Defending Goosefeather by Sorrelpaw

Sorrelpaw shares their opinion of Goosefeather.

Goosefeather was not evil.

He was not a mouse-heart.

He was not a scatterbrained medicine cat.

He was lazy, yes, and he often left the real work for his apprentice, Featherwhisker, to do, but he was not evil. On my second article, I’m going to defend this tom against all the criticism raised to him. So if you’re a Goosefeather hater you might end up hating me, too. Anyway, please respect the time and effort I put into writing this article and if you disagree with what I wrote please comment in a respectful way. Thanks!

First, I have to warn you against spoilers for Goosefeather’s Curse. That done, we can begin the article!

So why do I say that he wasn’t evil? Many people think that Goosefeather is a lazy old blob of a cat who gets respect but gives no contributions. In Bluestar’s Prophecy, he is noted to have gone mad and insane. But think about all the responsibility he has!

Goosefeather became a medicine cat apprentice before he was six moons old. And at that young age, he could see StarClan cats in the ThunderClan camp. He could also read the future. He saw ThunderClan being starved to death on one harsh leaf-bare in a vision once, and he told of it to Pinestar, who agreed that actions should be taken. So they buried prey underground, hoping that the coldness of the ground would keep the food fresh for leaf-bare. However the plan backfired when it rained, and Goosefeather had to watch his vision unfold into reality: starving cats who would cherish even the smallest worm as food.

They say it was a gift for him to be able to see into the future, but is it really a gift? To see the future of his Clan and to read of their peril and yet to be helpless over it until it came and went– that’s enough to drive anyone as crazy as an old badger!

Being given this burden, it’s really no wonder that he’s always tired and looking for a rest. If I got to see the future, be it good or bad, I’d feel so stressed that I’d want to stay in bed all day dong nothing but sleep!

Some say that Goosefeather was the one who killed Moonflower by announcing the omen he had read in the piece of prey and making ThunderClan launch an attack on WindClan’s medicine cat den. But does this make him evil? He thought he was doing the best for his Clan, even if he ended up failing, and that loyalty to his Clan is what is important. That is why Goosefeather is one of my top ten favorite cats!

So that’s it. My article. Thanks for reading it! I’d love to hear some feedback and suggestions!

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