Night Circus

Erin Morgenstern’s Night Circus was probably my favorite read of the semester thus far. As I mentioned in class, what attracted me the most to this novel was its vivid descriptions. Although Morgenstern’s youth as an author is apparent in some of her writing, I don’t find it to discredit the novel at all. I personally find novels that are able to paint vivid sensory experiences in my mind are the ones that create a lasting impact, which is exactly why, even though I wasn’t able to finish the whole book in one week, I plan to make the time to finish it.

What made the imagery so memorable was Morgenstern’s ability to take recognizable events, characters, and situations and twist them slightly to create a new environment. The most obvious example is the circus itself. Many of us (hopefully) recall how big of a deal going to the circus was as a kid and have distinct associations with that experience: popcorn, animals, interesting characters, big tents, bright colors, and some sense of mystery. In night circus, Morgenstern changes the rules. The circus only opens at night, the tent is black and white, and the layout is much more complex than that of a regular circus. I found myself wanting to go to the night circus much more than I would want to attend a regular circus, which signifies a job well done on the author’s part.

On a more personal note, I think that imagery is so important to me as a reader because of my creative background. I find that I am (like so many others at this school especially) a “visual person,” and respond most readily to things that I can either physically see or clearly imagine. With all of the novels that I have enjoyed the most over the course of my life, I develop a clear sense of what I envision the setting to be, the direction that objects are oriented, and the mannerisms of the characters. Night Circus got me to start creating a mental map of its contents, and I became an active reader, which is the reading experience I enjoy the most.

The Hobbit

In the entirety of my education having anything to do with literature, the hero’s journey has always been stressed as crucially important to storytelling. J.R.R. Tolkien’s work is an exemplary example of this kind of story, and, especially in light of the recent movies and surrounding culture, has been incredibly successful in creating an impact on several generations. I think that The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings demonstrates the heroic journey in a thoughtful and resonating way.

I think that the success of the hero’s journey lies in the fact that audiences identify with the feelings and experiences involved in moving through the general “call to adventure, experience unexpected things, figure everything out” cycle that nearly all stories follow in some way. Tolkien is able to capitalize on the identifiable elements of The Hobbit by developing the specifics of the journey in a way that easily resonates with the human experience.

Essentially, Tolkien is able to replicate human interactions, emotions, and other complexities that represent those that arise throughout our own lives. The hero’s journey touches base with a broad range of human emotion and feeling, which means that we are stimulated on a greater level overall, which surely has some kind of effect on our interaction with the story. Tolkien is one example of an author that has succeeded tremendously in finding a harmonious blend of the elements involved with the hero’s journey on a human level to a legendary level.

I think that for many of my generation, Harry Potter serves as the modern equivalent to a story that embraces the hero’s journey as a tool to capture audience attention, and imply profound experiences that help to define how we as humans operate. I mean, I love Harry Potter. It defined part of my youth. That's pretty powerful.