Storytellers use the picaresque form and the quest motif as standard literary devices in film, song, and the written word. The characters in such a story encounter many trials, setbacks, and triumphs on their quest to find what they so diligently seek. There is often much adventure and drama along they way, leading to their ultimate test. The three works discussed in this essay embody these themes. Voltaire's Candide, A Narrative of a Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, and Terry Gilliam's masterpiece The Fisher King present very different journeys using vastly different characters and time periods. Each, however, examines the human spirit as each main character navigates both grizzly and joyous circumstances. End in the end, all is endured in the name of their quest.
Scholars approach the task of defining the picaresque as a very slippery one indeed. Most will not define the genre without a good deal of significance placed on how difficult it is to construct the picaresque archetype, but in the end will do so anyway. In Picaresque Narrative, Picaresque Fiction, Ulrich Wicks uses a definition from Walter Allen's The English Novel, which states that "the picaresque can be described as a story where the hero is plunged in to 'all sorts, conditions, and classes of men.'" Richard Bjornson offers his own interpretation:
In broad general terms, [picaresque] is usually employed to describe episodic, open ended narratives in which lower-class protagonists sustain themselves by means of their cleverness and their adaptability during and extended journey through space, time, and various predominantly corrupt social milieux.
Defining the role of th...
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...logy of Western Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack, et.al. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1992.
McGhee, Dorothy Madeleine. Voltairian Narrative Devices. Menasha: George Banta Pub. Co., 1933.
Sequana Therapeutics. Schizophrenia. 21 April 1997. Online. Internet. 20 September 1998.
Siebler, Harry. The Picaresque. London: Methuen & Co., 1997.
The Fisher King. Dir. Terry Gilliam. Perf. Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges. 1991. Videocassette. Tri-Star. 1991.
Tindall, George Brown, and David Emory Shi. America: A Narrative History. New York: W.W. Norton Co., 1997.
Voltaire, Francois-Marie Arouquet De. Candide. The Norton Anthology of Western Masterpieces. Ed. Maynard Mack, et.al. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1992.
Wicks, Ulrich. Picaresque Narrative, Picaresque Fiction. New York: Greenwood Press, 1989.
Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.
Edward, Rebecca and Henretta, James and Self, Robert. America A Concise History. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012.
Henretta, James A., and David Brody. America: A Concise History. Vol. 1. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009.
Voltaire. Candide. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1918. Project Gutenberg. Web. 11 January 2014. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19942/19942-h/19942-h.htm
Divine, Robert A. America past and Present. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education/Longman, 2013. 245. Print.
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“The Hero’s Journey.” Ariane Publications, 1997. Course handout. AS English I. Dept. of English, Woodside High School. 26 October 2013.
African music has had a major influence on Cuban culture beginning in the early 1550’s through slave trade. Thousands of slaves were brought to Spain in the 1400’s and eventually migrated to Cuba. Since these “Ladinos” were accustomed to Spanish culture and language, they easily were able to get by in Cuba and even escape slavery. As a result, Slave owners in Cuba brought more slaves directly from Africa. In 1526, a Royal Decree allowed slaves to buy their freedom, resulting in increased interaction and ethnic mixing among Cubans and Africans. All aspects of both cultures began to blend, especially among working class Cubans and Africans. Music became a common bond between the two groups
Voltaire's Candide is a novel which contains conceptual ideas and at the same time is also exaggerated. Voltaire offers sad themes disguised by jokes and witticism, and the story itself presents a distinctive outlook on life. The crucial contrast in the story deals with irrational ideas as taught to Candide about being optimistic, versus reality as viewed by the rest of the world.
... An American History of the World. 4th ed. of the book. W.W. Norton, 2012, 671. 2.)
In regards to religion, utopias are somewhat ambiguous. In general, either exclusive or inclusive religious communities were created. The Puritans were exclusive.
Peña, Manuel H. "Ritual Structure in a Chicano Dance." University of Texas Press: Latin American Music Review Spring- Summer 1980 1.1 (1980): 47-73. Print.
Upon watching the movie Brazil for the first time, the first thought which comes to mind is ‘WHAT??’. However, once past the exterior of the movie, one is able to divine its true meanings. Written by Terry Gilliam, Charlie McKeown and Tom Stoppard, Brazil was a groundbreaking movie which brought to light many issues within society which were valid in 1985 and remain so today. This text is valued because of the issues it raises, such as technology, an unwieldy government and consumerism, which are timeless issues. Brazil is based around a futuristic bureaucracy, where everything and everyone is property, there is little or no communication, and with the right forms, you can legally do whatever you want. This movie shows the flaws of such a system, that whilst aiming for perfection, is merely digging itself deeper into confusion and destroying the very society it seeks to control. Brazil is a dark comedy which shows us the consequences of handing over our lives to a faceless bureaucracy.
These timeless tales relate a message that readers throughout the ages can understand and relate to. While each of these tales is not exactly alike, they do share a common core of events. Some event and or character flaw necessitates a journey of some kind, whether it is an actual physical journey or a metaphorical one. The hardships and obstacles encountered on said journey lead to spiritual growth and build character. Rarely does a person find himself unchanged once the journey is over.
Voltaire, Francois-Marie Arouet de. “Candide.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Gen. ed. Martin Puchner. Shoter 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Norton, 2013. 100-59. Print.