp. 115-116). Gaara As a result of Yashamaru’s betrayal, Gaara lost faith in being optimistic about his future. Gaara came to see himself as a monster because he took the life away from his mother: “…in the process of my birth, I stole the life of the woman I was supposed to called ‘mother’…in order to create the world’s strongest shinobi, my father used ninjutsu to implant an incarnation of sand within my body…I was born a monster!” (Vol. 11, p. 133). Knowing that his father wants to kill him and living in constant fear never knowing when his own father will try to kill him, Gaara developed a sense of purpose to confirm his existence: “For what purpose do I exist? Why am I alive? At first, I asked myself that, I had no answer. But while I continue to live, I need a reason. Otherwise…I might as well be dead. So this is what I came up with…‘I exist to kill all humans other than myself.’ Living in constant fear knowing I might be assassinated at any moment, I finally found inner peace.” (Vol. 11, pp.140-141). This obviously shows that Gaara has no positive view of his personal future. In order to feel some personal power and influence over the things in his life, Gaara’s sense of purpose developed to be that he needs to kill people in order to be alive, otherwise he himself will be killed. All of these clearly display that Gaara has no positive identity, but a twisted view of himself and the world. Every child has the right to a healthy, happy, childhood. Naruto and Gaara may be fictional characters from a fictional world, but like children and adolescents from the real world, their lives have been impacted by trauma. These characters had the same needs as any ordinary child who needs and deserves love, support, safety, etc., to thrive. Obviously, neither character has all 40 developmental assets. Realistically, it’s rare for any child to have all of them. In fact, most children have less than half the developmental assets, with only eight percent of the youth surveyed having 31 or more assets (Search Institute). However, by comparison, Naruto clearly has more assets than Gaara. Though initially without any support, Naruto has gained support and empowerment from his peers and adults. Gaara on the other hand, lost his only support after he becomes six- years old. Gaara spends the following years with the threat of death, with no support or care from anyone. In addition, as discussed above, Gaara lacked everything that Naruto eventually has (e.g. friends and adult mentors). Gaara has a sense of purpose that is very negative and has a very negative self-identity. He has no social competencies. He does not have any positive values nor is he committed to learning new skills, as he already believes he is strong enough. Naruto, though, is always interested in more training to become stronger. He also holds positive values such equality and social justice. As a result of his experience with trauma, he is very concerned about the people that he loved. Clearly, both Naruto and Gaara had traumatic childhoods but grew up to be two very different people. The analysis above revealed that Naruto possesses some of the assets from each of the 7 broad categories investigated, while Gaara has none. The importance of developmental assets is clearly portrayed by Naruto and Gaara in this manga. Implications Naruto and Gaara are very important characters because they are examples of children who have experienced great trauma. Their story may be a tool that could be used with at-risk teens and pre-teens in a therapeutic context. Teens and pre-teens often balk at treatment or therapy. Therapists look for ways to hook kids in though creative strategies. With over 3.6 University of St. Thomas McNair Research Journal Mai Cha Vang Trauma and Resilience million copies sold since Naruto was established (mania.com), Naruto is currently one of the most popular manga series in the United States. Using this series might be a way to connect with this population in a new and useful way. Abused and neglected older children or adolescents could meet in a group setting to read and discuss Naruto, facilitated by a therapist. This could even be utilized in individual therapy, particularly if the client has difficulty connecting or communicating with the therapist. Although the trauma depicted is quite unrealistic and extreme, it could provide children with an example of abuse and neglect that they could not ignore, discount, or minimize (which is often the case when children are addressing their own experiences). The fact that it is so unrealistic might also allow them to distance it a little from their own experience so they can approach these topics in a more abstract and safe way (until they can internalize these lessons and apply them to their own situation). Clients or group members could identify parts of the characters’ lives that are traumatic, differences between their experiences, and finally helpful and harmful ways each boy deals with his situation. With facilitation from the therapist, clients would be able to recognize and identify developmental assets that Naruto possesses and Gaara lacks. [Note: Other developmental assets could be explored through Naruto so healthcare professionals could work with the children to help them cultivate these assets.] From there perhaps group members could write their own story of what Naruto, and especially Gaara can do to change their situation. Finally clients/group members could repeat this process for themselves based on the “lessons” they learned from Naruto and Gaara. For example, as shown in the storyline, Naruto has at least one significant adult in his life. (As stated above, research has indicated this is a powerful indicator of resilience) Individually, kids can be asked to identify adult sources of support. Once identified, children/teens could think of ways to enhance that relationship. If there isn’t any supportive adult, perhaps with the help of the therapist, one could be found through programs like Big Brother/Big Sister, or through service-learning projects on college campuses, etc. Future research will include developing guidelines for implementing Naruto in a therapeutic context and assessing its effectiveness. We plan to pilot this strategy in a group setting in a residential treatment center. Additional research could investigate using Naruto in other settings, such as schools and day-treatment programs, to help kids recognize and cultivate Developmental Assets. Hopefully innovative strategies such as this will contribute to children’s resiliency and well-being. 57
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