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Neverland depicts a wide range of solutions to moral problems, because for most of the characters, their life is on the line and they have to decide how far they go to protect it.
Just to count the most prominent ones:
Isabella
We got, on one radical side of the spectrum, Isabella who wants to survive at all costs and even is willing to send of several dozen (of not hundred) of children towards their death for it after having raised them.
That is one of the strongest wills to survive i have seen in most manga, because Isabella does not seem like she enjoys it.
She is a hard and possibly bitter woman, but when we see her alone she definitely doesnt seem like she would do such a thing if it wasn't for her life.
Mama copes with the Situation by completely abandoning any moral obligations to protect her own life (at least as far as we know)
Ray
Like Isabella, Ray accepts it as reality that his siblings are sent to their death.
He even helps her (at least he did so for a long time before he decided to point norman and emma towards the truth).
Unlike Isabella, however, he seems majorly motivated by the will to save Emma and Norman (as Norman suspects, he even possibly intends dying for them). Similarly to Isabella, he definitely does not enjoy what he has to do and seemingly even feels guilty, but the realist inside him leaves no other option than to save SOME people who he thinks might have a chance.
Ray copes with the situation by accepting the horrible things he has to do or let happen by redeeming himself by saving the ones he cares for the most.
Norman
Norman is the most unsure of our maincharacters, even if he is otherwise the smartest one who is used to be in control.
His initial reaction was much like Ray's: Save the ones you care a bout and maybe some others who have a chance.
But unlike Ray, Norman loves Emma and is swayed by her moral compass.
Norman is really the odd one out here. Obviously he wants to save as many people as he can, but ray does that too.
Norman agrees with Ray in so far as that the risk of saving all children is insanely high.
But he takes that risk simply to make Emma happy, even if that might mean a risk for Emma's life.
To me, it seems like Norman thinks Emma would not be able to cope with willfully leaving others behind and thus does not want that to happen to her.
Norman copes with the situation by laying his moral choices into the hands of another person, namely emma.
By that, he does not have to think about right and wrong, but just about how, even if unlikely, he can follow emma's wishes.
Emma
Emma is the complete opposite of Isabella, but similar to her in how extreme she is.
While Isabella removed herself completely from all moral shackles, Emma does not even want to cut one of them and does not even question whether she should.
While Isabella's fear is completely for her own life, Norman observed that, unlike him, Emma was not afraid for one second for her own life, but for the life of her family.
I see a clear willful contrast between Emma and Isabella, but that is substance for another thread.
Emma copes with the situation by not even accepting that there is a moral choice to make.
There is no viable choice for Emma that includes leaving even one part of her family behind.
_________________________________________________________________
So, which characters do you feel are the most justified here? How would you tackle similar problems?
Any observations?
What about the other kids? Don and Gilda are interesting to observe too in their dealing with the horrible truth, and i am sure that if more children survive, we are going to see more about these psychological struggles.
Just to count the most prominent ones:
Isabella
We got, on one radical side of the spectrum, Isabella who wants to survive at all costs and even is willing to send of several dozen (of not hundred) of children towards their death for it after having raised them.
That is one of the strongest wills to survive i have seen in most manga, because Isabella does not seem like she enjoys it.
She is a hard and possibly bitter woman, but when we see her alone she definitely doesnt seem like she would do such a thing if it wasn't for her life.
Mama copes with the Situation by completely abandoning any moral obligations to protect her own life (at least as far as we know)
Ray
Like Isabella, Ray accepts it as reality that his siblings are sent to their death.
He even helps her (at least he did so for a long time before he decided to point norman and emma towards the truth).
Unlike Isabella, however, he seems majorly motivated by the will to save Emma and Norman (as Norman suspects, he even possibly intends dying for them). Similarly to Isabella, he definitely does not enjoy what he has to do and seemingly even feels guilty, but the realist inside him leaves no other option than to save SOME people who he thinks might have a chance.
Ray copes with the situation by accepting the horrible things he has to do or let happen by redeeming himself by saving the ones he cares for the most.
Norman
Norman is the most unsure of our maincharacters, even if he is otherwise the smartest one who is used to be in control.
His initial reaction was much like Ray's: Save the ones you care a bout and maybe some others who have a chance.
But unlike Ray, Norman loves Emma and is swayed by her moral compass.
Norman is really the odd one out here. Obviously he wants to save as many people as he can, but ray does that too.
Norman agrees with Ray in so far as that the risk of saving all children is insanely high.
But he takes that risk simply to make Emma happy, even if that might mean a risk for Emma's life.
To me, it seems like Norman thinks Emma would not be able to cope with willfully leaving others behind and thus does not want that to happen to her.
Norman copes with the situation by laying his moral choices into the hands of another person, namely emma.
By that, he does not have to think about right and wrong, but just about how, even if unlikely, he can follow emma's wishes.
Emma
Emma is the complete opposite of Isabella, but similar to her in how extreme she is.
While Isabella removed herself completely from all moral shackles, Emma does not even want to cut one of them and does not even question whether she should.
While Isabella's fear is completely for her own life, Norman observed that, unlike him, Emma was not afraid for one second for her own life, but for the life of her family.
I see a clear willful contrast between Emma and Isabella, but that is substance for another thread.
Emma copes with the situation by not even accepting that there is a moral choice to make.
There is no viable choice for Emma that includes leaving even one part of her family behind.
_________________________________________________________________
So, which characters do you feel are the most justified here? How would you tackle similar problems?
Any observations?
What about the other kids? Don and Gilda are interesting to observe too in their dealing with the horrible truth, and i am sure that if more children survive, we are going to see more about these psychological struggles.
