Rafiki's The Lion King

In order to be considered wise one must utilize their knowledge and experience accompanied by common sense and insight. I feel Rafiki from The Lion King obtains these qualities. Rafiki is the royal advisor who uses his wisdom to guide the multitude of kings, from young princes such as Simba to the old king Mufasa. He is a character with abilities that no other characters can seem to fathom. He has the ability to read premonitions, communicate with the signs in the wind, and speak with the ancient kings of the past. This ability gives him a greater understanding of the world around him. He often takes responsibility for others, as when Simba leaves the land to discover himself after his father dies, Rafiki takes it into his own hands and brings the young lion back home to his senses and shows him that his kingdom needs him, not giving the prince time to figure it out himself.

When Scar (Mufasa’s envious brother) tried to overthrow the king, Rafiki saw the downfall of the kingdom before it started. By recognizing leadership he is able to establish order to the land, as for when he brought Simba back. One of the wisest things Rafiki ever said was in a scene where he has brought Simba back and Simba has doubts about going back, so Rafiki hits him on the head and says that it doesn’t matter because it was in the past followed by saying ”Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it.” He then proceeds to hit Simba again, but misses because the young lion ducks. This shows that his words of wisdom reign true. This little line convinces the young soon to be king to return to the palace. He uses his experience and insight from past kings and experience of helping advise them to guide the lion through his hardships. He uses common sense and insightful thoughts to convince Simba to go