The Dichotomy of Connor Kenway AKA Ratonhnhaké:ton

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Connor Kenway Quick Navigation Links:
Character Breakdown: Connor Kenway
The Connor Kenway Workout
The Skills of Connor Kenway
The Dichotomy of Connor Kenway

Ratonhnhaké:ton lives in two worlds.  In one, he is Connor Kenway, son of British immigrant Haytham Kenway, head of the Templar order in the New World.  In another, he is Ratonhnhaké:ton, son of Kaniehtí:io, and trained Assassin.

In many ways, Connor’s own personality mirrors this dichotomy.  He is almost childlike in his naivete, leading him to not understand why Achilles should be treated any different from him when they are in Boston, or trusting the Americans to leave his people alone in their freedom and independence.

At the same time, Connor’s naive tendencies show wisdom beyond his years.  He sees no reason why people should be treated differently because of the color of their skin, or where they come from.  He sees the battle between the Templars and the Assassins as futile, thinking they should instead be working towards the common goal of bettering humanity.

Ratonhnhaké:ton is a trained, skillful assassin, able to deal death with a wide variety of weapons and tools.  A the same time, however, he dislikes killing, and always tries to avoid it if possible.  He seeks vengeance upon Charles Lee for his mother’s death, but he doesn’t wish to visit death upon all of the Templars merely because they exist.  This often puts him at odds with Achilles, his teacher and the head of the Assassin order, but Connor’s conviction and stubborn determination refuse to relent.

Even up to the end of the game, Connor is trying to reconcile these two factions, much as he seems to be trying to reconcile two sides of himself.  He wishes there could be a better way.  Connor is an honest, humble young man, feeling uncomfortable with deceiving General Washington, unaware that Washington himself was actually deceiving Connor.

This whole inner conflict within Connor about the worlds he spans and the masters he serves actually reminds me of an often-repeated native american story…

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

 

In the end, I suppose that sums up the greatest lesson we take from Connor’s life.  He faces many tragedies, in some ways darker than what Ezio and Altair faced.  He lost his mother, his people, and his land, all taken directly from him by the very people he was helping.  Still, though all this, he sticks to his convictions, his honesty, and his humility, refusing to give in to his inner rage, instead trying to find peace on the diverse grounds of the Davenport homestead.

In your reaction to things in life, it’s worth taking a moment and asking yourself which wolf you are choosing to feed.

That’s mostly it for our time with Ratonhnhaké:ton.  I say mostly because we still have a video or two coming out next week on his combat style, so keep an eye out for that!  If you haven’t, yet, you should go subscribe to the Be a Game Character youtube channel, so you know as soon as our new videos come out.

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Dan “DaRatmastah” Wallace