Sedgewhisker's Sentence

Sedgewhisker's Sentence is a character analysis about Sedgewhisker written by Frosty, explaining his sentence in The Place of No Stars, his behavior, illness and relationship regarding Dawnpelt.
== Publication ==
* Fanfiction.net 
== Analysis ==
Hello, my name is Frosty and I am a part of the team Rain Archer, and I have been in charge of writing a lot of the books. I have personally been involved in the character of Sedgewhisker and would like to clarify some canon material considering the character. Please note that this blog post will contain very hurtful themes and if you wish to turn away, simply not reading the material - please read this quick summary with no detailed explanation.
Summary: Sedgewhisker's mental illness was not a reason or an excuse for his abuse.
===Details===
Sedgewhisker is first introduced as an apprentice, Sedgepaw of ShadowClan in After The Storm. There's nothing noteworthy about him at first, being portrayed by his Clanmates as a keen learner and a fast hunter - earning constant praise from the other apprentices and constantly feeling the need to challenge with Razorpaw . His relationship with Dawnpaw is very noteable at first and the she-cat clearly looks up to the former.
Now, it must be stated that Sedgewhisker does, canonically, suffer from a narcissistic-personality disorder (NPD). Frosty, the author who was in charge of constructing his character, does not have NPD, but does have a personality disorder (BPD) and ensured to do research while constructing Sedgewhisker's character.
Now, Sedgepaw's childhood is explained in Mist of Shadows, where it is revealed that his mother died while kitting. He and Frostedkit are brought up by Butterflydawn, Birchfoot's, who is his father, sister. It is stated that Birchfoot is neglectful due to the passing of Cinderface and Sedgekit and Frostedkit do not have a father figure.
This may play a role in Sedgewhisker's abusive nature, desperately seeking out companionship in Dawnpelt in a sense of a feeling of abandonment, especially with the lack of a mother figure. This is not an excuse and to say that, Frostednose turned out fine - is not a good argument either. Everyone deals with trauma differently, just because Frostednose was able to cope, doesn't particularly imply Sedgewhisker was fine.
Because of Sedgewhisker's personality disorder, he does struggle with increased feelings of self-worth, but this is not an excuse. He sees Dawnpelt as something to own, something he needs. He's manipulative and he is abusive, he attempts to tear her away from Razorbite, he hurts his foster kits and turns ShadowClan against her when she breaks up with him. Sedgewhisker's illness definitely played a role in these emotions, but it is not a reason for why he did this.
He is not abusive because of his disorder, to say those with personality disorders are abusive people is heavily innapropriate. But people with personality disorders do see the world as black and white, at least I can say from my own personal experience. He behaved this way because he knew no better. He didn't think he could do anything wrong and that was a part of his NPD, but it does not mean he couldn't have been a functioning member of ShadowClan. His disorder was not why he was abusive.
Now fortunately, a real life cat would not suffer from a personality disorder or a mental illness as severe because of their incapability of emotion. Yes, cats in real life do show affection to their owners, display emotions such as fear, sadness and happiness but they cannot have mental illness. In real life, thankfully those with personality disorders can receive treatment and may seek out support which will help them in condition, but unfortunately, in the world of Warriors, those who suffer from horrible illnesses cannot seek out help or receive treatment.
Finally, did Sedgewhisker deserve the dark forest?
Yes, he undoubtedly did. Although he knew no right from wrong, he hurt multiple cats, attempted murder and abused his foster kits, as well as manipulated the world around him. Although he was ill, he destroyed numerous lives and needs to account for his actions. Now, will Sedgewhisker be in the dark forest forever? No. It is canon, from me, that he will not be in the dark forest his entire afterlife. Once he accounts for his crimes and learns what he did wrong, he may be accepted into StarClan or become a spirit.
StarClan would've taken in Sedgewhisker if the reason for his abuse was NPD, if it was the thing that caused those outbreaks. But it wasn't. Sedgewhisker's goal was his addiction for needing power, praise and obedience. Those with personality disorders, or illnesses that caused them to behave the way they did - etc.Smallcloud, Claw - will not receive the dark forest. Because they cannot be blamed for an illness they gained, or were born with. But this is not the case for Sedgewhisker.
It's impossible to analyse Sedgewhisker without the context of his death. After Sedgewhisker died, ShadowClan bursted into a full-fledged lockdown, leading Twistedstar into a delusional state of betrayal. While Dawnpelt is blamed for his death, it is later revealed by Razorbite that he was the one who killed Sedgewhisker, as Sedgewhisker had plotted to lure Dawnpelt by the river and kill her.
Did Sedgewhisker deserve to die?
No. He didn't. Razorbite killed him in an act of defense, Sedgewhisker was a dangerous cat who was willing to steep to any level to get what he wanted. After Dawnpelt's secret fell revealed to the Clan, he became obsessive with the need to make her pay. But that doesn't mean he deserved to die, he should've been helped, exiled or demoted.
Does this, excuse Dawnpelt for lying about the kits?
Absolutely not. Despite how horrible of a cat Sedgewhisker was, he didn't deserve to be lied to about the kits that weren't his. Dawnpelt did not have a choice but to lie, she was scared of Sedgewhisker and didn't trust him, attempting to constantly revaluate all of her decisions before finally settling on lying to Sedgewhisker. But he did not deserve to be lied to, he had every single right to be angry and resentful. But was his attempted murder of Dawnpelt justified for this sole reason? No.
Love you all and thank you for supporting my story. I really cannot wait until Blinded Stars is released. Til next time. 
== References and notes ==
Category:Character Analyzations
Category:Sedgewhisker's Sentence