Montreal, which means “Royal Mountain,” gets its name from the beautiful mountain that shoots out of the center of the city. From the street level, you can look up and marvel at the tree-covered peak, but the best view is from the top.
To get up top, you need to climb. You can take several sets of stairs, which seem to go on and on. But it’s the quickest route. The other route leads around the mountain. It spirals up up up for ages. Of course, the long route is more beautiful. It leads you through the forest and along some streams. In the winter, you can ski on the spiral path, up or down.
Either way, it’s a lot of work. But when you’re on the top of the mountain. It’s worth it. The sky expands before you and from above, you can see the whole city. It is truly magical.
Think of Star Wars. The Sith threaten to destroy planet after planet with their giant, laser-shooting Death Star. To save the galaxy, Luke Skywalker must destroy the Death Star and the evil Sith that control it.
For this one, think of Aladdin. He is a poor man that falls in love with Princess Jasmine, but cannot marry her because of his low social class. With the help of a magical genie, Aladdin becomes a rich prince so he and Princess Jasmine can be together. However, Jasmine is not impressed. In fact, it is only after losing his wealth and power that Aladdin realizes love was all he needed to be with Jasmine. And when he finally marries her, he gets the wealth back. Rags to riches to rags to riches.
Lord of the Rings is my favorite version of this story. Frodo and the Fellowship set out for Mt. Doom to destroy the ring, but in their way stands Sauron’s army of orcs that threatens to conquer all of Middle-Earth. To reach the fiery mountain, Frodo must evade sure death from all manner of monster including his own friends that have been tempted by the ring’s power.
The Odyssey is possibly the most famous example of this story type, even if The Odyssey focuses mostly on the return. Having left home to fight in the Trojan War, Odysseus must find his way back. To do so, he must face hideous, horrible creatures and also some beautiful, seductive women…the he lives and has sex with for years…despite having a lovely and faithful wife. Regardless, Odysseus makes it home with experience…and with that experience, decides to kill everyone. Such a weird story. Weird. But classic!
Mr. Bean often finds himself in this sort of story. Because he is a clumsy, bumbling idiot, Bean makes things worse and worse. Whether ruining a turkey dinner or a famous painting as in the 1997 film Bean, Mr. Bean turns everything to chaos. But it all works out in the end, miraculously.
The best modern example is Breaking Bad. Walter White, a brilliant teacher and a loving father, turns meth kingpin. While Walt goes into the meth business to make money for his family before he dies of cancer, he becomes consumed by his greed and his ego. Although he earns more money than he can count, Walt loses everyone and everything he has. As viewers, we love him for what he was and despise him for what he’s become.
The Grinch is a great example. The green and grouchy cave creature plots to steal Christmas from the Whos in Whoville. But Cindy Lou shows him that Christmas is more than just presents and feasts, and his heart grows three sizes.
Writers consider themselves visionaries and when they have a vision, they don’t want to change it. That vision is their baby and no one wants to kill their baby. But family changes a man. Would James Bond get with so many women if his parents educated him on STDs? No. But his proclivity towards beautiful women is a key part of the James Bond story. It’s part of the vision.
The vast majority of us grew up with a loving family that cared about us and supported us through everything. As a result, anything else seems unnatural. Where would we be without our father, our mother, our siblings? I know I’d be an emotional wreck, poor and alone somewhere. We shudder to think what our lives would be like without our loved ones. The thought alone drives us to tears.
Each individual has a different method of finding meaning in their life. One common source of purpose is family. As I said, family is a dominant factor to the majority of our lives and to be without it is seemingly unnatural. Without family, an orphan often feels empty. To fill the void they must go on a quest. Save a princess. Kill the Dark Lord. Return peace to the world. By serving a purpose higher than themselves, orphans find fulfillment where once they had none.
When a story tells you a character is an orphan, you see the character as an orphan. You believe the story. You have no reason not to. Do you see a parent? No. So there probably isn’t a parent. You run through the entire story seeing the main character as a sad, lonely orphan…
