The Power of Resilience in the Face of Adversity: A Discussion of Simba’s Growth in The Lion King
Life is full of adversities and challenges. These troubles may be small or huge, long-lasting or brief, but they can always test our emotional and physical resilience. Facing them with bravery and determination is crucial as they can help us grow and develop as individuals.
In Disney’s The Lion King, Simba faces several hardships that forced him to grow and prove his resilience. As the story unfolds, Simba’s life takes turns he never imagined, but he never gave up and eventually found his way back home to take his rightful place as king.
The movie’s opening scene sees Simba as a cub, playing joyfully with his friend Nala as they sing “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King.” However, things take a dark turn when Simba’s uncle Scar orchestrates Mufasa’s (Simba’s father) death. Scar convinces Simba he was responsible for his father’s death and tells him to run away and never come back. Scar became the new king, and Simba believes he ruined everything.
Simba suffers tremendous emotional trauma at this point, as he deals with shame, guilt, and fear. He doesn’t know how he will face his mother or the pride after everything that’s happened, so he runs away and faces a new challenge: survival on his own.
Throughout Simba’s journey, he meets two new friends, Timon and Pumbaa, who become his support system during the toughest of times. They teach him “Hakuna Matata,” which means “no worries” in Swahili. This mantra helps Simba develop resilience as he forgets his past and embraces his present.
However, despite seemingly doing alright with his new life in the jungle, Simba experiences an internal conflict that he is neglecting his responsibilities, feelings which he suppresses deeply.
It is then that the movie’s most memorable scene featuring Rafiki occurs. Rafiki teaches Simba a profound lesson about resilience using a simplistic dialogue:
“Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”
Simba: “Ha. You see? So what are you going to do?”
Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick and says, “First, you gotta learn to take a punch.”
Upon hearing this, Simba understands he must confront his past and develop resilience to do so. This resilience leads him back home, where he confronts Scar and finds redemption as he takes his place as the rightful king of the Pride Lands.
Simba’s story is a powerful example of how resilience can help us bounce back from adversity. It teaches us that it’s okay to feel pain and sadness, but it’s not okay to let them hold us back.
More than just Simba’s tale, Rafiki’s words resonate deeply and may apply to anyone. Whether we’re dealing with issues in our personal or professional life, we shouldn’t run from our past. Instead, we should embrace it, learn from it, and use the lessons to grow and develop.
Other Disney characters also showcase resilience in their tales, including Elsa in Frozen. Elsa deals with isolation and insecurity after she loses control over her powers and hurts her sister, Anna. She runs away to protect everyone and tries to shut down her emotions and freeze everything she can out of fear.
However, Elsa eventually realizes she must tackle her fears and embrace her true identity. By doing so, she learns to control her powers and becomes a stronger, more resilient queen for her people.
Similarly, Mulan in Mulan faces adversity, both inward and outward. She disguises herself as a man and joins the army to save her family and her country. She suffers setbacks, but she never gives up and becomes the strongest of them all. She saves China from the Huns and returns home to bring honor to her family and herself.
In conclusion, The Lion King’s Simba’s growth showed us that, just like the phrase “Hakuna Matata” that he learned from his new friends, resilience is a powerful mantra that can help us cope with life’s adversities. Disney’s tales of Elsa, Mulan, and Simba teach children and adults alike that we must confront our fears and past to unleash our potential, becoming more confident and determined in the process.
Disney’s The Lion King depicts how facing adversity with resilience can help us grow. Simba’s journey teaches us to embrace our past, learn from it, and develop resilience to confront it. Other Disney characters like Elsa from Frozen and Mulan also showcase resilience.
“The past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.” – Rafiki, The Lion King
