In How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster recognizes that nearly every trip in literature is, in fact, a quest. There are five aspects to a quest: "(1) a quester, (b) a place to go, (3) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there." These five things can be applied to most journeys in literature and film. For example, the novel and movie The Wizard of Oz is the perfect example of a quest.
Quester: Dorothy
Place to go: Emerald City
Reason to go: To find a way home
Challenges: The Wicked of the West, the flying monkeys, the enchanted trees, etc.
Real reason to go: To learn what she really wants with her life and that she will always be able to return to her home with Auntie Em and Uncle Henry
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Tosh!
ReplyDelete“Close you eyes and tap your heels together three times. And think to yourself, there's no place like home.”
Great example of the hero's journey! Did you know that the original novel was intended as a satire on American politics and the world of capitalism around the turn of the century?
Check out this link: http://www.amphigory.com/oz.htm
I do love that movie! We may have to add it to our movie night list! "I'll get you, my pretty! And your little dog, too!" Yikes!
LBW