Dealing With Anger through the Example of Naruto
At least once in our lives, we’ve felt angry. Usually it’s difficult to deal with feelings of anger if they are too intense. Different people have different ways of dealing with such feelings. Some of us might cry, some may want to talk with friends, while others would like to punch a wall, or (in the worst case,) punch a person. Consider the ways Naruto Uzumaki, from the Japanese anime “Naruto,’’ deals with his anger.
Naruto was born in The Village of Konoha, which is the most important military unit in the Land of Fire. Most inhabitants become ninjas while the best ninja becomes Hokage, (leader of the village.) The night Naruto was born, a Demon Fox, called the Nine Tails, attacked Konoha. In order to protect the village, the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze (together with his wife Kushina Uzumaki,) sealed the Nine Tails inside Naruto and saved the village. Unfortunately, the two (who were Naruto’s parents) died in the process. Naruto was a hero although the villagers failed to see him as such. He was not told of the beast inside him until he was about twelve years old. Before Naruto was told of his nature, he experienced one of the greatest sufferings of all: loneliness.
Until the age of 16, Naruto knew nothing of his parents, (not even their names.) Whenever Naruto asked about his parents, he received only one answer: they were killed by the Nine Tails. He was alone, angry and confused.
At this point, Naruto does not only live alone, but he is alone. Because of the beast inside him, everybody is afraid of him and avoids him. No one wants to talk to him or go anywhere near him. All the parents tell their children not to play with him. Naruto cannot help but feel confused because he doesn’t understand why everybody avoids him. He is angry all the time and so he despises Konoha and its people. Despite his animosity toward Konoha’s people, Naruto desperately craves their attention. In order to gain it, he pulls pranks and does all sorts of vandalisms around the village. This causes people to hate Naruto even more; however, it doesn’t matter to him as long as he is not invisible to the people. This craving for attention and approval from people led Naruto to desire to become Hokage. It is a very interesting coincidence that Naruto desires the same goal as his parents (both of them wanted to become Hokage, however only Minato did). It is like this that he continues his parents’ legacy without knowing it.
Although Naruto wishes to become Hokage, he lacks skill due to his young age. As such, Naruto fails his Genin (lowest ninja level) exam. Mizuki, a corrupt ninja, uses Naruto’s disappointment because of his failure to steal a secret scroll from him. Naruto, however, only wants to learn from this scroll. Mizuki tries to kill him, but fortunately, Iruka, Naruto’s sensei saves him. After being saved, Naruto, by using the Shadow Clone Tecnique, now saves his sensei. During this battle Naruto learns about his true nature. Unlike anyone preceding him, Naruto accepts the beast inside and lets go of his anger.
Naruto formed a bond with Iruka-sensei a long time ago, because he Iruka’s life resembled that of Naruto. His parents were killed by the Nine Tails and so Iruka was alone all his life. Eventually, Iruka became like an older brother to Naruto. Naruto then forms other such bonds with his friends: Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi, his sensei. He also discovers a father figure in his master Jiraya.
Naruto dealt with his anger the right way. He let go of it, made friends who helped him go through the process, and accepted the beast inside him. Naruto’s friends rescued him from his loneliness. We all have our own kind of beast inside of us that we should accept and let our friends help us deal with. If Naruto was able to let go of his grudge against Konoha’s people who caused him so much pain, why wouldn’t the rest of us be able to do the same?
Naruto was born in The Village of Konoha, which is the most important military unit in the Land of Fire. Most inhabitants become ninjas while the best ninja becomes Hokage, (leader of the village.) The night Naruto was born, a Demon Fox, called the Nine Tails, attacked Konoha. In order to protect the village, the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze (together with his wife Kushina Uzumaki,) sealed the Nine Tails inside Naruto and saved the village. Unfortunately, the two (who were Naruto’s parents) died in the process. Naruto was a hero although the villagers failed to see him as such. He was not told of the beast inside him until he was about twelve years old. Before Naruto was told of his nature, he experienced one of the greatest sufferings of all: loneliness.
Until the age of 16, Naruto knew nothing of his parents, (not even their names.) Whenever Naruto asked about his parents, he received only one answer: they were killed by the Nine Tails. He was alone, angry and confused.
At this point, Naruto does not only live alone, but he is alone. Because of the beast inside him, everybody is afraid of him and avoids him. No one wants to talk to him or go anywhere near him. All the parents tell their children not to play with him. Naruto cannot help but feel confused because he doesn’t understand why everybody avoids him. He is angry all the time and so he despises Konoha and its people. Despite his animosity toward Konoha’s people, Naruto desperately craves their attention. In order to gain it, he pulls pranks and does all sorts of vandalisms around the village. This causes people to hate Naruto even more; however, it doesn’t matter to him as long as he is not invisible to the people. This craving for attention and approval from people led Naruto to desire to become Hokage. It is a very interesting coincidence that Naruto desires the same goal as his parents (both of them wanted to become Hokage, however only Minato did). It is like this that he continues his parents’ legacy without knowing it.
Although Naruto wishes to become Hokage, he lacks skill due to his young age. As such, Naruto fails his Genin (lowest ninja level) exam. Mizuki, a corrupt ninja, uses Naruto’s disappointment because of his failure to steal a secret scroll from him. Naruto, however, only wants to learn from this scroll. Mizuki tries to kill him, but fortunately, Iruka, Naruto’s sensei saves him. After being saved, Naruto, by using the Shadow Clone Tecnique, now saves his sensei. During this battle Naruto learns about his true nature. Unlike anyone preceding him, Naruto accepts the beast inside and lets go of his anger.
Naruto formed a bond with Iruka-sensei a long time ago, because he Iruka’s life resembled that of Naruto. His parents were killed by the Nine Tails and so Iruka was alone all his life. Eventually, Iruka became like an older brother to Naruto. Naruto then forms other such bonds with his friends: Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi, his sensei. He also discovers a father figure in his master Jiraya.
Naruto dealt with his anger the right way. He let go of it, made friends who helped him go through the process, and accepted the beast inside him. Naruto’s friends rescued him from his loneliness. We all have our own kind of beast inside of us that we should accept and let our friends help us deal with. If Naruto was able to let go of his grudge against Konoha’s people who caused him so much pain, why wouldn’t the rest of us be able to do the same?
Elena Gagovska