Teddi Driver- 06/24/14

“To Quest or Not To Quest”

Chapter 1 Post

                             What would a story be without some kind of self-discovery? Without some kind of trip or quest where he or she discovers or learns a valuable life lesson? Well, there being only so many hypothetical situations one can draw from, we aren’t able to find many stories that go beyond these ordinary plot lines. However, with each of these typical scenarios come some pieces of self-discovery the character has to learn through a journey.

                              For example, in the book, Anne of Green Gables, Anne, the quester, has to discover how to fit in and get along with her adopted family, and her new surroundings. She finds it difficult to get on Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert’s good side after learning that they had asked to adopt a boy, and not a girl. Having to overcome the feeling of being a burden or a mistake, Anne realizes in the end she is exactly where she needed to be. She also has to come to the conclusion that although Marilla and Matthew waned a boy to begin with, they aren’t angry that she isn’t a boy, but thankful to have such a conscientious child who always “tries” to help out, even when she doesn’t.

                              Anne also has to overcome her innate disappointment with her hair color. Claiming that nobody could love her because of her red hair, she believes that her parents gave her up for adoption because of it (which is extremely false).  She has to overcome her unhappiness and self -conscious spirit, which leads her to believe that her whole life was a mistake. However, she believes this because of her immaturity, and misunderstanding that has caused her to feel as such. She overcomes her insecurities and realizes that by going on her “quest”, and that by becoming a part of a family, she has truly discovered her self in a different light.

                              Another example of a story of self-discovery through a quest is in The Glass Castle when Jeanine and her family go across the country to escape the law. As she grows up, she begins to learn that the only way to escape your problems is to run from them. However, later on in life she sees the error of her parent’s ways. She begins to see that this life isn’t her only option. Finally, she is able to escape her parent’s scamming and lazy ways of life, and moves to New York City with her older sister. There she gets a job and works hard to pay her way through college and becomes successful. Through her “quest” she is able to learn from her parents mistakes, and make her life better. However, she is still able to reflect upon the good family times they had together when traveling across the country with almost nothing.

                              Her biggest problem she faced that made her go on a “quest” was when her dad stole her money she was saving for New York, and spent it on alcohol. She then had to come to the realization that her father was no longer her hero, but a crook. Having always looked up to his “clever ways it wasn’t easy her Jeanine to accept that facts that were before her. Although, when she admitted them, she realized that he was only holding her back.

                              Chapter 1 states that, “She reaches the point where she either must break down, reduce to nothing, or stand straight and rely on herself. And to do that she first must find the self on whom she can rely.”  Both characters are perfectly described by this quote. They both have a point at which they have to decide to move on but they cannot without first becoming the right person for the job.

One question I had in this chapter was whether every trip is a quest or not. Well, I personally think that yes, every trip is a quest because whether it be minute realization or an incredible discovery, wherever we go we are always learning. Therefore, if we are always learning something then we are completing a quest for knowledge that we lacked before.