in 1980 when asked why he wrote The Dune novels Frank Herbert had a chilling answer I wrote The Dune Saga because I had this idea that charismatic leaders ought to come with the warning label may be dangerous to your health throughout his whole life Herbert believed heres were a recipe for disaster even if we found a real superhero he thought that flawed Mortals would eventually gather around such a leader and form a power and this power would somehow be abused Hitler Churchill or Stalin he saw them all As prods of this dangerous human flaw and
with his Dune novels he actually warned us that a society relies on a single charismatic and Powerful leader is in great danger for him Paul at trates is not a savior he is not a Chosen One his Destiny is a fabricated myth it's a belief it's a lie and I want to explain why at first glance Paul atres seems to follow the classic hero's journey as the heir of a powerful family he's thrown into an unfamiliar World Witnesses his father's murder narrowly escapes death and becomes a savior figure among the native people of araus yet
his story challenges traditional ideas of heroism his status as the chosen one is also his fatal flaw and unlike the classic heroes destined to save the world Paul's story explores the terrible burden of this Destiny actually at the beginning of the story we learn that Paul's existence is a mistake the Ben jeser has been breeding humans for generations and centuries to get this special quat hok and it was not supposed to be him he was supposed to be a girl who marries fade rala and their child was supposed to be the chosen one so he
is the one who wasn't supposed to happen but he did anyway and despite not being the planned chosen one he still just takes that Destiny and goes with it first of all as the Duke Leto's son he was always destined to take his father's place he spent his entire childhood preparing for this role and on top of that his mother was a benate and she trained him in their ways too now think about it from Paul's perspective you are the Duke's heir with all that pressure you've trained by the Ben jeser and then you've arrived
to Dune and hear all these prophecies about who you are supposed to become and you are just a 15-year-old kid can you imagine the pressure it must be unbearable he's practically drowning in others expectations this is also where his dreams and Visions get so intense he starts to believe they're real that they're going to happen he sees future version of himself he sees himself leading a holy war people are chanting his name as they head into battle it's overwhelming for him and he wants to fight against it this isn't the destiny he wants but he
feels helpless because he's not even sure what choices he'll end up making the doubt eats him alive so what does someone drowning in doubt need especially a supposed savior that's exactly what Paul gets from the fman a blind faith at one point of the story Paul tries to downplay his importance and says I am not the Messiah I am not here to lead yet sgar answers like this you are too humble to say so exactly as written this kind of belief is actually dangerous of course Paul's background commands respect how he holds himself or how
he talks talks it's clear that he's got something special the second he speaks you realize he's way more mature and aware than he looks and that kind of thing really resonates with the fmen who are isolated um superstitious and desperate for a leader but the problem is Paul's natural Charisma and the Fran's hunger for a savior it's the perfect recipe for him to feel entitled uh but it's also a vicious cycle because the more the fman believe Paul is the Messiah the more his own doubts and anxieties are overridden pushing him toward the role he
fears and throughout the story we see that transformation as Paul becomes more deeply connected with the fman the young boy groomed for dukum disappears in his place Rises kisat hadak a savior fman see that as a savior yes a miracle but what they don't realize is that it's the result of generations of brainwashing by a powerful order that's been manipulating the Galaxy from Millennia the Benes through their missionaria protectiva have molded beliefs for thousands of years yet the women believe it wholeheartedly and more importantly so does Paul and in his own way he does what
must be done this is the most important difference between Paul and many other traditional chosen ones unlike the characters who strive for personal growth Paul's Focus isn't on becoming a better person he's less concerned with his moral compass and more driven by what he believes must be done and this kind of determination carries risks because those who do what they see as necessary can easily slip into villainy or at the very least become responsible for countless deaths this this is Paul's tragedy he's swept up by the crowds embracing a narrative written long before him and
accepts his Destiny as the savior of his people yet beneath it all like many leaders in the real world he Harbors a deeper more personal desire in Paul's regard it's Vengeance he wants revenge against house harinen for killing his father and to achieve this he's willing to manipulate the fman and their faith in him don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting Paul is consciously scheming to exploit the fman but deep down he knows that the only way to get revenge is by Leading them if you remember when Paul first envisions possible Futures he sees paths
where both he and his mother survive without needing the Jihad yet Paul rejects them because they don't Grant him a path with his revenge the only path with the fman promises his Vengeance but it would inevitably trap him within the Jihad so all the choices he makes along the way lead him closer to defeating the har conans and avenging his father and he knew it remember his words to his mother at the beginning of the part two where he says that he believes in Revenge even at the end of the movie fueled by the power
he gets from the freman he declares war on the Imperial forces amassed in the planet's orbit lead them to Paradise He commands what an icy expression it's a call for sacrifice disguised as salvation a demand for his followers to die so he can win and this Sparks the holy war a conflict that brings Devastation to billions how ironic is it his own actions forged the very future he feared and sought to prevent as a child but what for is it really to liberate the fan or for something else this actually makes Paul a real disaster
for the freman far from leading them to Paradise Paul leads them into the hell of an Interstellar holy war in which even those who survive will remain scarred traumatized and will no longer be able to find happiness because while The fman Wanted their savior to ecologically restore their Barren Planet Paul leads them away from home having completely hijacked their belief system and the loyal Warriors have shifted from Freedom Fighters to religious Fanatics and channy was aware of it especially in the part two her slight deviation from the book's portrayal emphasizes her belief that the fman
should fight for their own Liberation rather than passively awaiting an off-world savior so actually her perspective prevents the fman from becoming one-dimensional followers of a prophesied figure but of course her efforts alone aren't enough this is where Paul's story reminds us a harsh truth no human no matter how heroic they may seem can save us they are not all knowing and ultimately they do what serves their own own deepest desires but can we blame everything on Paul no because he would never have gained such power without the unstable political climate and the manipulations of the
Ben jerit their eugenic breeding program molded him thrusting him into a savior role he never chose if it wasn't him it could have been another person who became the Messiah this underscores the message that Frank Herbert weaves throughout the Dune Universe the core issue isn't limited to individuals it's the very system that produces such figures and elevates them to dangerous Heights this same system ravaged the once verdant Dune and transformed it into the desolate oracus it acknowledges its flaws yet eagerly awaits a promised savior to fix them and that's where the tragedy of poit Tres
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