羅之回憶篇的總計分析︰故事中的基督教主題

Tumblr移動,作者是我。本來想寫分析,結果好像變成講道。。。

不好意思了,我只寫了英文版,中文翻譯不知會不會來弄,請注意劇透…

Law and Salvation

The whole theme of Law’s backstory is salvation, something that was hinted by Law when he declared to Doflamingo that he had been saved by Cora in Chapter 752. Oda seems to have made some use of Christian elements to reinforce this point, as salvation is also the central theme of Christianity. This is further proven with the Sister’s last words to Law on a merciful hand reaching out to them. The fact that it was a nun who said this made it glaringly obvious.

Doflamingo’s backstory is quite reminiscent to the life of Jesus Christ. The Donquixote family had also descended from their godly positions in Mariejois to live with their fellow humans, only to end up getting crucified by the masses. Homing’s declaration of being humans may also be an allusion to Jesus Christ who was considered to be fully God and fully human. When the family was hanged on the wall, the scene is reminiscent of the crucifixion where Jesus was crucified along with two thieves: the penitent thief and the impenitent thief. Rocinante, who later became a marine, was hanged on the right side of his father, similar to how the penitent thief was crucified to the right side of Jesus. On the other hand, Doflamingo was hanged to the left of his father and was the one who threatened the masses, much like the impenitent thief who had taunted Jesus.

The chapter before Doflamingo’s flashback had featured the 13 members of the Donquixote family eating together around a large table. This scene is similar to the Last Supper, where Jesus and his twelve disciples had come together before the former was crucified. Both scenes had even feature bread and wine, which symbolizes the blood and body of Christ respectively. Red wine had also been shown rather prominently in the flashback for some reason.

Rocinante’s altruism towards Law can be related to the parable of the Good Samaritan. As most of you are familiar with the story, the Samaritan was the one who helped the injured traveler and had took care of all his needs. Samaritans have been considered to be the despised enemies of the Jews due to the irreconcilable difference in beliefs. The parable shows that we must show compassion towards our enemies. Despite that Law should have been considered as his enemy due to being a pirate and a part of the D clan, Corazon decides to save him as he was in need. Like the Samaritan who took the injured man to the inn and paid for all his needs during his stay, Corazon had also gone through several hospitals across the North Blue looking for doctors who can cure Law.

The past few chapters of the flashback basically has Corazon taking Law away from his evil brother. This may be an allusion to the last part of the Lord’s Prayer (discounting the doxology): And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13). The relationship between Corazon, Law, and Doflamingo is parallel to that of God, the sinners, and the Devil. Law could even be described as a lost sheep and Cora is like a shepherd trying to guide him back to the right path. Corazon shows his unconditional love for Law, even though the latter had tried to kill him. This relates to how the Christian God is described to love humanity and wants to have them redeemed. On the other hand, the Devil wants to lead the humans to their own ruins, similar to how Doflamingo wants to use Law for his own gains.

Ironically, the D clan was referred to as the enemies of God, implying that they’re the demons. On the other hand, Luffy and Law are opposed to Doflamingo, whose epithet is Heavenly Demon. However, his epithet in Japanese is 天夜叉 Tenyaksha, which the refers to the Buddhist Yaksha, as opposed the Christian Devil. More information on the Buddhist references in here.

I would recommend playing Amazing Grace while reading the chapter again. I almost teared up doing that. The lyrics in the first stanza basically summarizes the flashback. The scene where Cora tells Doffy that Law is no longer lost and demands that he let him go was quite a powerful scene for me.

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