A Night At The Pink Poodle

The famous poet Mary Oliver once wrote in her poem “The Journey”, “One day you finally knew what you had to do, and began”. Oliver’s belief is seen in classic and modern literature about journeys. Many people and characters have experienced very difficult journeys in their life. “The Cruelest Journey”, a travel biography by Kira Salak, depicts her six-hundred-mile journey on the Niger River to be the first person in the world to kayak the journey alone. She travels through the most dangerous and bleak regions in Africa to retrace the fatal journey of Mungo Park. “The Odyssey”, an epic poem by Homer, depicts a war hero who is facing difficult challenges to be able to return back home. It takes him twenty years to return home to Ithaca. From the difficult challenges facing the characters, Homer and Salak use characterization to reveal that people embark on quests to challenge themselves to use mental efforts to triumph over obstacles, which they then learn to appreciate themselves.

Watching a film, one can easily recognize plot, theme, characterization, etc., but not many realize what basic principle lies behind nearly every story conceived: the hero’s journey. This concept allows for a comprehensive, logical flow throughout a movie. Once the hero’s journey is thoroughly understood, anyone can pick out the elements in nearly every piece. The hero’s journey follows a simple outline. First the hero in question must have a disadvantaged childhood. Next the hero will find a mentor who wisely lays out his/her prophecy. Third the hero will go on a journey, either literal or figurative, to find him/herself. On this journey the hero will be discouraged and nearly quit his/her quest. Finally, the

The archetype of the Hero’s Journey holds a prevalent pattern in the works of “Initiation” by Sylvia Plath, “A & P” by John Updike, and “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker. These works all follow the 17 stages of Joseph Campbell’s Monomyth which are separated in three stages; separation, initiation, and return. The main characters have different characterizations; however, they all follow the basic structure of the Hero’s journey archetype. There are many similarities and differences between the stages that are shown through many context clues and literary devices in each work. The Hero’s Journey archetype expressed in these literary works follow a similar and direct narrative pattern.

Without realizing it initially, each Wes Moore has been greatly affected by the life events occurring as they grew up because as they matured physically, they also matured mentally by gaining self-knowledge; the same way a hero does throughout a heroic journey. However, while both have gone through the heroic journey, their fate was not identical because of poor choices and irreversible mistakes. Wes Moore, the successful author of his book, has specifically divided his book into 8 chapters, where each shows a year that had a decisive impact for him and Wes. Similar to his book, the hero’s journey also consists of 8 parts where the hero goes through the most important stages of the journey. The correlation between the life events and the patterns of a heroic journey intertwined because both only point out the most crucial parts and have the same end results, leaving the characters to go through each event or stage only as they mature.

Foster argues that many seemingly weird plots are actually hero’s quests, and merely do not appear so because of the masking of the quest’s structural plots and the reader’s assumption that the stated reason is the actually the ultimate goal of the quest. However, Foster also warns against assuming that all trips are quests saying “some days I just drive to work – no adventures, no growth. I’m sure that the same is true in writing” (Foster, 6). He says that there are “always” and “never” do not have much meaning in literary study, and that for everything that seems to always be true someone will come along and disprove it. He applies this to the seemingly ubiquitous hero’s quest and concludes that not all trips necessarily are quests and about growth but that in the end it is always worth it to check when a character hits the road.

The “hero’s journey”, coined by Joseph Campbell, is a pattern in the plot structure of literature, myths, and oral tradition in which the hero is consistently faced with similar obstacles and achieves many of the same goals. The first part of the hero’s journey is “The Call.” The hero is usually living a very comfortable and easy life, unaware of the journey ahead. The hero is then faced with a situation or dilemma which eventually causes them to seek change. The hero, at this point, tends to refuse the call to adventure in fear of the unknown. Once the hero has been given the strength to push past the unknown, they have entered the threshold. The hero will experience many challenges and temptations where the hero is tested, eventually reaching “The Abyss,” the most difficult challenge. The hero is then transformed by these trials and returns home to every-day life and begins to contribute to their society. The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the protagonist, Janie, experiences the hero’s journey first-hand through overcoming obstacles and transforming herself. In Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, the heroine Janie overcomes many obstacles and is therefore transformed into a self reliant woman.

Journeys, although not the easiest task, are necessary. As the journey comes to a close, lessons are learned, as seen in most literature. This phenomena can be seen in the literature works of The Odyssey, The Cruelest Journey, and The Good Soldier. All are compelled for different reasons, including returning home, to explore, and to save someone. In all of these stories there is something learned by the quester also. They all complete these tasks for various reasons, but have the same end result; a valuable lesson learned. A journey is started by being compelled to go on one and at the end of it, they come out with something learned about themselves.

A journey, by it's very definition, is a distance, course or area travelled or suitable for travelling. My personal belief is just that: journeys are personal or physical change, and that these changes shape who we are as people. In Shakespeare's play Othello, we watch the main protagonist, a well respected man of great power and how his decaying mentality, morality and how the decisions he makes lead to his demise. This journey though, is quite different to the related text I have chose, Bridge to Terabithia, as we follow Jess Aarons, the main protagonist and witness his coming of age, and how his relationship with his new friend Leslie alter's his life and who he is as a person, tremendously.

Journeys Journeys are like homework. Some are facile, while others are onerous. Students, however, are compelled to do their homework, because otherwise, they will get a zero or they will not be prepared for the test. Similarly, people and characters undertake a journey for various reasons. The Odyssey by Homer, The Cruelest Journey: 600 Miles to Timbuktu by Kira Salak, and The Real Reasons We Explore Space by Michael Griffin each describe a unique journey with different ambitions.

The protagonist of every story is the hero of a journey, even if the path leads only into his own mind or into the realm of relationships. The way stations of the Hero's Journey emerge naturally even when the writer is unaware of them, but some knowledge of this most ancient guide to storytelling is useful in identifying problems and telling better stories. Christopher Volger condensed these seventeen stages into twelve stages in his book The Writer’s Journey. Here in observing the heroic journey Christopher Volger’s condensed model of 12 stages of heroic journey is followed illustrating each by utilizing the experiences of protagonist of the novel, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Mistressof

The Odyssey contains many similarities to the “journey of life,” comparable challenges and choices to one’s own life, and the perfectly imperfect gauge of humanity’s soul. “The journey of life is more important than the destination,” can be heard from the mouths of many across America and Europe; a platitude that encourages many to live their lives in the moment, It is;

Sarah Kinney Study Abroad Scholarship Entry 21 FEB 2016 Moving Towards Maturity There are many journeys in life. Everyone goes through their own journeys and trials, and the way that the journeys affect individuals is unique to each person. Most story books and writings from the past and present reflect real journeys that people embarked on. These journeys are difficult and trying, but ultimately end up developing and shaping characters and their personalities.

Whenever someone takes a journey, they will always end up at some destination, no matter how long the pilgrimage. Sometimes, people take a journey just to reach an end point, but, when they want to or something that impacts the person’s life, good or bad, has happened, people take adventures without an objective in mind. In the majority of cases, the quest is of higher importance than the terminus when the adventurer learns much on the journey. There are copious amounts of stories written about adventurer’s odysseys, and the knowledge travelers gain while taking them. They demonstrate how important journeys are.

Everyone undertakes a series of journey during life, people are bombarded with physical, imaginative and emotional journeys till their last breath. Those who face challenges process this knowledge and channel it to their future, however this may not always be the case as self-discovery can reveal people’s psychology. This is examined and through a reflective recount and a documentary style, Wells and Edwards creates a focus on survival underlined and subject to morality. Showcased in both War of the Worlds and Monsters, a theme of journeying both physically and mentally is raised. You may be wondering why these aspects of journey are included and whether they serve any purpose. The director and author both utilise introduced characters and settings to show problems with social morality issues of journeys. Entering an element of setting can also effect the audience’s perception on the situation and the character’s physical state.

Through the journey, a person can experience exciting, dangerous and challenging situations which creates opportunities for understand themselves as well as their surroundings. However all types of journeys should have an obstacle which must be overcome, and in doing so propels the person to complete the journey. These concepts are explored in Sally Morgan’s novel “My Places” where journey is depicted as a spiritual journey of self-discovery and Curt Hanson’s film “8 Mile” which delves into a white man’s struggles in a musical genre that is dominated by African Americans.