Conan The Barbarian Analysis

Conan The Barbarian

A fantasy is a story that defies the rules of this world and who's boundaries are only limited by the imagination. A fantasy might have supernatural elements like dragons, demons, and other worlds. Conan the Barbarian is a perfect example of this. It is an epic tale that takes place when life was simple, harsh, and when gods walked the Earth. It has swords, sorcery, wizards, witches, monsters, demons, ancient races, and intense action. The location is on this world but when one views this film they are taken away to another place entirely. The land, which Conan inhabits, is unsophisticated and free of contemporary moral dilemmas. Conan himself is a Nietzschean superman who defies all morality and operates on purest instinct.

Conan the Barbarian is a mythical fantasy of remarkable depth. It is a serious epic that gives the viewer a feel for what life would really be like in those times. The plot is broad and adventurous, with voluptuous women, brawny men, a vile wizard, grotesque monsters, faithful sidekicks, and plenty of violent battle action. The emotions are not necessarily conveyed through words, but in mood, expressions, and through a powerful, operatic, and expressive score. The film's various themes are portrayed through the actions and deeds of the characters. These themes include love, fate, the importance of weapons, survival of the fittest, and revenge. Conan's sword and his desire for revenge drive his quest through life, while his determination and strength keep him alive.

Love is a very powerful theme in this epic. Conan's love for his parents, his people, and later Valeria, fuel the fire for his revenge. After almost twenty years, he has not forgotten the valuable lessons they taught him. Conan also loves combat and victory. It his truly his only passion and is really the only thing he has known during his adult life. His people breed warriors and their god is one who rewards valor and victory on the battlefield. His love of victory makes him a champion pit fighter, which allows him to become educated and even more of a skilled warrior. Life and death become the same to him, he only cares that the crowd will be there to greet him with yells of lust and rage. Conan realizes that he matters.

The bonds of love between Conan and Valeria are very great. The two fall in love and Conan becomes concerned with her and their riches, for a while forgetting about his quest for revenge. The thieves are brought before King Osric, who asks them to steal his daughter back from Thulsa Doom. Valeria tells Conan that the two of them should just take their fortune and live in peace, but the flame of vengeance still burns deep within Conan's heart. It is Valeria's love for Conan that keeps him alive after he is crucified on the Tree of Woe. However it is her love that also dooms her in the eyes of the gods. When Thulsa Doom kills her, Conan lays Valeria upon a pyre on the top of The Mounds of the Dead, where fire cannot burn. He lights the pyre and it erupts in flame, signifying the mystical bonds of love between Conan and Valeria. Conan also rips off the necklace that he has worn since his enslavement and puts on one he made for Valeria. Demonstrating that he is truly free yet his soul is now bound to her. Conan's love for Valeria does not die with her, however. Upon Conan's rescue from certain death after his crucifixion, Valeria tells him, "If I were dead and you were still fighting for life, I would come bask to fight at your side." During the battle of the Mounds, Conan is about to be crushed by Rexor and the angelic form of Valeria, back from the dead, stops him. This is a clear representation of the power that their love has.

Fate plays a very important role in this epic. It was fate that Thulsa Doom and his raiding party attacked Conan's nomadic village. This makes Conan who he is and sets him on his path to who he will become later in life. Fate allows Conan to stumble upon the tomb of the Atlantean King to find his sword. This is no mere chance. It is an ancient sword, mystical and powerful. The sword essentially found Conan, not the other way around. Conan emerges from the tomb a new man and stumbles upon a witch. He asks the witch about the standard of the snake Cult of Set. She tells him about a prophecy of a great warrior coming from the north, a man of great strength, a conqueror, who will crush the snakes of the world, and who will become a king by his own hand; a prophecy that becomes fulfilled. After leaving the witch's hut, fate leads him to Subotai, a thief and archer. Under normal circumstances Conan would have left him, or killed him, but he decides to free Subotai and they travel together. Subotai saves Conan's life several times, and without him, Conan would never have been able to complete his quest. On his way to steal back King Osric's daughter, fate leads Conan to the Mounds, which have been around since the time of the Titans, and he meets the Wizard. "It is by no chance that I am the teller of his tale." Proclaims the Wizard. If he had not met this Wizard, Conan would have died from his crucifixion at the Tree of Woe.

Fate also turns the tables on Conan. When he is captured, Thulsa Doom tells Conan that he should be thankful because he is the one who gave Conan the strength of his body and the desire in his heart. This is ironically true. When Conan is near death as Subotai rescues him and takes him back to the Wizard and Valeria. Valeria commands the Wizard to save him, and says that she'll pay the toll to the gods, who try to take him but do not succeed. Fate decides to hold her to this claim and Thulsa Doom later takes her life. During the resolution where Conan confronts Thulsa Doom upon his mountain of power, Conan is again shown the strange twist of fate that has befallen him. Doom explains to Conan how fate has led him on his journey. "My child, you have come to me my son. For who now is your father if it is not me? I am the wellspring, from which you flow. When I am gone, you will have never been. What would your world be, without me? My son." He is telling the truth. Conan's life is driven by his thirst for revenge on Thulsa Doom. His desire for revenge kept him alive, forged his body, made him a skillful warrior, and in the end, leads him on the road to become king by his own hand. Doom has been the driving force behind all the major events in his life, and what will Conan do when he is gone. Without Thulsa Doom, Conan would have never truly been. However Conan isn't convinced. He remembers all the adversities that happened throughout his life and he then acts out his revenge on Doom with extreme prejudice. That is the true Riddle of Steel as Conan sees it.

Conan