For the past several weeks we have read Harper Lee's classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Now that we are finished reading, and now that our exams and final projects will be completed and turned in soon, we are left with a few questions, and perhaps a few newly taken positions. Primarily the book's themes were focused on the topics of empathy, courage in the face of adversity, and basic human dignity; at least one of those will follow us into the next novel that we will be reading and discussing: The Princess Bride, by William Goldman.
Goldman's novel, which was turned into a feature film in the early 80's (if you haven't seen it, it's one of my favorites and worth a viewing), is a satire that focuses on bravery, courage, and "high adventure." It is truly a departure from the hopeful, but melencholic, tales that we have already read, as this novel is told through humor, sarcasm, and fantasy. But make no mistake, this work is no less complicated or deep than the others that we have and will read this year.
Goldman writes: "But take the title words - 'true love and high adventure' - I believed in that once. I thought my life awas going to follow that path. Prayed that it would. Obviously it didn't, but I don't think there's high adventure left any more...And true love you can forget about too. I don't know if I love anything truly any more beyond the porterhouse at Peter Luger's and the cheese enchilada at El Parador's" (Goldman 30). With this stance shaping the trajectory of the novel, we, as the readers, are left to question the same thing. Therefore, our main pursuit while reading this novel is to answer the following question: are there things such as high adventure and true love anymore and what place do they have in our lives?
No comments:
Post a Comment