Week 6: Hero's Journy

This week we discussed the hero's journey, and a cycle that seems to be never broken. This week's reading was The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins sets out on a journey from the shire to the kingdom of Erebor through treacherous lands to then end the story right where he began, and sets up for The Lord of the Rings trilogy; leaving the story to begin all over again. This technique in heroic narrative is used often, and although heroic journeys must end where they all began, it doesn't necessarily fit sometimes. Harry Potter is a great example because at the end of the series, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all stand at platform 9 3/4 and wave goodbyes to their children who are off to start their journey at Hogwarts. This moment, although very beautiful, also gave me a feeling of nostalgia. It made me think back to when all of them started their first year, and now their kids are going through that. It gave a feeling of a never ending cycle. It made me feel like things won't be any better for their kids, as if there will be other Dark Lords and evil to fight. And instead of changing the future, it'll be stuck in the past forced to repeat tragedies with lots of suffering and death. Cycles like this are vital for heroic narratives and they should in no way ever be taken out, but sometimes change must occur in order to remind us all that it does get better, and although there will always be challenges and suffering, there will be light and happy times to come.