Efrain Barajas

Professor Mary Warner

Eng. 112B

5/10/2011

Understanding Adventure through Books and Films

What are the essential ingredients in a great adventure story? The "an arrival," but adventure almost always entails a going out, and not just any going out but a bold one: Sail the Pacific on a balsa raft; sledge to the South Pole. It is a quest whose outcome is unknown but whose risks are tangible, a challenge someone meets with courage, brains, and effort.

Adventure stories are popular because boredom chafes at our souls and crowds out of our minds such practical concerns as safety and caution; however, the human body reminds us all too quickly of the risks. This may be why we prefer our adventures to come through books or, through movies that with special effects can make it easier for viewers to enjoy. Man loves adventure. Whether in the form of a bedtime story read to young boys or a nail biting page turner that keeps you up at night, the adventure story is one genre of literature that stays with you for a lifetime. The very mention of novels such as: The call of the Wild, Hatchet and Beowulf brings to mind images of adventure, intrigue and danger.

Early teens look for strong, true-to-life characters who win against the odds; this inspires them to overcome their own problems. Teens seek a likable protagonist with whom young readers identify with as well as an adventure they can imagine themselves into. The setting and action has to draw the readers into the plot within the first page of the story. The Odyssey, the Viking sagas, they have mythological roots: Culture heroes go out into the unknown, endure various tests, and bring back a boon, the Golden Fleece; the Holy Grail; the knowledge of strange new lands.

For my center piece I decided to work with Hatchet.

Hatchet is a coming-of-age story of a boy who must confront both physical and psychological challenges in order to grow and discover himself. Along the way, readers discover themes of hope, perseverance, and self-realization in both Brian and themselves.

Brian faces many challenges in his quest for survival. One of his biggest mental challenges is to stay positive in a seemingly hopeless situation. When he starts to get negative thoughts, Brian thinks of his English teacher who would say, "Stay positive and stay on top of things" (49). Many students have been in a situation when they feel that everything is useless and began to pity themselves. They can learn from Brian's experience and his teacher's words. Several times Brian cries to himself feeling full of self-pity, but he soon comes to the realization that "feeling sorry for yourself didn't work" (82), and that even though he was in a desperate situation, self pity and crying weren't going to change his situation. The situations are both inspirational for the reader and relate to emotions they may be feeling at their young age. It is good for students to know that they are not the only ones feeling helpless and alone. Knowing someone else feels the same way they do makes their situation feel a bit more manageable.

Similarly to how Brian is a changed person at the end of his adventure, the students may, at the very least, have new insights about the world they live in. They may be inspired to interact and appreciate nature a little more. They might learn to appreciate the fact that they have food on the plate at home. It's the little moments in adventure books such as Hatchet that add up to reveal a bigger picture. The little moments of sadness, happiness, perseverance, danger, fear and victory all add up to the idea of growing up and adapting to the world we live in. The same thing can be said about lord of Flies. And other titles which I have described below.

Books:

Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet. New York: Aladdin Paperbacks. 1996.

Brian Robeson, 13, is the only passenger on a small plane flying him to visit his father in the Canadian wilderness when the pilot has a heart attack and dies. The plane drifts off course and finally crashes into a small lake. Miraculously Brian is able to swim free of the plane, arriving on a sandy tree-lined shore with only his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present. The novel chronicles Brian's mistakes, setbacks, and small triumphs as, with the help of the hatchet, he manages to survive the 54 days alone in the wilderness.

Brian serves as an excellent example of a typical hero going out and embarking in a journey. A quest for survival, he goes against all odds. Exploring unknown territories and enduring the harsh territories similar to the voyages of the Greek mythology heroes.

Paulsen, Gary. The Crossing. New York: Bantam doubleday Dell Books.1987.

Manny Bustos is an orphan, scrabbling for survival on the streets of Ju�rez, Mexico. He sleeps in a cardboard box and fights with boys bigger and older than him for the coins American tourists through off the bridge between El Paso, Texas, and his town. Across the border, Robert S. Locke, Vietnam vet, searches for a way to drown the cries for help of his dead friends. On the night Manny dares the crossing, through the Rio Grande, past searchlights and border patrol, in the hopes of a better life, the two meet in an explosive encounter that fills the night with tension and endless possibilities.

The modern day hero is represented with Manny Bustos. The Journey, the struggle, the Holy Grail is represented with Manny making across to US. This story is important it incorporates all the elements of adventure at the same time it deals with our current struggles which are currently occurring in our times.

London, Jack. The Call of the Wild. New York: Alanddin Paperbacks. 2003.

Jack London centers his story on a dog. He was sold into a hostile environment, which was unforgiving and harsh. Although civilization domesticated him from birth, Buck soon begins almost involuntarily to rediscover himself, revealing a "primordial urge", a natural instinct, which London refers to as the Call of the Wild. Buck is humiliated, but learned an all-important truth of the wild: Kill or be killed. Buck learns the way of the wild but also acknowledges his inferiority to men with clubs or whips. Against the man with a club he gives respect. Even after Buck routinely left his master's camp to flirt with nature, Buck always came back to appreciate his kind master. However, even after Thornton was gone and Buck had released all memories of his former life, Buck never forgot the kind hands of his master, even after answering the Call of the Wild.

The importance of Buck, he courageously survives brutal cruelty from humans and the wilderness, and he becomes the leader of his dogsled team. Buck is a personified character. This dog acquires human traits. His ability to adapt, he has emotions, desires, motivations, the works. This is why we can empathize with him as our main character even though he�s got four legs. This is evidence that our hero doesn�t have to be human.

Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Perigee Books. 1959.

It�s a tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Ralph tries to impose order, there are many in their number who would rather play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Ralph's rules are ignored. The antagonist is Jack, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted. Golding's novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition.

Adding to adventure in the Lord of the Flies, this is an adventure, as we see how well or how poorly the kids survive by themselves. The story carries enough suspense and physical danger to be an adventure narrative where warfare and human nature are acted upon on the kids' on a day-to-day effort to survive on an isolated island.

Sachar. Louis. Holes. New York: Yearlin. 2000.

"If you take a bad boy and make him dig a hole every day in the hot sun, it will turn him into a good boy." Such is the philosophy at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention facility where there is no lake, and there are no happy campers. Stanley Yelnats, has landed at Camp Green Lake because it seemed a better option than jail. No matter that his conviction was a case of mistaken identity; Stanley is rising before dawn to dig a hole five feet deep and five feet in diameter; learning how to get along with the pack of boys in Group D; and fearing the warden. Stanley realizes that the boys may not just be digging to build character that in fact the warden is seeking something specific.

The quest, the arrival into this new setting, the uncertainty of what is going to happen all adds to the adventure that ensues. The harsh conditions and the unknown, figuring out what is going to happen and seeking what the protagonist is searching for is what makes this an adventure. Here the hero has to adapt into the strangest environment, he is out of the elements and at the same time meeting new friends in the search for the buried old treasure.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. New York: Signet Classic. 1998.

Adventure and treachery on the high seas all seen through a boy named Jim Hawkins. Jim starts off as the son of tavern owners in a humble little port village. When an old seaman stays at the tavern, trouble soon follows him in the form of a pirate crew seeking revenge. Long John Silver is the real star, however, and his character is a fascinating character study in moral ambiguity. The pirate language is good and thick but this edition has plenty of notes to help you decipher some of the references that have become too obscure for today's readers. It's a story of suspense and adventure.

Paulsen, Gary. The Winter Room. New York: Bantam Doubleday.1989.

A living room is where Wayne and Eldon, their parents and great-uncle, and old Norwegian Nels spend their winters. There the family sits near the corner wood stove and listens, uninterrupting, as Uncle David tells stories of the old country, of old times, of a semi-mythical lumberjack. Eldon, the younger son, begins his own story, in spring, when everything is soft. Uncle David's final story precipitates within the brothers a fuller understanding of personal identity and integrity.

Creech, Sharon. The Wanderer. New York: Harpercollins. 2002.

Thirteen-year-old Sophie, skipping between "dreamland or earthland or muleland," hears the sea calling her. Much to the concern of her adopted parents, she decides to join her uncles and male cousins on a sailing voyage from Connecticut across the Atlantic to England (and her grandfather Bompie) on a 45-foot sailboat. Not only does she want to make the trip, she feels she has to. The cross-Atlantic journey will make young readers feel the wind in their hair and the salt spray on their face. Sophie's adventures take her not only straight into perilous waves higher than buildings, but deep into her hidden past. This profound, suspenseful novel will pull you into its swift current and barely let you surface for breath.

There is no reason why females should be protagonist in adventure stories. Although limited many great adventure books have been written. The Wanderer is a great example where Sophie captivates her fellow shipmates as she proves her bravery and competence to the all-male crew.

Films

Pirates of the Caribbean. Ted Elliott. Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom. Walt Disney Pictures.2003.Film.

Blacksmith Will Turner teams up with eccentric pirate "Captain" Jack Sparrow to save his love, the governor's daughter, from Jack's former pirate allies, who are now undead.

As Lit for Today young Adults points out. � YA writers have not ignored the attraction of pirates to young people.� (89) These films have made multimillions of dollars and are equally entertaining as books. Furthermore pirates have been so popular that they were used by the American Library association as their main theme in 2007.

Jurassic Park. Michael Crichton. Dir.Steven Spielberg. Perf. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum. Universal Pictures. 1993. Film.

Scientists clone dinosaurs to create a massive theme park on a tropical island, and everything goes terribly awry. What may have been forgotten in the years since its initial release is that this is one of the most thrilling, imagination-igniting, adventurous and frighteningly believable