Chapter 1: Every Trip Is A Quest (Except When It’s Not)
I must start off by saying that I wasn't quite sure how I was going to enjoy this book, but as I read the first chapter of this book I immediately became intrigued and engaged by what Thomas Foster was saying, and I began to look at writing and reading in a totally different way. After reading the first chapter it really made me want to re read any book that I've read to try and get a deeper meaning of the story, it also really did spark many interest and I also made a personal connection to the things that Thomas Foster was saying. In Thomas Foster’s opening chapter he begins to give the reader a symbolic meaning of what a quest really is. Foster beings to explain that a quest actually consist of five things (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. Foster explains that when a protagonist goes on a quest, they have a specific intent of something but in the end they have gained some sort of self- knowledge.
If you really think about it people go on quest everyday some bigger than others, whether it be to the grocery store or a family trip these both could be examples of quest. When I think of Foster’s definition of a quest the Odyssey and my all time favorite movie Nemo comes to mind. In both the movie and the poem the protagonist’s are sent on a quest and in the end they end up facing many challenges that change them and help build up their character. Odysseus faced several challenges while trying to make it home. What Odysseus thought to be a pleasant trip home tuned out to be ten years of hardship. The gods were upset with Odysseus and they wanted him to learn a lesson, causing them to throw many obstacles in his way while he was on his quest to home. With the many obstacles that were thrown in his way, Odysseus built so much courage and perseverance to make it through his quest back home to Ithaka.
“Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.” The movie Nemo is basically about a quest that Marlin, Nemo’s dad takes to help find his son who has been taken away by a team of divers. When I first watched the movie Nemo, I'm sure I didn't know half of the stuff that was going on but after watching it several times and after reading this chapter many things began to connect. Marlin’s main goal was to find his son but on his way he didn't think that he would face many challenges and end up meeting someone like Dory or the turtle named Crush who both taught him that it was okay to let go and that it's not good to hold on to things so tight. From the beginning of the movie it is very clear that Marlin is very protective of his son after loosing his wife and half of their children to sea monster attack. Marlin tries desperately to hold on to Nemo and not let him go anywhere out of his sight. Once Nemo touches the “butt” and is fishnapped (I guess you could call it that) Marlin begins this long quest to find is one and only son. While on the quest Marlin faced many challenges, from meeting a “short term memory loss” fish named Dory, almost being eaten by a shark, and even being trapped inside of a whale Marlin gains much courage by taking risk and learning to let go. In the end of the movie when Dory was trapped in the net with the other fish Nemo wasn't hesitant to go in and save her but his dad was. It was difficult for Marlin to let go of his son but he reflected on what he had learned from his journey and knew that it was best to let him go. In the end Marlin’s whole character had changed he was so longer over protective of Nemo, he knew it was best to let him go.
Both the Odyssey and Nemo are great references to Foster's first chapter because they both display two protagonist on a quest and while on that quest they'd ace many challenges and meet people that help them to evolve into a new or better person than they were before their quest.
https://randomositywriters.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/archetypes-a-heros-journey/
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