The Lion's Perspective

First Thoughts: 

At first glance, this quote might not look like much. However, the more I tried to understand it, the more layers there were to the proverb.

Themes:

I think the main themes this proverb highlights are perspective and miscommunication.

Perspective:

While growing up, I often read comics strips where a hunter would go and slay the lion which was terrorizing a village, and return home to a hero's welcome. In these stories, the lion would be portrayed as an evil, mindless beast, who killed humans for fun, while the hunter was the savior sent straight from the heavens.

Now that I think about it, the hunter probably told many fabricated and exaggerated tales about how dangerous his adventure was, or how vicious the lion was. The villagers would blindly believe him and celebrate the lion's death.

It might sound ridiculous but it reminds me of the many stories I've read where a single, innocent person is cornered and victimized for something which isn’t their fault, just because another person decided to be mean and spread rumors about them.

Getting back to the topic, I think this proverb tries to convey that there are two sides to every story. It is often said that you can't clap with just one hand, similarly, there is no way that only the lion is at fault here.

I might be taking it a little far, but I think the lion deserves a chance to explain before he is killed by the hunter for reasons unknown. I would love to read a book written from the lion's point of view, to see how he felt throughout the whole ordeal of the fight with the hunter.

To conclude, a story always declares its writer as the victor, as the superior person. Anyone who is even mildly threatening to this 'main character' will be considered the 'villain'. 

Miscommunication:

This might seem like a far stretch, but I think this proverb also refers to miscommunication.

I have often seen miscommunication used as a plot device in various books, and when it is used in a

light-hearted context for comedic purposes, it brightens up the whole book and adds more depth to it. However, when it is used to twist the plot, or perhaps even create enmity between 2 characters, I find it frustrating to read, because if you could just talk to each other and sort out your issues without involving the entire world in your drama!

I think in the context of this quote, it could refer to how the hunter wrongfully killed the lion because he thought the lion was a man-eater, or he thought the lion killed a villager. Maybe the villagers allowed the hunter into the village because they thought he was there to help when in reality he was just a poacher in disguise. Maybe the lion killed a man because he was trying to steal from innocent travelers in the forest, and everybody thought he was dangerous.

However, if they could just try to understand the lion’s motives instead of mindlessly calling a hunter, an innocent life (lion) would not have been taken.

In conclusion, one should try to understand both sides of the story before deciding who is right and who is wrong, instead of blindly following any one person's words.

Please keep in mind that this is my interpretation of the proverb, and might not be correct, or even close to the real meaning. In my opinion, it just increases the beauty of the proverb, allowing it to be read and understood in various ways.