Shrek is a movie well known for being a classic quest-storyline that involves an ogre and a princess who has a curse cast upon her. In order to remove the curse, she must have true love’s kiss; so Shrek, an ogre who lives in forest, must take the princess back for her to marry her “true love.” The reason I refer to it as “a classic quest” is because the film that ends the way the audience expects it to… Shrek and princess fall in love, they kiss, they both take the ogre form, and live happily ever after. But Shrek is not the only film based on this concept of a plot that follows the quest outline; Home Alone, Alice in Wonderland, Where the Wild Things Are, and Annie are all classic movies that children grow up watching. When parents sit their children down for movie time, they don't consider it to be "quest training" videos. In "How to Read Literature Like a Professor," Thomas C. Foster guides readers through the typical layout for any plot that includes a journey by describing it as a quest, even when it's not.
Due to Foster's uniformed way of categorizing plots, (since they are all quests) every movie or TV show I watch from now on will not be seen as an individual story line, but will just be another quest involving a different set of details. Gossip Girl is a six season TV show that focuses around Serena Vanderwoodsen, (the quester) who is the Upper East Side's it-girl. Her life throughout the show revolves around the common person's boy drama: which member of the top .001% to choose to be in love with. (her destination) Her father left her mother, her brother, and herself, when she was around 12, so daddy issues clearly exist is her life as well. (At one point he appears for a period of time to cure her mother’s cancer but then everyone found out he was giving her medication to make faulty test results: aka another dragon along Serena’s quest.) Finding stability in one person is Serena's primary motivation to decide which perfect boy she wants to settle down with. (her reason for going there) Of course she bounces from boy to boy, one premier education institution to the next, and one exotic island to the other, all with rumors and scandals following her via an anonymous gossip column, "Gossip Girl." (the obstacles on her way; another dragon) This popular show is probably the best example to help my generation understand Foster's point that almost every plot can be seen as a quest. It can be helpful to understand this concept not only to be able to analyze fiction more carefully, but also to be able to outline fiction that you may want to write yourself.
This quest concept is not just one that is made for fictional writing. Even though we may not realize, many people are involved in many quests during their lifetime. For example: my mother (the quester) has wanted to fulfill her bucket list (her reason for going there) by traveling to Machu Picchu in Peru. (her destination) There are many dragons, or obstacles, that she had to “slay” before being able to fulfill her lifelong dream today. (We hiked to the Inca Bridge at Machu Picchu today. Hola from Peru!) Some of these dragons included budget, resistance from family members to travel to Peru, and time.
Even though we may not think of it as a quest, many of our everyday issues can be outlined as such. I hope I have successfully contorted Foster’s guide to identifying quests so that you may always analyze every life situation, TV show, and film that you may see to check if it may be qualified as a quest.
Serena Vanderwoodsen, Gossip Girl
