Batman Begins: Batman vs Ghul

Good and Evil: The Search For Justice

In the film Batman Begins directed by Christopher Nolan both the characters of Ra’s Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne (Batman) portray good and evil characteristics within them. Ghul’s character seeks to bring justice in very harsh ways; his methods reveal his inability to view criminals with any sense of compassion or sympathy. Regardless, Ghul’s motivation is to bring justice to the world, in his mind death is a small price to pay for justice. Ghul even manages to justify killing Wayne as he views him as a weakness in the justice system in spite of Wayne saving Ghul’s life earlier on in the film. Ironically, much of the crime in Gotham City has been a direct result of Ghul’s attempts for equilibrium. Eventually all civilizations reach their breaking point, Ghul believes that Gotham’s time is up and has directly sent Gotham into economic decline. Bruce Wayne or “Batman” being the protagonist in the film is regarded by most viewers as the character representing good. Upon further consideration however, one will notice that Wayne has a very much two sided character. In the early part of the film the viewer notices Wayne fighting crime in a prison while disguised as a prisoner. Wayne fights crime through attacking and causing harm to other prisoners. Initially, one may see this act as an acceptable form of justice; failing to recognize that Wayne’s actions were not motivated by justice but rather his inner motivation for revenge in order to avenge his parents death. Wayne generalizes his anger against the criminal who killed his parents into hate for all criminals. As the movie progresses Wayne’s character matures into bringing justice for the people of Gotham rather then to exact revenge for his personal fulfillment resulting in numerous acts of compassion. While in Ra’s Al Ghul’s layer, Ghul asks Wayne to kill a criminal so he can formally enter the league of shadows. Wayne refuses and in turn burns the layer to the ground showing his...