Role of ESE in Hero's Quest (was:Re: Was HPB's ending BANG-y?...)

[nrenka]

No: HPFGUIDX 147610

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "horridporrid03" 
<horridporrid03 at ...> wrote:

Since Alla cited me up thread, I feel the need to clarify what I 
think I actually meant. 

I see the *format* of book 7 going into Super Happy Quest Mode.  I do 
not consider this quite the same thing as a 'Hero's Journey' 
paradigm, for one thing.  (And for another, I think Joseph Campbell 
is generally bunk, but that's another thread.)

Format means that Harry and his Trusty Sidekicks leave the comforting 
halls of Hogwarts and go out on a search for a number of objects, the 
Horsepuckies...err, Horcruxes.  JKR has told us that yes, Harry now 
gets to find and destroy these objects.  Then, all objects obtained, 
Harry is unable to finally unlock the last dungeon and progress to 
fighting the final boss of the game, after facing some lesser mini-
bosses.  Some ridiculous yet foreshadowed special trick may be 
necessary to be able to damage the boss.  [Err, you know what I 
mean.  Legacy of a wasted youth there.  Sorry.]

This is a major change in structure from the previous six books, 
which have centered around the regularity of the school year.  For 
variety we got different approaches into each year (train, flying 
car, events on train, etc.), and the structure became looser as the 
books progressed (like opening GoF with all that other stuff before 
getting to Hogwarts), undergoing the major shift after GoF.

<snip>

> The heroic quest is generally more "know thyself" rather than "know 
> thine enemies".  (Though the first often leads to the latter.)   

Above all, the heroic quest is "Find those things that you're looking 
for".  This often involves running confrontations with some kind of 
villain, but it's more about progressing along and racking up points 
per magical object needed and obtained.

> The only hard and fast rule (I think) is that a hero has a 
> task to fulfill (catch fish, defeat Dark Lord, fetch missing guy).  

<snip>

I wouldn't disagree with most of this.  What I'm still directing my 
attention to is the format.  Harry has been stationary for most of 
the six books; they're Hogwarts centered.  Only now is he striking 
out really on his own to go and hunt for things.  It's the breaking 
of the stationary format which makes me reluctant to really think of 
the previous books as a 'journey' except in the most metaphorical of 
terms.  Right now, I'm thinking mechanics.

And there always have to be difficulties, if not outright 
antagonists, on a heroic quest for the magic thingies.  No tension 
makes it too easy, and too easy makes for a boring novel.  PACMAN, 
only for situations instead of characters. :)

-Nora recommends some B-grade fantasy series with five books in them 
each (cough cough) for anyone who wants to see a fairly classic 
heroic quest/chase model in action