The "Replacement" Concept

Here we'll examine another story device utilized in many classic stories, although not as many as the device we discussed last time (of "Not In Control", e.g. possession). When I say "the 'replacement' concept," what I mean is the idea of something or someone new coming along replacing something or someone else, and the other characters' responses to this replacement. This still sounds too vague, so perhaps a few examples of how this technique has been used:
- how a child reacts to a stepmother when his father, a widower, remarries
- how a child reacts to a new toy that his parents purchase to replace his old, now broken, favorite toy
- how a military officer reacts when his previous superior officer is reassigned to a new mission and the higher ups assign his group an outsider for their new leader, instead of promoting one of the group's own men

I could list many more examples, but I trust that your minds are racing with intimate examples of your own. So do you see now what I meant by "the 'replacement' concept" and how it's used in writing, particularly in character-driven stories? Good. Let's move on then.

I started watching Naruto Shippuuden recently. If you have heard of the children's television show Naruto on Cartoon Network, you may know that it's a popular Japanese anime and manga featuring a boy ninja named Naruto. Naruto Shippuuden picks up where the original series leaves off -- three years after Naruto's best friend left Naruto's group. Naruto refuses to accept this, and trains vigilantly for three years with one of the most powerful ninjas in the land. He returns to his home village in Naruto Shippuuden, now 15 years old and much wiser and more powerful than he was before, although still with a lot to learn. His primary goal is to find his best friend and retrieve him; he (knowingly naively) dreams that his best friend will once again join Naruto's ninja group, and the two will be together again on missions big and small.

Why is this relevant? Because, Naruto Shippuuden has made fantastic use of the "replacement" device by introducing the character called Sai. Sai is a young man who in many ways resembles Naruto's old friend; this uncanny similarity bothers Naruto badly, and his immediate reaction towards the young man (spurred on by a duel the two briefly entertain) is quite negative. As in, "I hate your guts and want you to drop dead" negative. As you have probably guessed, Naruto's reaction towards Sai is so strong because he learns that Sai is meant to be the permanent replacement for Naruto's old friend. The village leaders have decided, "Three years is far too long for your group to be missing one man. It's time we replaced your friend, Naruto." Naruto angrily lashes out at this proposal, declaring that he will never accept Sai as Sasuke's replacement. We of course know that "time heals all wounds" and it's unlikely for Naruto's animosity towards Sai to continue barring legitimate reasons to hate the lad, but still -- what drama!

Be it in fiction or the real world, it seems that it is typical for humans to react very strongly and very negatively towards replacements. People cling to the past, and replacements are those final dusters that sweep away the cobwebs and say, "Look, that's all over now. The past is done. We're here in the present. You can never go back. Ever." When a widower remarries, his child realizes, "There goes my last naive hope that Daddy still loved Mommy." When a child finds a replacement toy on his bed, that's when he knows, "My old favorite's not coming back." In the military, they often try to avoid assigning an outsider as a new platoon leader (and instead rely on internal promotions) precisely because this "replacement" concept is such an integral part of human nature, i.e. they KNOW based on dozens of recorded experiences that things get dirty when an outsider begins barking orders to a platoon of men who already know each other well and have been to Hell and back and seriously question this new guy's legitimacy.

I dunno. I just find this fascinating. And again, something to pay attention to for aspiring writers.