Link: Sociopath?

[Octo Rocked]

Though most characters have quite a bit of personality packed into them, Link doesn't seem to have much of a personality. What we do know about him is that he:
-Is not bothered at all by killing hordes of monsters.
-Walks into people's houses without permission.
-Obtains money by 1. Slaughtering monsters and looting their bodies, 2. destroying the environment, and 3. Smashing other people's property and stealing their valuables.
-Is anti-social
-Tends to attack harmless livestock

By these standards (and several more in-game examples I forget), it appears that Link is a bit of a sociopath. Perhaps the reason he is always the Hero on the quests is because the Triforce seeks to punish him for his evil ways?

 

[DeletedUser9]

I don't really think so...

Many normal people hunt and kill normal animals in real life. Many do this purely for sport, not just for food or out of necessity. There's nothing that messed up about killing an animal in self-defense or for food. Some of the creatures in Zelda seem to be animals, but plenty of them are monsters in a truer sense. In other words, they're not animals, they're evil creatures. Either way, there's nothing wrong with a person capable of killing creatures without remorse.

The second two aren't really applicable, because they're gameplay exclusive. Walking into other people's houses and taking their stuff is a video game norm, and doesn't make sense in normal context. The answer to this is simply: It's not actually happening. It's purely part of the gameplay. As for how you obtain money, it's the same thing, and I can prove it because it's logically impossible to acquire money by cutting down bushes and by killing uncivilized monsters.

I've not seen Link behaving anti-social at all. Aside from another video game quirk, which is the Silent Protagonist. Within the actual story (of practically every game actually) it's clear that Link actually communicates with people a lot, and a lot of people seem to really like and even admire Link.

And finally, attacking Cuccos is the choice of the player, not the character. No characters ever comment on this and it never affects the game world in any significant way. It's just an easter egg; it's not real.


Two more notes: "sociopath" and "evil" are not synonymous. They're very different. Also, the Triforce is not sentient, it's completely inanimate and passive, so it would have no capability of judging Link or punishing him even if he were evil.

 

[Chrono]

So Link getting help from all those people throughout the series was being anti social?

 

[DeletedUser9]

So Link getting help from all those people throughout the series was being anti social?

While I also disagree with his point, being helped by others is not, at least directly, being social. Neither is seeking help from others. Just because you need someone's help or receive it doesn't mean your not an anti-social person.

 

[Chrono]

While I also disagree with his point, being helped by others is not, at least directly, being social. Neither is seeking help from others. Just because you need someone's help or receive it doesn't mean your not an anti-social person.

So all that going around town talking to every single person finding hints here and there was being anti social?

 

[DeletedUser9]

So all that going around town talking to every single person finding hints here and there was being anti social?

Possibly. I never meant to say it distinctly was or wasn't. I simply meant that him talking to people doesn't prove he was a social person. Definition of "antisocial":

adjective: unwilling or unable to conform to normal standards of social behavior
adjective: shunning contact with others

Neither strictly means not talking to people. At least not the first definition. It simply means doesn't behave right. Doesn't behave in an appropriate or sociable manner. Not that he doesn't interact with people. Even following the second definition which implies avoiding human contact at any cost, that doesn't mean that the person wouldn't interact with others if he had to or was after something, in this case Link trying to be a hero and needing help.

Again, I still don't agree that Link was anti-social, but not for the reasons you're implying. More for his extremely friendly relationships with close friends and family, among them Saria, Aryll, Ilia and the Ordon children, etc.

 

[Octo Rocked]

Either way, this was mostly a joke thread. But there are a lot of jokes based around the fact that the gameplay methods makes Link seem like a sociopath. So evidently, it IS a theory held by many.

 

[Shadsie]

I'm not much in favor of giving heavy psychoanalysis to fictional characters. While there are some characters where a mental illness or condition was clearly thought of by their creators, most fan-anaylsis comes across to me as obsessive and silly.

What you said here about it being a joke...sure. That's fine. When fans get really serious about it, it can make them look dumb.

I'm replying because this reminds me of something that happened in another fandom of mine, my last personally obessive fandom - for a particular anime and manga series. It was a big joke around the fandom (at least where I was in it) that that "(main character) is bipolar!" It made sense as this character was typically seen to have huge moodswings and could go from being silly-happy one moment to being absolutely depressed and blaming themselves for all the troubles in the world the next. It was fine as a joke. Then on a message board I went to someone came along very serious about it (as in, with an attitude of "You must subscribe my my theory or you are all stupid")... took articles snatched off the Internet (Wikipedia and the like) and went through point by point to show the character matching the symptoms.

And they were shot down by many of us, as I recall, because some of the points they were making for symptoms were speculative to the character a best (interpretable from fan to fan). Also, I shot them down because I happen to *actually have* that particular condition and some of the points they were insisting on were symptoms I don't even fit.

So, in the end, they just looked silly.

I think "diagnosing" Link with any kind of mental problem or conditon is even more dubious because the guy *is meant to be a player proxy.* The fact of the mattter is that he *doesn't* have much of a personality on his own - he is supposed to carry the wishes, emotions and orders of the player.

In short, he's only a sociopath if you want him to be. To others, he's a friendly hero. It all depends upon what you want your Link to be, in the end.

 

[DeletedUser9]

Either way, this was mostly a joke thread. But there are a lot of jokes based around the fact that the gameplay methods makes Link seem like a sociopath. So evidently, it IS a theory held by many.

Ah, well I guess I didn't get that. But, I gotta say, just because people make jokes about a character being a certain way doesn't necessarily mean they believe it's true. I've often made jokes about characters that are massive exaggerations or are really loosely based on them, and they rarely ever match my actual views and theories about the character in question. Just thought I should mention that.

I'm not much in favor of giving heavy psychoanalysis to fictional characters. While there are some characters where a mental illness or condition was clearly thought of by their creators, most fan-anaylsis comes across to me as obsessive and silly.

I tend to agree, at least to an extent. People can come up with whatever theories they want to, but I really don't think they should take things so seriously considering the subject is pure fiction.

I think "diagnosing" Link with any kind of mental problem or conditon is even more dubious because the guy *is meant to be a player proxy.* The fact of the mattter is that he *doesn't* have much of a personality on his own - he is supposed to carry the wishes, emotions and orders of the player.

In short, he's only a sociopath if you want him to be. To others, he's a friendly hero. It all depends upon what you want your Link to be, in the end.

I also agree with you here. That was the whole point of his name being Link and making him a silent protagonist. At least in the beginning, he was never supposed to be a real character. He was a proxy for the player to take control of. Later on they made him much more of a character of his own, but he still had an underdeveloped personality so it wouldn't clash with whatever personality the player had or whatever decisions they made in the game.

 

[LozzyKate]

Not to be rude, but you are thinking about Link in a more negative pattern. He does have a personality. We all tend to take things here and there. Grass can grow back, monsters don't even deserve to roam the earth, and talks in his own way. The reason he doesn't talk is because Miyamoto wanted to create a game, where you could picture yourself as the main character and speak to the people around you in your own way. Not everyone like the text that Nintendo has used for their main characters in past games. I hope this helps you!

 

[GaFF]

Damn near every game of this type has you walking into houses and stealing stuff.

He's not anti-social, he's just quiet. Shy even.

Killing monsters is better than having them wrecking towns and harming the innocent.

He has no voice because you are the character and you give him his own voice by yelling at the television.

 

[Zemen]

The reason Link is such an "empty" character is so that you can portray your own personality traits onto him and feel more like it's you saving the world, not Link.

The way I like to think of it is that Link is your literal link to Hyrule. He links you to the video game, making it your own. Think of it this way, do you ever talk when you're playing a Zelda game? Like, let's say you slash a guy and say "that's right, I killed you!" If so then you can think of it as that being what Link says.

 

[GaFF]

So all this time his name was a pun...bloody Nintendo...

 

[Shadsie]

Of course, it falls a little short with me when I hit the wrong control, do something wrong, or, in TP specifically - Link does his funky sword-twirl after defeating a strong enemy with a hidden skill when other enemies are closing in and I *do not want him to do that* ... instead of being in-character for Link, talking to other characters as I play, I'm "Damn it, Link!"

Even when I've named him "Shadsie."