The Story: Originality Impossible?

It is really hard to come up with an original idea, especially one for a story. With so many stories and tales in this world, being original is almost like owning a talking dog, and even that idea isn't original. This has led to a debate in class; Is it possible that all stories are just a part of an unconscious tales of the past? Or are original stories possible?

I would say that original ideas are possible. They are just REALLY hard to come by this day and age. For example, Bram Stoker wrote his novel based on an older tale of vampires. But was the original based off an even older story of blood sucking beings? regardless, this novel was something that was very original in its own way, especially when it was released. Who ever heard of such horror? Of monsters and terror and of slaying said monsters? The idea has become less of a ground breaking money maker and more of a novelty over time. Still the idea of a vampire is an intriguing one, otherwise all the remakes and spin offs would not exist.

It is also possible that originality is a point of view, based of personal experiences or from the experiences of others. Of course people aren't attacked by vampires, but being attacked isn't a rare occurrence. Neither is pain or fear. They happen daily. But to someone who has never felt pain or a loss, the feeling or idea is a new experience for them. It is original, even if the feeling is not new to someone else.

What is original to one person may not be to someone else. Alice in Wonderland, for example, is not something that happens every day. People don't talk to playing cards who command be-headings every five minutes, they don't wander around with a floating cat that talks, nor do they dance with lobsters. This may all sound silly, because it is. But when we first read the story, it was unexpected. It was original to us when we first started to read it.

If a person has a new idea, even if its been thought before, to that person it is original. The same epiphany can be shared by fifty people around the globe, but to those people, this is a new thought, something that they have never thought before. An example is from Heart of Darkness. In the beginning of the story, Marlow says, "And this also has been one of the dark places of the earth." He goes on to talk of the Romans, and how they once discovered a new part of their world, something alien and unexplored. Now of course, we know of England and have no mysteries left in the area. But in the story, they had started to explore the Congo, the new dark place of the earth, which doesn't hold much mystery for us now. But at the time, this was an original place, unclaimed territory (by British standards). For us now, the so called "final frontier" of space is original, alien, and unexplored.

To me, an original idea is a point of view. Based of experience and the discovery of information for ones self, originality can be something that is wonderful to some, and lost on others.

"Original" Thoughts

In relation to verbal or written stories, I believe in the idea of “one story.” We are all a part of each others’ stories, every person we come into contact with, even those we never meet, affect our lives daily and eternally. Stories are recordings of the lives we once had, do have, and what we wish our lives to be. If we are all on this human journey together, existing solely but co-existing with one another, there is an individual story for every person. Thinking realistically, not everyone will be the President of the United States or be a movie star, so therefore not every life can be overwhelmingly original by our societal terms. But to some, being a mother and creating new life can be the most rewarding, fulfilling, and original roles in life. It really all depends on one’s own perception of life.

However, even if our thoughts are original to ourselves, they might not necessarily be original to everyone else, or had been preconceived by someone else. But since we cannot meet every person in the world and know every thought they have ever thought, then there is a margin for error to think we have original thoughts.

Author Chuck Klosterman puts it this way:

“There are two ways to look at life. Actually, that’s not accurate; I suppose there are thousands of ways to look at life. But I tend to dwell on two of them. The first view is that nothing stays the same and that nothing is inherently connected, and that the only driving force in anyone’s life is entropy. The second is that everything pretty much stays the same (more or less) and that everything is completely connected, even if we don’t realize it.”

― Chuck Klosterman, Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto

^^^^ (A really good book, by the way.)

I tend to agree that on the course of humanity nothing has really changed. We are born, search for meaning and happiness or not, then we die. Whether or not we have original thoughts from one person to the next is mostly irrelevant to our existence. I am not saying that one should not waste thinking on unoriginal thoughts but that our thoughts can’t hold that much weight to the person sitting next to us if they don’t agree or don’t have similar ideas. Like I said, it’s all about your perception and how you view your life, my life, and the world population around us.

Just Keep Swimming

Journeys and quests can be defined as travelling from one place to another. These voyages take up a significant amount of time and are filled with obstacles and lessons to be learned. One Disney movie that features the qualities of a quest or journey is Finding Nemo. In this movie, Nemo does not listen to his dad, Marlin, when he tells him not to go "touch the butt" which is actually a fishing boat. As Nemo swims over and disobeys his father he is caught in a fishing net beginning the journey of Marlin and Dory finding Nemo.

Throughout this journey, both Nemo and Marlin learn important information about each other that they did not see before. Nemo is stuck in a dentist's fish tank with other various fish who help him devise a plan to escape and go back to the ocean. Nemo realizes that even though his father was over protective he was just trying to keep his son safe. As Marlin searches through the ocean with Dory, he faces sharks and jellyfish that make their journey harder than planned. Marlin discovers that some times parents just have to learn to let go and give their children some freedom so that they can grow.

Finding Nemo is just one example of a story about a quest out of many. These types of stories are so popular because everybody goes through some sort of journey throughout their own life. Facing fears and overcoming obstacles to get to your destination, whether it being a physical or mental one, occurs every day. Quests and journeys are a learning experience that teach people about themselves and the other people surrounding them. Just like Dory's annoying song that she sings to Marlin, in order to get to our final destination we must "just keep swimming."

A 17-Year Journey

Quests are some of the most famous stories of all time. Stories with a hero, an antagonist, a destination, a reason to go there, and challenges along the way. These types of stories are always appealing, but why? Maybe because the hero typically overcomes an evil character? Nah. Maybe because the hero overcomes some bad-ass feats and destroys the antagonist in some epic battle? Yes, that's got to be it.

Harry Potter is definitely my all-time favorite quest. It's pretty popular so I won't waste time giving you a synopsis. Basically, what makes it a quest is that it has a hero (Harry), an antagonist (Voldemort), a destination (well, more like a feat, which is defeating the person trying to murder him), a reason to go there (ending evil in the wizarding world), and challenges along the way (his friends dying, fighting off Voldemort, and tasks like retrieving the sorcerer's stone, slaying the basilisk, freeing an innocent prisoner, fighting Voldemort, fighting Voldemort, watching another friend die, and eventually defeating Voldemort). That's about as questy as it gets for any readers.

Quest story

Journey and quest stories have become wildly popular because they allow for people to use their imaginations. When people or characters are taken outside of their element the reader gets to see what lies deep down in the heart of the character. This intrigues people because often time’s people spend their whole lives without ever knowing what they are made of and to what limit they can be pushed. Typical elements of journey stories often include a longing for home or just the opposite, a desire to stay away. There are often trials faced by the main character that he or she could not have imagined. One of my favorite quest stories is the Lord of The Rings. What makes this story a quest story is that it is built around the goal to return the ring. A less obvious example of a quest story is the story, A Beautiful Mind. The main character is taken out of his element and into a new world. He struggles with finding a place in just one world. Eventually he conquers his scitsofrenia efficiently ending his quest for sanity. Quest stories are so intriguing because they go above and beyond a normal story.

Archetypal Journey

The hero's journey is a pattern that can be found in myths, stories, and legends from a range of cultures and time periods. Ancient hero's journeys were not created with an awareness of the pattern. Modern hero's journeys are created with an awareness of the pattern and have been criticized for following the pattern too closely.

Nonetheless, there's a reason that this archetype keeps reappearing. Both the ancient and modern hero represent an able-bodied being that is capable of dealing with situations that "normal" people feel they cannot. As humans, we generally desire all stories to have a so called happy ending because it makes us feel optimistic about life. Whether it be unrealistic situations, such as movies like Star Wars, or even movies involving talking animals such as Finding Nemo, there is always a protagonist and the end almost always has a resolution. The one exception I have found is in horror films, which are meant to leave the audience feeling uneasy and continually scared after the film is over. That is often why the end result is not always the death of the antagonist and why horror films often have sequels.

The most prominent element, other than a physical journey, is quite obviously the spiritual or emotional journey that the main character makes. Whether it's finding love or finding yourself, the character almost always makes some sort of discovery or else the plot line would be essentially flat. These stories also have intended lessons and moral teachings, though most people perceive plots at face value.

My most favorite journey story is Match Point. Although somewhat atypical, it still can follow along the archetype.

Protagonist : Chris- Comes from poor background
Conflict: Affair with Nola & her pregnancy with his child
Solution: Remove Nola from the picture
Theme: Luck


Trailer


Opening Scene


Final Scene

Antigone

In literature, a journey serves as a “plot device” used to further develop the storyline. What is it about a story that stimulates our interest in journeys? What is it about a journey that leaves readers itching for more yet leaves readers discontent if a story lacks one? In some cases, readers simply want to be encouraged. There lies deep satisfaction in a storyline wherein a character, removed from his known world, must venture into the unknown to demonstrate inspiring courage, spirit, and confidence to confront his own personal hardship. The reader observes how the journey has shaped the character’s growth and admires his ability to persist in the face of difficulty. Now able to empathize and identify with the character, the reader feels more inclined to journey toward his/her own hardships and, like the character in the story, is motivated to survive and prosper despite all odds.

In other instances, readers crave a storyline that explores the dark side of a journey and introduces emotional conflict so intense that it keeps the reader turning pages. Some types of these “quest texts” encompass tragic journeys wherein the protagonist, though of a good heart and of likeable character, is slayed for performing actions and holding beliefs that contradict those of authorities/ society.

My favorite “quest text” is a play called Antigone, a tragedy written by Sophocles in 442 BC. This play centers on the Theban princess, Antigone, who goes against Creon’s authoritative proclamation stating that her brother, Polynieces, must lie unburied and open to desecration by the vultures and the dogs. Caught in a precarious dilemma, Antigone must decide where her loyalty lies: with her King or with her kin. Although fully aware that defying Creon could result in her death, she surrenders to her moral obligation to honor her brother and performs the burial procedures allowing his soul to cross over to the underworld. In doing so, she has sacrificed her life for that of her brother’s eternal well-being in. As she walks to her death, Antigone’s journey ends with an inspiring nobleness and spiritedness as she holds firm in her belief to protect her kin.