The Gift: Sacrifice or Suicide?

I absolutely agree that it would've been horrible had the show ended after season 5, for the reason you stated. At any rate I thought Buffy's "sacrifice" was a bit illogical and typical of the shabby writing in the later seasons.
 
SEASON 5 ANGEL SPOILER TO FOLLOW:

To me, all great stories include death. Sometimes the protagonist lives (in Disney movies), but when they die... wow. I have a special place in my heart for heroes who see death, acknowledge death, complete their mission, and die. And I think a hero wants to go out a hero.... not as a 85 year old senior citizen playing shuffleboard in Florida and talking about the "good old days."

I used this quote for NFA, and I'm about to use it again. It is one of my favorite lines in all literature. I really think Joss read For Whom The Bell Tolls and was as moved as I was. Seeing Buffy and Angel about to battle evil and knowing they are going to die is powerful. It is epic. It is Joss. IMHO, no way did Buffy commit suicide.... she saved the world yet again and died a hero. Just like Robert Jordan in FWTBT. Just like Angel in Season 5 (that is my opinion.... others differ)

"If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it."
 
Whirlwind said:
I've always thought about it as a sacrifice. She loved Dawn, and since sacrificing her life would save Dawn, her friends and the world, she didn't think twice about it.
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I saw that too. But I also saw it as a way out for Buffy. Let's face it she always struggled with the responsibilities with being the slayer and somewhat "hated" (I use that term loosely) being depended on by the world for her to save it.

But let's face it, Joyce's death shook her up to the core and believe by the time for her sacrifice, I have no doubt she was still plagued with the loss of her mother and wanted to die to be with her (just a theory).

In a way I saw her sacrifice as both suicide and bittersweet sacrifice. She wanted Dawn to live , and the world to life, and to give herself up for that to happen was a sacrifice. But Buffy's mind I don't know I felt by somewhat by the beginning of the Sacrifice episodes she was just wayed down by everything and used the sacrifice as an excuse to jump off the pillar.

Just my thoughts.
 
Sacrifice implies that someone is knowingly giving up their life for the greater good. Suicide implies that someone is knowingly taking their own life due to an unsatisfying life and a deep feeling of sadness and despair.

I'd say that Buffy's decision should be considered a sacrifice. She didn't want to die but she didn't want Dawn to die either. She had a choice but it wasn't a good one. It was either her or Dawn. Buffy felt that although Dawn was a key who was molded in to human form by the monks that she really was her sister. The monks made her out of Buffy. She shared Buffy's blood. With that said, I understand why Buffy did what she did.
 
[MENTION=9072]Zombierella[/MENTION], I disagree with your definitions. While I do agree that sacrifice is giving up something for a purpose, suicide is simply taking one's own life. You could argue that a suicide bomber is making both a sacrifice and committing suicide, which (although I cringe at comparing Buffy's death to that of a terrorist) is what I believe buffy did. She sacrificed her life by killing herself (by definition suicide)
 
arabella, I understand where you are coming from. The situation Buffy was in wasn't pleasant. She had to choose between her death or the death of her sister. It was made clear to the audience even before the fight went down that Dawn would not die and if anyone tried to kill her (even a scooby) she would kill them.

She knew deep down inside that if it came down to it she would die for her sister. I think her death being a "suicide" or a "sacrifice" is under the definition and understanding of each individual viewer. I believe it was sacrifice, You believe it was suicide. So, let's just agree to disagree. 😛
 
Zombierella said:
arabella, I understand where you are coming from. The situation Buffy was in wasn't pleasant. She had to choose between her death or the death of her sister. It was made clear to the audience even before the fight went down that Dawn would not die and if anyone tried to kill her (even a scooby) she would kill them.

She knew deep down inside that if it came down to it she would die for her sister. I think her death being a "suicide" or a "sacrifice" is under the definition and understanding of each individual viewer. I believe it was sacrifice, You believe it was suicide. So, let's just agree to disagree. 😛
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I don't believe her death wasn't a sacrifice. I think it was both. She killed herself and did it for what she believed was a greater purpose. Therefore, it was both a suicide and a sacrifice. Now if she allowed Dawn to die to save the world then I would say that she sacrificed Dawn. If Dawn jumped of her own volition and wasn't pushed, then I'd say it was sacrifice by suicide as well...

Suicide is a method of dying. Sacrifice is a purpose. She sacrificed herself by taking her own life.
 
I think this debate is fascinating, the question about whether Buffy's death in The Gift is the fulfilment of what Spike in Fool For Love says is a Slayer's death wish.

I think Buffy moves passed it. She is more at that 'death wish' stage at the end of Spiral and Weight of the World when Dawn is taken, just another one of those "ties" to the world stripped away, and also when she has that heart to heart wth Giles in the training room at the start of The Gift. But by the time she comes to her death I don't think the death wish as Spike sees it is there any more. Sure she intends to die, or more specifically, feels she needs to die in order to save Dawn whilst saving the world. Rather than the death-drive, resignation and hopelessness that underpins Spike's definition, she is spurred on at the end of The Gift by love and sacrifice - an impulse of goodness and heroism, rather than the death wish itself.
 
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She gave herself not just to save her sister's life. She chose to give her own life to save all on Earth. If you guys remember, it was Dawn's blood which opened the mouth of hell and it had to be the blood of a Summers who would close it. Buffy knew this and chose to sacrifice herself in order to save all.
 
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