Switzerland was neutral in WW2. There would be less fighting or interaction with soldiers if Italy crossed through there, as opposed to France or Austria. It’s the safer route, as Switzerland can only threaten to shoot, but won’t actually if he wants to maintain his neutrality.
Yes, Austria was Nazi-occupied and was on the Axis’s side, but Italy doesn’t like fighting and probably didn’t want to encounter any of it. Hiking over mountains would be more preferable than having to potentially pass through active battlefields.
Being one of the world’s largest powers is a huge
responsibility. What made America’s ascension into this position all the more
difficult was that it was quick. After WW2, the Western half of Europe relied on
America to help rebuild their economies and infrastructure. That’s a huge
change from their isolationist and non-interventionist policies from before,
where they didn’t intervene and entangle themselves in foreign affairs.
What you’ll see in the series is that America is often referred
to as a “child” or “brat.” He’s also been judged by the other nations as “immature”
and “spoiled.” How I interpret this is that it stems from his isolation and
lack of interaction with the other nations post-Revolution. When he grew up and
became independent, England wasn’t there to teach him the ropes of politics.
In isolation, America only thought in terms of himself, which
would explain that when he finally did enter the world’s stage, he came off as self-centered.
‘Children’ are inherently egotistical, and it’s only until they mature that they
begin thinking outside of their own little bubble.
For example, he thinks a world map is that of his own
country.
In other words, America simply wasn’t used to putting others
first and lacked experience in socialization. He didn’t know any better. However,
what I’ll be arguing is that once America got used to his position as a leading
power, he was no longer unaware of the repercussions of his actions. He grewup fast.
Indeed, it’s canon that he chooses not to read the atmosphere,
something I believe originates from the negative reactions directed at him by
the other nations.
He’s not oblivious. In fact, it’s all a pretense if you dig
deep enough to find the brief moments in the strips where America reveals his vulnerabilities
and ridden insecurities. Instead of being ignorant, America consciously makes
the decision to ignore things; most often
enough, it’s to avoid criticism.
There’s plenty of hints in the strips to support this too. In
Chapter 23 of World Stars, England tells America that he’s “far too removed from
reality.”
What’s worth questioning is perhaps England doesn’t
realize that America’s cheerfulness and whacky ideas potentially serves as a mask
to hide from his problems. Instead of confronting them, America invents wild
schemes such as aliens or spies as an unhealthy escapist mechanism…a
distraction.
You see this again in Chapter 25, where America presents a
ridiculous Earth-defense plan that involves the use of Power Rangers.
On the other hand, what America pulls off next is childish and selfish, but also a fully conscious and calculated tactic. To intimidate other countries into complying with him, he crushes a bundle of spoons.
This is the move of someone who wants power and knows how to get it. You can also say that this is the behaviour of someone who’s afraid of receiving criticism, and uses force to suppress it.
England’s reaction to this reinforces the idea of America’s
childish behaviour.
That said, England will scold America at every opportunity,
to the point of excess.
In particular, England likes to criticize America’s movies. It happens so much that America has normalized it.
Now, I’m going to take you through two mixed reactions. Here,
America doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that England hates his movies,
even going so far as to compliment his own works as a hasty pick-me-up.
In Chapter 34, however, we see the potential negative effects
that England’s put-downs has had on America. To compensate for these criticisms,
America makes parody award shows for the worst of his movies. This a very
different reaction from the first one I mentioned, as here America is openly
recognizing that his movies are not all that good.
At the same time, he’s
also putting up a front by scrambling to make something positive out of
something negative. It would seem that this is how he copes with criticism; by
not addressing it at all.
Lastly, America has been shown to be painfully aware that he’s
not well-liked.
Overall, how I interpret this is that America’s big and
larger than life smiles, grand schemes, and supposed obliviousness is all an
act. It helps him hide from acknowledging how low his self-esteem is. He’s unable to handle criticism from others because it shatters this facade.
It’s 2018. People who ‘left’ the fandom are growing bored now
that there’s nothing popular to latch onto. They come crawling back.
Added to my request list! You’ll see that he’s a very sore loser, especially since the fall of his empire. He was a global superpower, after all. If you’re looking for quick
references, here ya go:
England’s plan to be
the strongest – Involves England training to be more fit and, well,
stronger in comparison to the other nations.
The Anglo-Japanese Alliance between two lonely people
– Takes place during the Splendid Isolation time era. It involves
England trying to better his position by making global alliances despite being
rejected by everyone except for Japan.
Comic Diary 6 – Refuses
to admit that he “leaves all the cooking to France.”
England’s Hair Style
– Young England striving to be unique and the “shiniest in the world”. He ends
up copying France’s hairstyle. He feels down for being “unrefined”, and takes
France’s teasing to heart.
2007 Christmas Events– It’s hinted that England still hasn’t been able to get over what happened
in the American revolution, as he’s stated to have suffered from 100 years of
heartbreak.
World Stars Chapter
26 – England puts down America’s movies so much that America doesn’t even
bother showing them to him anymore. People who insult others are often insecure
themselves.
World Stars Chapter 57,
60, 67 – Takes place during the Industrial revolutions. At first England
leads the world with top engineering but is quickly overshadowed by other
countries such as Germany and America. At first, he refuses to use foreign machinery
and sticks to his own traditions, but soon realizes that if he wants to be on
top, he needs to rely on others in order to improve his designs.
World Stars Chapter 71
– England is evidently jealous of America’s mass production and financial success
in the second Industrial Revolution: “He’s aiming #1 at everything.” Pretty
hypocritical if you ask me, considering England had been aiming to do the same
thing.
I’ll go over these in greater detail in separate posts, but here’s a basic chart of what I’ve got jotted down.
America – Wanting to be liked, fear of criticism, fear of being hated, fear of being challenged, his weight/ muscles.
Russia – Wanting to be liked, being alone, fear of being hated, fear of exclusion.
England – Uses biting sarcasm in order to hide feelings of inferiority, feeling like an outsider despite being included, being lonely, can actually be really sweet but is too shy to openly help or give direct advice to the other nations, loss of power.
Canada – Not being unique or relevant enough, not being recognized for his own accomplishments.
France – Loss of power, being alone, worries of becoming irrelevant.
China – Fears being left behind in a more modern world (he’s doing just fine), fear of abandonment (earlier with Japan, now with Hong Kong), feeling like an alien due to his old age.
Germany – Problems with expressivity of happiness, being alone, worries that he comes off as cold to others, works hard but quickly becomes flustered when praised (relates to low feelings of self-worth).
Prussia – Being alone, melancholy over having never married, low self-worth and loss of superpower status.
Romano – Feelings of inferiority in comparison to younger brother, regret over snapping at people and not being seen as agreeable and likeable.
Ukraine – Size of breasts, ambivalence over leaving the Soviet Union and distancing herself from Russia.
South Korea – Wanting to be liked, unhealthily perfecting physical appearance, wanting to be unique despite following in the footsteps of Japan, China, and America.
Misconception: America is lazy and doesn’t take anything
seriously.
Reality: He’s an extremely diligent worker. He didn’t just
magically become one of the world’s top powers.
Misconception: Russia is a psychopath.
Reality: A psychopath
thinks only in terms of themself, has subdued and withdrawn emotions, is
narcissistic, doesn’t understand the consequences of their actions, is extremely
manipulative, and routinely lies.
Russia, while maintaining a child-like personality and not
being able to understand the consequences of his actions all the time, is an
extremely emotional and sensitive individual. He cares about others and wants to
befriend them, but has trouble healthily expressing this.
Misconception: America and Russia must hate each other,
because, ya know – the Cold War.
Reality: Russia and America get along very well, but like to
tease and make passive jabs at each other.
Misconception: The Italy brothers prefer guys.
Reality: They tend to flirt with girls more, despite the
obvious Spamano and Gerita hints in the strips.
Misconception: The nations are portrayed as dumb.
Reality: They play a key role in the intellectual revolutions
their countries experience. They’re all geniuses (some more than others, arguably), having been shown to pioneer and
invent various technologies.
The Cold War:
America: I’ve got a big p–! Nukes, I’ve got nukes and spaceships!
Ella: Yes! I have this marked down in my notes too! Still, I really appreciate that you took the initiative and time to look into this. Thank you for your excellent contribution, it’s immensely appreciated 🙂
For those wondering where these panels are from, it’s in Comic diary 3, titled “A dream I saw once.”
The other strip that I cited in a previous theory is from Comic Diary 7, titled “No-Good Chibis 2.”
Given the fact that both strips were made relatively close to one another, you can tell that Hima’s really trying to emphasize this idea of repressed memories as a result of conflict and traumatic experiences in early childhood.
Remember that while Freud’s theories may be problematic in many aspects, the importance and relevance here is that Hima is very likely incorporating some of these concepts in his writing.
That’s why I’ll eventually be starting a “Psych-talia” series. You’ll find that a lot of the characterization of the nations falls in line with how Freud classified personality types, especially with regards to the five Psychosexual stages. I’ll try to keep it as simple as possible, though.
If you have a basic understanding of Freud, chances are that you’ll understand the motives for a lot of the nations’ behaviours and personalities. You especially see this with the Italy brothers, Germany, Austria, Hungary, England, and America.
Ellawritesficssometimes 