Is Guybrush Threepwood...

[Debbie82]

...some sort of Christ figure? According to Wikipedia:

"A Christ figure is a literary technique that authors use to draw allusions between their characters and the biblical Jesus Christ. More loosely, the Christ Figure is a spiritual or prophetic character who parallels Jesus, or other spiritual or prophetic figures.

In general, a character should display more than one correspondence with the story of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Bible. For instance, the character might display one or more of the following traits: performance of miracles, manifestation of divine qualities, healing others, display loving kindness and forgiveness, fight for justice, being guided by the spirit of the character's father, death and resurrection. Christ figures are often martyrs, sacrificing themselves for causes larger than themselves.

In postmodern literature, the resurrection theme is often abandoned, leaving us with the image of a martyr sacrificing himself for a greater good. It is common to see Christ figures displayed in a manner suggestive of crucifixion as well; this technique is more noticeable in films than in literature."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_figure

I noticed that though Guybrush is a plucky, yet stupid, goofy and incompetent pirate, treasure hunter and swashbuckler, yet he seems to have some sort of Christ qualities and traits (examples: Guybrush using voodoo powers for good under guidance of the unnamed Voodoo Lady, his almost supernatural ability to hold his breath underwater for 10 minutes, etc.), and on multiple occasions Guybrush presents himself as an unlikely sacrifice and, in doing so, is able to destroy the evil undead pirate LeChuck and his voodoo curses time and time again (see the examples on Curse of Monkey Island and Tales of Monkey Island).

So if Guybrush is a Christ figure, he sure seems to be an unlikely one, huh?

[The Highway]

Resurrected from the dead in Rise of the Pirate God o_O

[Epic Kiwi]

He's also got long hair and a beard.

[The Highway]

I smell CONSPIRACY

Seriously Conspiracy, take a shower...

[Captain Mickey]

Erm...Guybrush as Jesus? Huh... As interesting as this sounds, I highly doubt Guybrush is a representation of Jesus. Guybrush is just, well, Guybrush. He does have his heroic moments throughout the series but for the most part, I think of Guybrush is just being a simple heroic mighty pirate, but that's just me.

If it's anyone who represents Jesus, it's Winslow. (kidding, just kidding!!)

[xbskid]

Originally Posted by Epic Kiwi

He's also got long hair and a beard.

Neither of which Jesus would've had.

[Flah]

Originally Posted by xbskid

Neither of which Jesus would've had.

Considering he was a Rabbi, I'd kind of bet on him having had a beard.

But I have to agree that Guybrush != Jesus. Aside from that "rising from the dead" thing, I can't see a lot of parallels.

[Michael Listening]

the parallels that could be drawn are, I think, simply parallels between two protagonists of epic tales.
one could then just as well say that guybrush is an adventure-game-figure, that sam and max are so, too. or that jesus is a guybrush-figure.

[guitarsareboring]

The major difference between the two? I believe in Guybrush.

[Spadge]

There are plenty of Christ figures in popular media: Luke Skywalker, Superman, John Connor, Neo, Optimus Prime, Aang... but Guybrush? I just don't see it.

[Mermaid]

I think you're getting something wrong. Guybrush = God.

[Farlander]

BLASPHEMERS! HERETICS! HOW DARE YOU!!!!
Everyone knows that Winslow is God, Jesus, Buddah, Allah, Odin, Ra, The Creator of the Universe, The Keeper of the Map and the Destructor of Chuck Norris. Not to mention all the other 4567 deity titles he has and 423920959 godly deeds he has done.
YOU SHALL ALL BURN!!!

[zhebrica]

The theme of a hero dying, visiting the afterlife, and returning to Earth predates Christ considerably, going back at least to Ancient Egypt and probably before that. Since that's the only part that really applies to Guybrush, it's more like TOMI and the Bible both draw from the same older literary tradition. (Kinda like how MI and the PotC movies both draw from the PotC ride, you know. :P )

[Debbie82]

Don't forget about how the map of the Crossroads is shaped like a cross where Christ was crucified. And remember that in Curse of Monkey Island, Guybrush is told by the Voodoo Lady that in order to save Elaine from the "gold statue" voodoo curse, he is fated to "die" alone (i.e., to drug himself to unconsciousness a la "Romeo and Juliet") and be buried alive in the Goodsoup family crypt, at least twice, in order to find one of the parts of the uncursed diamond ring and escape alive (just like when Christ was fated to die alone and abandoned and be buried in the tomb for some time before rising from the dead to save us from the curse). Oh, and don't forget about Guybrush being tempted by the demonic skull Murray in CoMI (like Jesus was tempted by the devil in the desert).

And there are references to Christ's Passion and resurrection in ToMI: Guybrush befriending and then being betrayed by Morgan LeFlay to the Marquis De Singe for 30,000 pieces of silver = Jesus befriending Judas Iscariot and then being betrayed by him to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver; Guybrush being brought to trial for charges, including that of spreading the Pox of LeChuck, and almost sentenced to death before LeChuck arrives to save him = Jesus' trial and condemnation before Pilate; Guybrush curing Elaine and everyone else of the Pox with La Esponja Grande and then being pierced by LeChuck's Cutlass of Kaflu before dying = Jesus being pierced by the nails of the cross and dying to save humanity; and finally (as it is told before) Guybrush's journey through the Crossroads, uniting himself with his body and returning to stop LeChuck once and for all through his trials and pains = Jesus' descent to the netherworld and resurrection from the tomb to destroy death and Satan once and for all.

Isn't that something deserving of being a bizarre Christ figure?

[akaimizu]

Nah. I wouldn't say that. One has to go a good deal further than just dying and coming back to mark whether someone was trying to imitate.

In this kind of game, it's just a great way to seemingly push the level of hope further down a dark hole before a plausible victory awaits. Not to mention, they kind of prelude the possibility of coming back first with a villain. Nobody does it better (or more often) than Lechuck, in this series.

Guybrush, may seem a bit bumbling. May seem innocent. But he is very much still a pirate. He even did, at one point, become the mightiest and feared pirate of the Carribean with the ability to even Fax a message for other pirates to surrender before he boarded them........................
...
...
...
That is, IF the other Pirates could've received a Fax.

And considering how many selfish things he did just to get what he needed. (And plenty of stealing left and right) I consider him a figure that hardly resembles any biblical figure I know. Maybe the story of someone of moderately ill-repute that grows a conscience and saves the day, perhaps. But then again, that could be Max. Another one who has travelled to the other side and back.

[zhebrica]

Originally Posted by Debbie82

Guybrush befriending and then being betrayed by Morgan LeFlay to the Marquis De Singe for 30,000 pieces of silver = Jesus befriending Judas Iscariot and then being betrayed by him to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver

This definitely is a Bible reference, I'll grant you that. I'd forgotten about it.

[metroidreborn]

Any sort of connection between the two would be nothing but a coincidence because the team didn't set out to establish one. I don't want to think of Guybrush as Jesus or a religious figure, Monkey Island is made to help one forget about life's problems.

[akaimizu]

Difference is that Morgan LeFlay is a pre-established Mercenary. She fully divulges the whole idea that she's quite a character that is in it for the buck. Morgan, from the beginning already seeds a lot of doubt that she'd pick the decision based on the goodness of her heart. It's the heartful compassionate decision, which is what one is less likely to expect. One might consider her the inverse of Judas.

[Mermaid]

I doubt Jesus EVER dug up any graves...or left a Manatee via its service entrance.

[Ignatius]

How could you know that? Maybe he did.....In fact when resurrecting Lazarus, he opened a grave...kind of.

But really, Jesus came back with all his wounds, while Guybrush got a brand new body.

That makes Guybrush better.