Skip to main content

The Quest

     The Quest. This word is capitalized because it shows that it possesses major significance. Now I must first do the ritual summarizing of the chapter that was read just so that you lovely people reading this blog can have some sort of inclining of a clue of what I am talking about. The first chapter of How to read Literature like a Professor, details a scenario, or a hypothetical situation. There is a young man that is sent to the store to buy something that an adult told him to buy, being a respectable "good" kid, he follows direction. Then he is faced with a dilemma, he sees the girl of his dreams talking to his "arch nemesis" the "cool guy" on his super hot rod sports car. He buys the bread but comes to the epiphany that he has to do something major to win the attention, heart, love, or whatever "good guys" typically want to win from the girl of their dreams. The major thing that he decides to do is join the Marines, even though he isn't old enough. We have all seen this before, its the typical romantic movie or "chick flick", that rolls out every other 3 months. The same story that is told over and over and over again, but continues to jerk tears from our teenage souls.


Even though we see this everyday on the silver screen, the structure of this story is the structure that is used in our everyday lives. It is called the Quest. Now most of us know what a quest is, but when asked what are the specific parts of a Quest 4 out of 10 may know the answer. To be honest I didn't know that there were specific parts to a Quest. A Quest was just...well...a Quest. Here are the 5 parts of a Quest:


  1. A Quester
  2. A place to go
  3. a stated reason to go there
  4. challenges and trials en route
  5. a real reason to go there
When I saw that this were the characteristics there was one thing that immediately popped into my head: Life. Most of us know that saying that "life is a journey," well in my opinion that also means that life is a Quest. Here think about it using the specifics.
  1. You are the Quester
  2. UP (a little abstract I know)
  3. I want to be "successful" (whatever that means)
  4. Money, greed, strife, hunger, education, anger, etc.
  5. I want to gain society's meaning of happiness and wealth and prosperity ( I cant help it, its been engrained in my brain and DNA)
So as I said this example was a little abstract but it still fits. This was a very interesting 1st chapter. And I will definitely be looking for this Quest tactic in everything.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Beloved and 12 years a Slave: Slavery

Slavery. This is a word that is still controversial to this day. In the dictionary Slavery means “ submission to a dominating influence or the state of a person who is a chattel of another. This basically means that there is a person that you have to listen to and do as they say, and not like a “if you feel like it manner.” When you first think of slavery we automatically think of the chattel slavery that took place in the foundation era of the United States. But there are many forms of Slavery. Mental, Physical, and Emotional….these are also the many different forms of abuse in relationships if you didn’t notice, but I am not a certified psychologist so let us move forward.   Beloved follows a group of people whose lives revolve around slavery and the trials that they have to face while in slavery and the repercussions that they make while trying to gain their freedom. The first setting that we are introduced to is the plantation Sweet Home. The plantation owners are Mr....
Post a Comment
Read more

Target, Aim, Fi...Don't Fire

Violence. It is a word that does not bring music to my ears. “Violence is one of the most personal and even intimate acts between human beings, but it can also be cultural and societal in its implications.” I do not like violence in any way, shape, or form. When I first think of violence I think of killing. I don’t agree with it. In my opinion no one on this Earth has the right to determine when and how I hurt, or when and how I die. Including Suicide. I know that that is a very touchy subject in general, but even more so now that the late great Robin Williams has passed, but it’s just my belief. Death should come as naturally as it can. In the book it gave this example of this woman Sethe that has escaped slavery. That alone is a major feat in itself. But there comes a time when Sethe and her two children are about to be taken back into slavery. Sethe wants to save her children so she decides that in order to save them she has to kill them. She only “succeeds” with one. Afterwar...
Post a Comment
Read more