Week 8: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman is a fantasy novel that tells the tale of a young boy and an incredible experience he had during his childhood. There were parts of the story that reminded me of both my own life and other fantasy books I enjoyed as a kid. In the beginning of the novel, the protagonist is an adult who has returned to the town he grew up in for a funeral. He explores the farm of a childhood friend, and his memories of being a boy come flooding back to him. This is very relatable to me, as I have had the experience many times where a familiar image, sound, or even smell will abruptly shoot me back to a forgotten time from my childhood. It can be very thrilling to suddenly remember things you hadn’t thought of in years and years. I really enjoyed the passage where the protagonist explains his excitement about knowing his way around the yard, despite barely remembering the house even existed only hours before.

Although the main characters of this novel are children, there is a large amount of disturbing and adult content in this book. The horror that Ursula brings upon the young boy was shocking to me, and played on a lot of fears I held as a child. While I was lucky enough to grow up in a very loving household, I was always afraid of getting in trouble with my father, just like the main character is. I would have nightmares where my parents hurt me, so to read a scene where the little boy realizes his father is drowning him was very upsetting. Later he confronts Ursula and says “You made my Daddy hurt me” (heartbreaking to read) and her response is that she did not make anyone do anything. This suggests that while she may have had some influence, the desire to sleep with Ursula and hurt his disobedient son was somewhere inside the father deep down all along. She only brought those desires to the forefront.

Overall, this book put a mature lens on the modern fantasy story. It explores how the presence of both helpful and harmful magic would affect a young boy’s life. Although parts of it were really hard to get through, I enjoyed reading a story from this perspective and am glad to have chosen The Ocean at the End of the Lane for this week.

Week 7: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

This week I had a chance to revisit Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling. It was quite the nostalgia trip, as I read some of the books in elementary school and enjoyed watching the movies as they were released in theaters. By rereading this first book, I was once again reminded just how impactful the Harry Potter series has been on society.

     One very popular element of the series is the concept of the four houses. These alignments are so well known that even people who have never read the books may have a “house” they identify with. I believe this in part due to peoples’ love of categorization and belonging. To know your house is to know what kind of person you are and who your family is. In this first book, all the characters are sorted into their houses by the Sorting Hat. The Sorting Hat is a magical, talking witch hat that inherently knows where its wearer belongs. When Harry Potter puts on the hat, the two have a bit of a deliberation. While the hat seems to believe Harry would thrive in Slytherin, Harry begs it to reconsider. This is due to his preconception that Slytherin is an evil house. Regardless of the truth to that belief, Harry is put in the house of his parents, Gryffindor. As the series goes on, we learn that many of the stereotypes seem to be true. Gryffindors are almost always heroic, and in turn Slytherins are often wicked.

     For the most part, this is a series heavily based on the concept of good versus evil. There are a few characters who blur this line, such as Severus Snape. Harry himself struggles with his connection to evil. As we have discussed in our class, good and evil are not nearly as clear cut as many stories present them. Just like in the real world there are more than four personality types. This simplification makes sense to children, as it does to Harry and his friends at the beginning of the series. However, as readers grow older we are forced to recognize the nuance of human behavior and traits. No one in real life can be completely classified as good, evil, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. There are dynamic layers and motivations behind all of our personalities and actions, and that is someone we all must recognize.

Week 6: Troll Bridge

This week I decided to go for one of the shorter reads, and read the short story “Troll Bridge” by Terry Pratchett. Even though this piece was written in 1995, the humor is somewhat timeless. As long as technology advances and society evolves, there will be people who long for the old way of doing things. The main characters in this story, Cohen and Barbarian and Mica the troll, both long nostalgically for the life they knew growing up. Cohen is a classic “hero” type who has always wanted to defeat a bridge troll, however it has become nearly impossible for him to find a bridge that still has a troll underneath it. Most trolls have moved onto better lives in the city. Mica has held onto the tradition of bridge trolls, and desires for his son to take his place as guardian of the bridge after he’s gone. Both these lifestyle choices have left the characters in rough situations. Their refusal to “move with the times” has left Cohen without any money, and the troll family with no treasure and few prospects for their many troll children.  Cohen’s talking horse and Mica’s troll wife both criticize these decisions, citing them as the reason for their bad situations.

After reading this story I am left thinking about what the message is. There is certainly value to maintaining heritage and tradition, however stanchly refusing to advance can put the younger generations at a disadvantage. Mica explains that many of his troll brothers have taken up alternate occupations, and while he turns his nose up at them, there is no denying these troll families are not struggling in the way that Mica’s is. There has to be a happy balance that can be found between these two conflicting mindsets. The future comes whether we like it or not, so resisting those changes completely is not wise or feasible. However, as mentioned in the beginning and end of the story, the tales of the past are preserved in the culture through storytelling and oral tradition. In that way, the adventure and heroes of this fantasy world’s history will never truly die.