Homunculi (Sins) and Humanity
"I never feel more human than when I'm fighting real monsters." - Roy Mustang
This quote from Roy Mustang while they were in the middle of battling the Homunculi stuck with me. I found it even more interesting when I took the time to evaluate the portrayals, importance, actions, and beliefs of the seven symbolic Homunculi. Their meaning seemed to come to fruition when Hohenheim was talking to Father about sins and humans near the end.
I will dig into the other half of the overall meaning of the true nature of humanity (attempting to seek immortality and rise above what you are) in a later blog. For now, I will reflect on the part the Homunculi (the sins) played in conveying the overall truth of what it means to be human, good and bad. I'll also tie in biblical concepts we've learned in class to help evaluate their meaning.
I'll review the Homunculi, their importance, and the symbolic destruction they bring upon humanity.
Lust
"You killed me. I hate losing...but there are worse ways to die than at the hands of a man like you. I love how cold and focused your eyes are. I look forward...to the day when those eyes will be wide with agony...It's coming...It's coming..."
"Such a sad and weak creature...another typical human."
Lust is the first to be killed, although she is also one of the three main manipulators alongside Envy and Wrath. She tricks Jean Havoc into dating her to get closer to the military, keeps Gluttony wrapped around her thumb, and helps the other Homunculi to keep Ed and the others off their trail for as long as possible. She nearly succeeds in killing Mustang, Havoc, Hawkeye, and Al. Although she personally isn't given too much screen time, she's developed as a pretty, flirtatious, and manipulative character, as befitting her name. She holds the same cold contempt for humans that most of the other Homunculi do. She and Envy were behind Father Cornello's temporary control of Reole.
Gluttony
"Can I eat him now?"
Gluttony was one of the Homunculi that I found impossible to hate, mostly because he was all stomach and almost no brain, kinda like the pet dog of the group. He was actually kinda cute, aside from the the fact that he tried to eat everyone. He wasn't particularly malicious, nor was he in any way the brains behind the operation; all he ever thought about was eating to satiate his endless hunger and loyally following the orders of the other Homunculi like Lust and Envy. He embodied the phrase, "thinking only with your stomach". He ate anyone that the Homunculi needed to dispose of (such as Father Cornello), like their own personal garbage disposal. Without anyone to give him direction, he's shown to get frustrated and confused about what to do. His last moments were spent getting the crap beat out of him, and then Pride, in desperate need for more power, killed and ate him. Gluttony himself eaten alive in the end. Irony at its finest, isn't it?
Envy
"Are you a moron? Some nice, flowery words and feigned empathy?! You make me sick to my stomach! Are you humans always such pathetic worms?! Why can't you just listen to your gut and do what you want to? Colonel Mustang, have you forgotten? Your pal, Scar, here was going to kill you! And what's more, wasn't he the one who killed the parents of the pipsqueak's girly friend? Oh, yeah! And what about that little girl who became a chimera? Scar was responsible for her death, too! And as for you! Have you completely forgotten your hatred for they did to your Ishvalan countrymen? And then, this woman! She has the arrogance to claim the sight of a hawk; she shot your buddies left and right! You'll never get another chance! This is the perfect time! The ultimate opportunity! Hate them and weep! Kill and be killed! Fight each other! Grovel in the dirt! How could you four hope to team up? You're way beyond the point of kissing and making up! Right, pipsqueak? Right, Hawkeye? Mustang? Scar? There's no way. No. No, you can't! Never! NEVER! It's impossible! How could you? How could you do it? HOW!?"
(After) - "Damn! Dammit! Dammit! I've been humiliated! HUMILIATED! Me, Envy, Jealous of you? A human?! I'm a homunculus! How could this pipsqueak kid see through me? It's the ultimate humiliation!"
Envy was an exceptionally cruel and tragic character, and in my point of view one of the most well-done characters. He was one of the Homunculi that caused the most sadness, anger, and pain, all because of his deep feelings of horrible envy over humans. He was the one to trick both Amestris and Ishval into war by disguising himself as the soldier who killed an Ishvalan child, causing many to die in a war, many survivors to suffer the loss of their loved ones, and Scar to lose his family and swear vengeance. He took obvious and endless joy in watching humans suffer and fight amongst themselves, even more so if he caused them to become like that. Almost everything that came out of his mouth was contempt and mockery for humans. He killed Maes Hughes and then joyfully bragged about it to Mustang when he thought Mustang had mercilessly killed Maria Ross, the innocent soldier that had been accused of killing Hughes. It turns out though, that all of this cruelty was born out of a deep-seeded envy of humans and their ability to persevere, forgive, love, and work together, something he has never been able to experience with the other Homunculi. It also makes sense why he's constantly changing forms and why he created his own human shell when you see that his true form is small and ugly. He despises his real form. Mustang later calls him ugly, "because envy is an ugly thing". So, in a sense, Envy hates himself, but he refuses to admit any of this and instead desires to drag the rest of the world down with him (sometimes, as shameful and unwilling as it might be, you feel a sort of dark glee from another's failure when you're envious of his/her accomplishments). This spurs him to make humans wallow in sorrow and hatred amongst themselves. He believes Homunculi deserve to be above humans, so it's the ultimate humiliation when Ed voices his hidden envy out loud and exposes him to the one thing that humans will always have above him. Brought to tears and unable to handle the truth and humiliation slapping him right in the face, and knowing he's defeated, he ends his life, and Mustang calls him a coward for it.
Sloth
"Hey... Am I dying now...? For real...? What is dying like...? Such a pain... to think about it... but such a pain... living too..."
He isn't given much screen time until the last set of episodes, but all in all, he pretty much lives up to his name. Doing anything is a pain to him, but because he's efficient and strong he's the one assigned the task of digging the transmutation circle. He's only given relief when he's defeated by the Armstrongs. When driven to, he can be surprisingly determined, but usually only because he wants to get his task over with as soon as possible so he can rest.
Wrath
"Let me get this straight, you think surrendering, and offering yourself will stop the war? How arrogant. The life of each human is worth one, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less."
"God you say? Now this is intriguing, how much longer do you think your 'God' plans to wait before unleashing his fury? Just how many more thousands of lives must I take before he decides to strike me down?...(Sometime after)...Open your eyes. 'God' is nothing more than a construct created by man to inspire fear and promote order. If you wish to see me struck down, for all these atrocities, use your own hands to do so, not 'God's'."
He was one of the Homunculi I loved to hate, for his cold, calculating cruelty. Bradley was the only human strong enough to survive Wrath being put inside him, since the force of Wrath is so strong that it destroys everyone else. He led the Amestrians in their mass murder of the Ishvalans, and used threats to keep Ed and the others in line when they discovered he was a Homunculus. He ruled Amestris with an iron fist and was the cause of many deaths and near-deaths of established characters, though he obviously did not think much of it. For the most part, he didn't find any particular joy in his manipulation or murder of other people. They were just impediments to the plan that needed to be disposed of to him. While he didn't tend to show much wrath, he showed a complete mercilessness and disregard for human life, proved himself to be a very fierce and strong fighter, and did on occasion show anger over certain human behaviors and sentiments.
Greed
(Greed before Father disposed of him)
(Greed after being reborn and put into Ling's body)
"I disagree. You want to bring back someone that you've lost. You might want money. Maybe you want women. Or, you might want to protect the world. These are all common things people want. Things that their hearts desire. Greed may not be good, but it's not so bad, either. You humans think greed is just for money and power! But everyone wants something they don't have."
Greed is quite probably my favorite Homunculus, purely because of his snarky and cocky attitude, development as a character, and comical side. He was the one Homunculus that wanted nothing to do with the other Homunculi or their plan. He had his OWN plans, all of which included obtaining anything and everything he wants in the world. As the second Greed, he turns on Wrath out of anger after remembering that Wrath killed the first Greed's friends, people he considered "his". He then ends up joining Ed and the others when Ed and Ling reach out to him as allies. He decides his new goal is to defeat Father and rule the world and everyone in it (thus having everyone worship him), though Ling continually reminds him that it isn't what he truly wants. While he obviously would still like fame and riches, he finally realizes in the end that what he truly wants most of all, the one thing he is the most "greedy" for, is trust and friendship, something he was able to temporarily have with his first gang and with Ling and Ed. He saves Ling from being absorbed by Father and loses his life, giving up everything else he has for the one thing he truly wanted.
Pride
"One can be sure, in this world, humans are of little consequence."
Pride is the other character that I love to hate, because he's just so smug and selfish. He causes a lot of trouble for everyone towards the end of the story, enlisting Kimblee to start a fight and cause bloodshed at Fort Briggs to complete the transmutation circle. He is willing to do just about anything to save himself, including betraying and eating Gluttony. Despite his arrogance, he reacts with fear and desperation when he believes himself to be in danger, threatening and lashing out in any way he can to save himself. He is the first and most powerful Homunculus and the hardest to kill. He's the last Homunculus to reveal himself, safely hiding under the guise of an innocent child for a long time, and considers himself far above humans and the other Homunculi. Kimblee stops him from taking over Ed's human body when Pride thinks Ed is about to kill him and becomes desperate, saying he's a coward for being willing to give up his "pride" as a Homunculus just to survive (and survive in the body of a human, the very form that he had up until then mocked and considered beneath him). He's the only Homunculus that "survives", being reduced by Ed to an infant, his original human form (what Pride would consider a "lesser form").
Interesting Religious References
Something I noticed and took the time to look into was the potential references that were made in how the Homunculi and their deaths were depicted - ironies, symbolism, and all.
While poking around, I managed to find an interesting website of people discussing the references that the author made to Dante's Divine Comedy. It made the religious references that the author was possibly aiming for with the Homunculi (Sins) all the better and more meaningful.
Here's the link to and summation of a particular comment that I found insightful:
Gluttony being eaten by Pride - reference to Dante's Inferno, where the gluttonous are continually tortured by being eaten by Hell's guard dog Cerberus.
Lust's death from Mustang's flames - reference where the lustful are tossed about by fiery winds while in Hell and purified by passing through walls of intense flame while on the seventh terrace of Purgatory.
Roy Mustang repeatedly boiling away Envy's eyes during their fight - possible reference to the second terrace of Dante Alighieri "Purgatorio", where the envious are cleansed by having their eyelids sewn shut.
Greed's body being shared with Ling - possible reference to Canto XXV of The Inferno. Thieves are subjected to the constant loss of their bodies to the lizards that inhabit the seventh Bolgia. In life they took the substance of others, transforming it into their own, so in Hell their very bodies are constantly being taken from them and they are left to steal back a human form from some other sinner.
Sloth's pattern of never-ending activity - reference to Dante Alighieri's "Purgatorio", where the indolent are told to engage in constant activity to cleanse them of their slothful ways.
Wrath's loss of his arms - reference to the Inferno where the wrathful have their limbs ripped off the body.
Pride is the strongest of the Homunculi - of all the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride is considered the worst and most unforgivable, the father and origin of all other sins, originating from the biblical account of the Lucifer being cast down from Heaven for being too prideful towards God and becoming the ultimate evil, Satan.
Importance
After all of this, the Homunculi give you a mixed feeling of them being monsters but, to an extent, human. They consider themselves above humans, and continuously call humans weak and foolish. Mustang then makes the comment halfway through the story that it's only when he's fighting real monsters (the Homunculi) that he's able to consider himself more of a human than a monster, after all of the death and destruction he helped t cause during the Ishvalan war. And yet that's why I find it interesting when Hohenheim is later talking to Father. He ridicules Father on his attempt to rid himself of the sins that Hohenheim claims make up all humans and are an important part of being human, and that they're not something Father can simply toss out and separate himself from in an attempt to rise above humans and become more like God. He cannot simply let them run rampant and ruin the lives of those around them.
I find it ironic that Mustang claims he feels most human when fighting the very things that Hohenheim later says MAKE us human, and it made me think. Yes, Homunculi are special beings with inhuman powers and consider themselves above humans, but the way they act errs on the side of human (more severe sides), plus they're made from the strong emotions (or sins) that make up all humans. It also goes to show that too much of something (too much of one sin) will always result in suffering, for the person or for the people around that person. Each one of them contributed to the destruction or suffering of humanity in one way or another, and they all paid the price for it. Father, despite his attempt to be rid of them and rise up as a god, was torn from his pedestal and also paid the price for seeing himself as greater than what he truly was.
The Homunculi were right, in a sense, when they looked down upon the human race as weak and foolish. As sins, they were able to identify what it was that made humans weak and foolish, but they paid the price for thinking themselves above humans when, after all, they were beings made from human flaws. They paid the price for not being able to see the good that humans can do to counter the bad.
Greed was the one exception. He connected, to an extent, with the humans, and willingly sacrificed himself to save one of his friends. He's cast as a sort of anti-hero in the end, matching with what he says to Ed beforehand (his quote). When controlled, or utilized in a good or beneficial way (such as Greed realizing that what he truly desired was friends of his own), sins become the darker but natural parts of humanity that humanity can overcome and make the most of to bring about good in the world.
That might be the point then.
In class, we read in the Bible about how people had fallen because of the "hardness of their hearts", their lack of belief in and loyalty towards God, and their sinfulness. The Bible claims that Jesus died for the people's sins, so they can now have a second chance at redemption. What you seem to get from the Bible that I found interesting and comparable to FMA was that the Bible seems to claim that sins are a part of humanity; they come naturally. In Romans, Paul claims that all people are under sin, under its powerful force. There are arguments for and against that notion, of course. Some such as John Wesley say that people are innately bad and sinful and have to be taught or forced to control and redeem themselves, while others such as J. J. Rousseau say that people are "naturally good" and try to be, even if it doesn't always work out that way.
I don't think it encompasses all of our nature, but it definitely makes up at least half of it. Each person has his or her our own individual good and bad traits that he/she has to deal with.
These "sins" are part of who we are as humans. That's why I believe we as viewers are able to empathize with some of the Homunculi and their beliefs as the story progresses, as much as we might hate some of them. The sins they encompass and the emotions and beliefs they possess are emotions and beliefs we have experienced in our lifetimes as humans. We've felt the need to be proud of something we might be better at than others, the shameful envy of another person's success or happiness that is out of our grasp, the desire to possess something more than anything else (whether it be wealth, fame, or true and loyal friends). These negative emotions and desires come as naturally to us as the positive ones.
Therefore, the overall point to be made about humanity might be that we must learn to accept who and what we are as limited human beings with different potential flaws and learn to control our flaws as best as we can, to balance out or overcome them and turn them into good for ourselves and the world. Too much evil, too much wrath or pride or envy, such as in the Homunculi, turns us into "monsters" that can cause physical and mental destruction and suffering for all involved.
Greed was the one exception. He connected, to an extent, with the humans, and willingly sacrificed himself to save one of his friends. He's cast as a sort of anti-hero in the end, matching with what he says to Ed beforehand (his quote). When controlled, or utilized in a good or beneficial way (such as Greed realizing that what he truly desired was friends of his own), sins become the darker but natural parts of humanity that humanity can overcome and make the most of to bring about good in the world.
That might be the point then.
In class, we read in the Bible about how people had fallen because of the "hardness of their hearts", their lack of belief in and loyalty towards God, and their sinfulness. The Bible claims that Jesus died for the people's sins, so they can now have a second chance at redemption. What you seem to get from the Bible that I found interesting and comparable to FMA was that the Bible seems to claim that sins are a part of humanity; they come naturally. In Romans, Paul claims that all people are under sin, under its powerful force. There are arguments for and against that notion, of course. Some such as John Wesley say that people are innately bad and sinful and have to be taught or forced to control and redeem themselves, while others such as J. J. Rousseau say that people are "naturally good" and try to be, even if it doesn't always work out that way.
I don't think it encompasses all of our nature, but it definitely makes up at least half of it. Each person has his or her our own individual good and bad traits that he/she has to deal with.
These "sins" are part of who we are as humans. That's why I believe we as viewers are able to empathize with some of the Homunculi and their beliefs as the story progresses, as much as we might hate some of them. The sins they encompass and the emotions and beliefs they possess are emotions and beliefs we have experienced in our lifetimes as humans. We've felt the need to be proud of something we might be better at than others, the shameful envy of another person's success or happiness that is out of our grasp, the desire to possess something more than anything else (whether it be wealth, fame, or true and loyal friends). These negative emotions and desires come as naturally to us as the positive ones.
Therefore, the overall point to be made about humanity might be that we must learn to accept who and what we are as limited human beings with different potential flaws and learn to control our flaws as best as we can, to balance out or overcome them and turn them into good for ourselves and the world. Too much evil, too much wrath or pride or envy, such as in the Homunculi, turns us into "monsters" that can cause physical and mental destruction and suffering for all involved.
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