A Quest Broken Down Essay

Submitted By AimeeRamirez
Words: 621
Pages: 3

Every Trip Is A Quest (Except When It’s Not) In Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor, the author tells the audience that a quest consists of five things; which are “(a) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there”(pg. 3). To validate Mr. Foster’s proposal, I applied all five aspects required of a ‘quest’ to a novel I have recently read, D.J. MacHale’s Pendragon The Merchant of Death. Bobby Pendragon, the novels protagonist is a normal fourteen year old, however on the night of his basketball semi finals eccentric Uncle Press asks Bobby for his help. Unable to deny his uncles request, Bobby is taken into a medieval world of another dimension called Denduron. Bobby learns that he is a Traveler who, with his special powers, must try to help his uncle aid the Milago miners escape the rule of the Bedoowans. Bobby saves his uncle from the Bedoowans and strives to stop the tyrannical ruler of Halla, Saint Dane, who controls all the ten dimensions. Identifying the quester was not difficult, Bobby Pendragon, fourteen year old basketball superstar and the novels protagonist, is the quester. A place to go: in order to successful assist his Uncle, Bobby must go to the strange dimension called Denduron, leaving behind all he holds dear in his dimension, second Earth. A stated reason to go there: Uncle Press asks Bobby for help and goes to complete his mission. Challenges and trials en route: When Bobby and Press arrive at Denduron they are attacked by twelve quigs, animals Saint Dane, the antagonist, uses to patrol the gates of the flumes; the appearance of quigs vary among the territories and Press is kidnapped by Bedoowan knights. Also, Bobby must figure out how to be efficient, as the Milago citizens are seriously outdated and lack any technological advances like the Bedoowans. Bobby must also tread lightly when he’s in the Milago village-there are many mining holes that are full of tak, a highly explosive substance in Denduron-and because at any given time there could be a battle between the Milago and Bedoowans. And finally, the real reason to go: Bobby travels back to Second Earth with Uncle Press after the final battle