The kite and the hawk.

I was rereading some of the older volumes today, and as I read episode 246, I remembered a question I used to have, but for which I haven't thought up a good solution yet. I haven't really seen it discussed before, and although isn't a real important subject, I decided to create a topic on it because I love the story Sonia tells Schierke

In episode 246, Sonia tells Schierke her story, and she alludes to herself as a kite, and to Griffith as a falcon (falcon, hawk, I still don't understand why Miura changed this). She tells Schierke that she thought she was a 'duck', but in fact she was something else, a kite. She didn't know how to fly, but when she met Griffith, she discovered she could 'fly', in contrast to all the Midlander's and the apostles who follow Griffith. According to Sonia, only she can feel the same sky as Griffith.

And thats what I am wondering about, what does she allude to by her ability to fly, which according to her only she and Griffith can do. Sonia's main 'ability' is the fact that she is can see the future, and this is in my opinion the most important thing what sets her apart from every other character we have seen in Berserk (other things which set her apart from the other human soldiers for example is her total lack of fear when dealing with the apostles, but some other apostles appear fearless too). Griffith, in my opinion, hasn't directly shown the ability to see the future, only that he is rather good in predicting what will happen and how people will act, which means that the main thing in which Sonia differs from other people and apostles, is an ability Griffith doesn't share, which means she can't be alluding to her clairvoyance.

One can argue though that Griffith might be able to see the future, because what is going to happen in the future, is fixed. Griffith, as a God hand, might thus be able to see the future. A weak point of this argument is the fact that Sonia doesn't seem to be aware of Griffith's true nature, which means she isn't aware of his 'special abilities'. She has never stated so. But then again, she is aware of the fact that there are inhuman soldiers in the band of the hawk, so even though, as far as I know, it isn't directly stated as such in the manga, she might know something more about Griffith's true nature.

So I am not really sure what to think about her statement about her flying together with Griffith. I might be reading to much in this, perhaps she is just a silly young girl in love, who sees herself and the one she is in love with, as 'special'.

Well, I would like to see what you guys think of this subject. What is it what Sonia and Griffith have in common, but what sets them apart from all the other people?
 

Walter

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I really think you're reading way too much into her little story.

As a kite, Sonia can "fly" along with the other hawks. But for several reasons, the main of which being she's just a human girl, she isn't one of them. I sincerely do not think it has anything at all with her or Griffith's ability to see the future.
 
You're probably right about me reading too much into her story. I probably also shouldn't fixate to much on her ability to see the future. Flying as a metaphor for being able to see the future also doesn't really seem fitting, instead of all the other metaphors she uses. Even so, I must say that I am not convinced by your explanation of her story.

Most importantly, if she wanted to use flying in the way you mentioned, what does that make of Griffith's ability to fly? Perhaps she means Griffith's ability to fly is the fact that he is the leader of the band, and stands above them as an icon.. Sonia said in episode 258 that she used to be alone. Griffith freed her, and taught her how to fly. When Sonia showed her concerns about Griffith and Charlotte's relationship, she said she alone could fly next to him. Perhaps she was trying to say that, when she was freed by Griffith, she found out what she wants in life and who she wants, and that's to be with Griffith.
 

Aazealh

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Dreft said:
(falcon, hawk, I still don't understand why Miura changed this).

He didn't really change it, it's more like he specified it.

Dreft said:
So I am not really sure what to think about her statement about her flying together with Griffith. I might be reading to much in this, perhaps she is just a silly young girl in love, who sees herself and the one she is in love with, as 'special'.

It does refer to her psychic powers, however, you are reading too much into it, in that it doesn't imply Griffith has the power to see the future. He's just a member of the God Hand and therefore he stands spiritually far above normal men, and even apostles. This is all alluded to, or should I say explained, by Sonia herself in her analogy. Apostles are dragons, but they can't fly as high as the Hawk. Only Sonia can. Her "spirit" flies almost as high as Griffith's, even though she has apparently no idea what kind of being he truly is (a very very bad person). Being lesser than he is, she's only a kite when he's a Hawk.

It all seems very clear and simple to me. Then there's Schierke. She's different and Sonia knows it, so she calls her an owl. An owl, that lives in the forest and at night, but still a bird of prey. One like her, in spite of its differences, a noble bird.

Walter said:
As a kite, Sonia can "fly" along with the other hawks. But for several reasons, the main of which being she's just a human girl, she isn't one of them. I sincerely do not think it has anything at all with her or Griffith's ability to see the future.

I think you're mistaken. She can fly next to The Hawk, Griffith. And she's the only one. I'm positive it has everything to do with her psychic powers. Normal humans are ducks, Kushans are crows, apostles are dragons, and people with spiritual powers of some kind are birds of prey. Now the real question is what would Guts be, as a "dragon slayer." :guts:
 

Walter

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Aazealh said:
It all seems very clear and simple to me.
Actually, it's a pretty complicated analogy involving several species of birds. :void:

I think you're mistaken. She can fly next to The Hawk, Griffith. And she's the only one. I'm positive it has everything to do with her psychic powers. Normal humans are ducks, Kushans are crows, apostles are dragons, and people with spiritual powers of some kind are birds of prey. Now the real question is what would Guts be, as a "dragon slayer." :guts:
I don't think I was totally mistaken here. I just didn't read as far into the analogy as interpreting the "height" of her flight. I said she was able to fly alongside Griffith [ok, YOU said Griffith, I said the apostles, ya got me there], implicitly because of her abilities. However, she's still a human, and thus a kite, or a special human.

Oh, and if Sonia's a kite ... Guts would be a blimp. :guts:

I guess what I was trying to say with this line:
Walter said:
I sincerely do not think it has anything at all with her or Griffith's ability to see the future.
...was that I don't think her analogy hints at any future developments between her and Griffith, especially of their powers. Clearly, she'd be left by the wayside with the other Midland women if not for her powers.
 

Aazealh

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Walter said:
Actually, it's a pretty complicated analogy involving several species of birds. :void:

Oh come on, it's a kid's tale. :guts: It's very well done, but hey, that's Miura we're talking about. Anyway, I'll have to insist a bit on this issue...

Walter said:
I said she was able to fly alongside Griffith [ok, YOU said Griffith, I said the apostles, ya got me there], implicitly because of her abilities. However, she's still a human, and thus a kite, or a special human.

I don't see how the fact she's human matters at all. She's a special human yeah, so? She's still closer to Griffith than the apostles, who are modified humans themselves. She's not a kite because she's a little girl, she's a kite because her powers make her close to Griffith, who's the Hawk. That seems quite an implication to me. She alone (save maybe for magic users, but none are around him anyway) can comprehend the spheres in which he evolves.

Walter said:
I don't think her analogy hints at any future developments between her and Griffith, especially of their powers. Clearly, she'd be left by the wayside with the other Midland women if not for her powers.

Well her analogy depicted the current situation at the time she told it, for one thing. Its goal wasn't to forecast anything in particular. Secondly, she's the one that can relate to him the most from what she's saying, so I wouldn't be so sure that it's not leaving open a possibility for future developments. I tend to trust her in that regard, and I think you're really minimizing her abilities and importance. She's far more important/valuable than random apostles or people like Mule and Owen. Griffith seems quite fond of her too, her antics are always instantly forgiven with a smile and it was made clear as early as volume 23 that touching her wasn't the best of ideas.

So yeah, she'd be left by the wayside if she wasn't special. Duh? So would the apostles, Zodd, Locus, anybody. I'm not sure what the point is in stating this, it goes for everyone. What matters is that she IS special, and she's likely going to play an important role in the future.
 
Aazealh said:
This is all alluded to, or should I say explained, by Sonia herself in her analogy. Apostles are dragons, but they can't fly as high as the Hawk. Only Sonia can. Her "spirit" flies almost as high as Griffith's, even though she has apparently no idea what kind of being he truly is (a very very bad person). Being lesser than he is, she's only a kite when he's a Hawk.

I think you're right on. I guess I was trying too much to find a specific ability with which to substitute their flying, while she probably alludes to their 'nature', as in the fact she and Griffith are special. Also, the fact that her ability to see the future is such an valuable asset to the hawks implies that Griffith can't see the future, so I wonder why I even suggested that possibility.

As you said, she is likely to play an important role in the future, but I wonder what role that will be. Her relationship with Griffith is probably going to grow worse, with Griffith and Charlotte marrying in the near future. I think she won't accept that as readily as Casca did, as Sonia is for example far more straightforward to Griffith then Casca was. It's not as if she is going to be able to prevent the marriage from happening, but I wonder if she will continue to follow Griffith when he's married, or if she leaves him and perhaps search out for that owl she met in the city. On the one side she is enthralled by him, on the other side she seems strong-minded enough not to just follow him whatever he does, so I wonder what will happen.

Of course we will find out, eventually, but that'll probably take a while.
 

Aazealh

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Dreft said:
Her relationship with Griffith is probably going to grow worse, with Griffith and Charlotte marrying in the near future. I think she won't accept that as readily as Casca did, as Sonia is for example far more straightforward to Griffith then Casca was.

I don't think I'd call it "growing worse." I doubt either of them will come to bad terms with the other before quite a while (like, Sonia betraying Griffith or she discovering his "evilness"). I think she's already resigned herself to Griffith and Charlotte being lovers, in spite of her broken teenager heart or whatever. She seemed mostly bitter about the fact Griffith preferred "a duck" to herself, because of what they share. I'd have said that it's because "she's just a kid after all," but actually it'd be the same for a full grown woman: Casca's experience speaks for itself, and it's a lesser case. But while she's been gloomy and upset, I doubt that'll be a sufficient motive for a serious deterioration of their relationship. If anything, she can still share with Griffith things no one else can. She'll just have to be the little sister and not the lover.

Dreft said:
It's not as if she is going to be able to prevent the marriage from happening, but I wonder if she will continue to follow Griffith when he's married, or if she leaves him and perhaps search out for that owl she met in the city. On the one side she is enthralled by him, on the other side she seems strong-minded enough not to just follow him whatever he does, so I wonder what will happen.

That's a good question, I think her meeting with Schierke will really have a huge impact on her. Before that she only knew Griffith, one she could at the same time idolize and identify with. But Schierke's like a best friend to her, they're both girls the same age, both have a crush on an older, unattainable man, and both are "special." That could provide her with enough motivation to leave the Hawks, but the context would need to be favorable and right now it isn't (Schierke's far away and not coming back anytime soon). Furthermore, I'm not sure she'd be up to do anything bad to Griffith even were she to decide to leave. She's still a kid, a female, she's got nowhere to go, and Griffith is the ultimate savior in her eyes. Not to mention Mule, a likely romantic interest once her crush on Griffith will have died down, and the rest of the Hawks with which she's developed bonds (even the apostles...).
 

Aazealh

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Imperialnutscashews said:
First time I ever read this story i always thought she was relating the kite (guts) to griffith. not her to griffith :isidro:

Well then I guess you thought wrong? It happens. :guts:
 

Forest Wraith

Evil is born when we lose power over ourselves.
Didn't Schierke mention something about how she couldn't maintain her Astral Body in Griffith's presence? I'm wondering what that might explain about the nature of Sonia's abilities, if anything. I also wonder what might happen if she were to catch a glimpse of the Astral plain that Griffith dwells in: I get an image of her in shaking like a leaf while lying in the Fetal Position and thinking to herself the equivalent of: "Like Icarus, I flew to close to the Sun . . . "
 

Aazealh

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Forest Wraith said:
Didn't Schierke mention something about how she couldn't maintain her Astral Body in Griffith's presence?

No, but she said it's dangerous to go near him in that form because of his aura.

Forest Wraith said:
I also wonder what might happen if she were to catch a glimpse of the Astral plain that Griffith dwells in

Nah, I don't think that's how it works, though being near Griffith does reinforce her powers.
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
Aazealh said:
I don't see how the fact she's human matters at all. She's a special human yeah, so? She's still closer to Griffith than the apostles, who are modified humans themselves. She's not a kite because she's a little girl, she's a kite because her powers make her close to Griffith, who's the Hawk. That seems quite an implication to me. She alone (save maybe for magic users, but none are around him anyway) can comprehend the spheres in which he evolves.

I believe her analogy has everything to her with her being human, AND her having special powers... both at the same time, really. Her little story is told solely from her perspective. Griffith is a hawk, flying through the air of his own volition. Sonja met with him and joined his little group... she knew she wasn't on a different plane than humanity, like Griffith and his apostles were. However, she has a special power that most humans do not have, and Griffith took notice of that, and allowed her to accompany him on his flight. This special power is what makes her a "kite", able (via someone else) to be flown up high with the birds, but still not truly a bird. She has powers that make her useful to Griffith, but she is not actually an apostle. She is just being flown alongside them, by Griffith.

I'm of the belief that it's Griffith's recognition of her powers that makes her believe she is a "kite". Charlotte, who is powerless aside from political power, is not able to provide use to Griffith in any way other than her family's influence, is the "duck", unable to fly, yet chosen by him instead. Sonja's girlish personality is shown here, she can't seem to believe how someone with no special powers, a flightless bird, like Charlotte could be chosen over her.
 

Aazealh

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Graywords said:
I believe her analogy has everything to her with her being human, AND her having special powers... both at the same time, really. Her little story is told solely from her perspective.

Obviously, but you're taking my reply to Walter out of its context here.

Graywords said:
Griffith is a hawk, flying through the air of his own volition. Sonja met with him and joined his little group... she knew she wasn't on a different plane than humanity, like Griffith and his apostles were. However, she has a special power that most humans do not have, and Griffith took notice of that, and allowed her to accompany him on his flight. This special power is what makes her a "kite", able (via someone else) to be flown up high with the birds, but still not truly a bird.

I think you're mistaken. Sonia was always special (or at least since her parents died), she was already so in Shet before Griffith appeared. Sonia isn't allowed to "fly" by Griffith, she flies because she has a unique power. And the reason Griffith took her with him is because of that power. It's also what makes her a kite, not the fact Griffith likes her. I don't see how she can be a bird and not a kite here, that's some serious contradiction. Especially since even were she not a kite, she'd still be a bird (duck). She thought she was one, an ugly duck (as in the classic tale...), until she realized her powers and found out she was a kite. I think a lot of people are trying to see too much into this little tale and not enough at the same time. The apostles aren't birds, for one, they're dragons. They can't fly as high as Griffith, Sonia just depicts them as terrifying and stronger than any bird, but she doesn't relate them to Griffith at all. They serve him, that's it. Dragons aren't raptors, aren't birds, they're not like the Hawk.

Graywords said:
She has powers that make her useful to Griffith, but she is not actually an apostle. She is just being flown alongside them, by Griffith.

No, actually she flies far higher than the apostles, along with Griffith himself. She's the only one that can do it. Again, kite / hawk, birds of prey, it's logical. This is all stuff she tells directly to Schierke. Griffith isn't an apostle, neither is she, but that's not really the matter, apostles aren't very important in her tale apart from being crow killers. She can flie in the same skies as him out of her own individual merit, and the apostles can't.

Graywords said:
I'm of the belief that it's Griffith's recognition of her powers that makes her believe she is a "kite".

The bird of prey imagery is obviously related to Griffith, and she realized she was different from normal people (ducks) during the events in Shet, but that's not what makes her special. It's really "just" because she has those incredible powers. That's why she labels herself a kite, and that's why she called Schierke an owl (another bird of prey, albeit pretty different, like I said before). Now clearly Griffith and her are more different than she imagines, her junevile tale is only that, but they're close in at least one aspect (however her power might be working), and the fact her powers haven't made her a maneater doesn't change that.
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
Most everything of your reply was very valid, though I'll choose one thing to respond to, here:
Aazealh said:
I think you're mistaken. Sonia was always special (or at least since her parents died), she was already so in Shet before Griffith appeared. Sonia isn't allowed to "fly" by Griffith, she flies because she has a unique power. And the reason Griffith took her with him is because of that power. It's also what makes her a kite, not the fact Griffith likes her. I don't see how she can be a bird and not a kite here, that's some serious contradiction. Especially since even were she not a kite, she'd still be a bird (duck). She thought she was one, an ugly duck (as in the classic tale...), until she realized her powers and found out she was a kite.
I'm of the belief that if it was simply about her having her own power that let her "fly" with Griffith, she would at least depict herself as another type of bird, maybe a sparrow or a seagull or something. The fact that she picked an inanimate object such as a kite, which needs to be attached to an outside source in order to avoid floating aimlessly, is certainly not random. :puck:
 

Aazealh

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Graywords said:
I'm of the belief that if it was simply about her having her own power that let her "fly" with Griffith, she would at least depict herself as another type of bird, maybe a sparrow or a seagull or something. The fact that she picked an inanimate object such as a kite, which needs to be attached to an outside source in order to avoid floating aimlessly, is certainly not random. :puck:

Hahaha dude, come on! :guts: A kite is a type of bird that's often likened to a small hawk, she didn't mean the toy! Now I understand where the confusion comes from. :ganishka:

Hawk-Kite.jpg
 

Graywords

Bettychu, I choose YOU!
That'll teach me to leave my Berserk volumes at home and not read them for two years.

Me = Teh Suck. I used to be smart, WHAT HAPPEN!?

In two days I'll be graduated and finally at home, at least. Maybe I can help translate the rest of the damn series with my degree.
 

Aazealh

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Graywords said:
In two days I'll be graduated and finally at home, at least. Maybe I can help translate the rest of the damn series with my degree.

Hey, I'd really welcome that. Get to work! :puck:
 
Aazealh said:
Normal humans are ducks, Kushans are crows, apostles are dragons, and people with spiritual powers of some kind are birds of prey. Now the real question is what would Guts be, as a "dragon slayer." :guts:

Unless I'm mistaken, Guts was called the Black Hawk somewhere in the manga, I think back when the people shared the prophecy dream. Either way, I think it's appropriate.
Or maybe now what we have the Beast going on, which resembles a dog, maybe he's the Black Dog? Either way he's the Black something.
 

Walter

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carmilla said:
Unless I'm mistaken, Guts was called the Black Hawk somewhere in the manga, I think back when the people shared the prophecy dream. Either way, I think it's appropriate.
Or maybe now what we have the Beast going on, which resembles a dog, maybe he's the Black Dog? Either way he's the Black something.
That doesn't apply to the kite analogy, since this one was purely something made by Sonia, and the Dark Hawk designation (who's really Griffith, btw...) is from a prophecy of the Holy See.
 
Well I should reread that part, I don't recall it that well. I figured the entire bird analogy is actually a metaphor of some significance to the entire manga regardless of where it's mentioned.
 

Aazealh

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carmilla said:
Unless I'm mistaken, Guts was called the Black Hawk somewhere in the manga, I think back when the people shared the prophecy dream. Either way, I think it's appropriate.

It's the Hawk (or Falcon) of Darkness, not the "Black Hawk". He's not a helicopter. :guts: And that was a false accusation like Walter said, the Hawk of Darkness is really Griffith. Anyway, Guts doesn't really have a place in Sonia's analogy, my comment was more of a joke than anything.

carmilla said:
Or maybe now what we have the Beast going on, which resembles a dog, maybe he's the Black Dog? Either way he's the Black something.

Well the Beast of Darkness has been around since volume 16, and it's more than just a dog too. Besides, it'd be too reminiscent of Wyald's band to call him so. Plus we can't just give Guts nicknames out of the blue you know. The only black something he's ever been known as is Black Swordsman, and even that was challenged (albeit jokingly) when he got his patch of white hair.

carmilla said:
I figured the entire bird analogy is actually a metaphor of some significance to the entire manga regardless of where it's mentioned.

Nah, not really. Sonia's analogy is simplistic and pretty much self-contained, it just represents her view of the world. Other than that, the references to birds in general aren't that numerous, it's mostly limited to Griffith, who's both the Hawk of Light and the Hawk of Darkness, and who's been known since his days in the hundred-years war as the White Hawk.
 
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