Themes in Warrior Heir

            I’ve been pondering for awhile about what the theme or themes of Warrior Heir could be. I’ve come up with quite a few; I think I’ll follow Mr. Sato’s steps to begin with.

            The first step is to watch the main character for important changes. Jack Swift, the sixteen-year-old main character of Warrior Heir, goes through a lot of changing during the course of the book. When we first meet him at the beginning of the book, he’s a tall, slender young man who hopes to make the soccer team, and who, for the first time ever, has just forgotten to take the medicine he has taken every day of his life for a heart condition. By the end of the book, Jack is a tall, muscular warrior, skilled with a sword, with a few wizard spells up his sleeve. He has a very strong and well-developed moral code. He is willing to give his life to stop evil from having its way; he refuses to kill the ghost warriors who come to help him train to be a warrior, even though the ghosts are already dead; and he refuses to kill the warrior he meets in tournament, even though it’s supposed to be a fight to the death.  Jack demonstrates a high level of integrity that any reader could learn from. I think the best statement of theme for Jack would be: Sometimes an ordinary young man turns out to be the greatest hero.

            The second step is watch for statements of theme. The best one I found was indeed in the last chapter of the book. The ghost warrior, Carrie, tells her still-living wizard brother, Leander: “You’ll never find happiness if you live in the past.”

            The third step is to look at the title of the book for a clue about theme. With a title like Warrior Heir, you can tell that one of the main themes is going to be about being the heir of a warrior.

            The fourth step is to look at the main conflict for clues to the theme. This story is a classic “fight between Good and Evil” tale, so I think another theme would be: Even when all seems lost, even when it seems impossible, Good will triumph over Evil.

            Now that I’ve followed Mr. Sato’s steps, I want to share a few other themes I found in Warrior Heir: There’s no such thing as a boring ancestor. Don’t bend the rules to suit yourself. Have integrity in your dealings with others. Slavery of any kind is wrong. Pride comes before a fall...I could go on, but I’ll restrain myself.

            I’ve enjoyed taking some time to ponder on the themes and / or morals this story contains. It has some good ones. Have you found some good ones in your favorite books? Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Tru

What is Theme?

          A friend of mine taught a class on Theme yesterday. She shared a YouTube video that had a lot of good points about what theme is, how to find it, and why we as readers should bother with it. I want to share some of the steps, giving full credit to mistersato411 on YouTube for the information.

Click here to watch complete video:

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4qME64SkxM

            These are the main questions that Mr. Sato brings up: 1. What is theme? 2. How do I find it? 3. Why should I bother?

1. The simplest explanation is that theme is like the moral of the story. It’s the message or meaning the author wants you as the reader to take away from the story. Theme is a debatable opinion about a subject. If you have an opinion about what the theme is, and you have the textual evidence to back it up, it’s a valid theme. Always remember though; a book can have several themes.

2.  How to find the theme(s) in a book:

A. Watch the main character. Does he or she change in some important way over the course of the book?

B. Watch for statements of theme. Sometimes the author will simply state the main theme, often near the end of the book.

C. Look at the title for clues to the theme. (Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.)

D. Look at the main conflict of the book for clues to the theme.

3. Why should I bother with the theme of a book? Mr. Sato answers this very well. He says, “Making meaning from literature—finding a theme—is a real-world skill that can help you be a smarter, happier person. It allows you to learn from the experiences someone else has had. You don’t have to experience them yourself.”

            I really liked that last point. I think that’s one of the reasons we read—to learn something—even if it’s just how not to act in certain situations.

            In tomorrow’s post I’ll apply Mr. Sato’s steps to finding theme to Warrior Heir.

Happy Reading (And hunting for theme in your favorite book)!

Tru

Applying the Monomyth to "Warrior Heir"

I thought I’d begin this post by giving you a sneak preview of Warrior Heir:

     “One March day, Jack Swift, a high school student in a small college town, forgets to take the medicine he’s taken daily since he was an infant. There ensues a cascade of events that puts him in mortal danger.

     Jack discovers he carries a secret within him that has made him a target of the ruthless wizards of the Red and White Rose. Jack is a Warrior Heir, the last of a dying breed, sought after by the Roses to fight in the tournaments that are used to allocate power among the Wizard Houses. Unknown to him, Jack has lived all his life surrounded by members of the Magical Guilds: wizards, enchanters, soothsayers, and sorcerers. They are determined to save him from the Roses.

     With the aid of his aunt, a beautiful enchanter, Jack desperately tries to acquire the skills that might save his life. Jack and his friends, Will and Fitch, unearth a magical sword from a cemetery and fight off the wizards who would take it from them. Jack begins training with the dark and dangerous Leander Hastings, a wizard with a mysterious past.

     Meanwhile, Jack is torn between his attraction to Ellen Stephenson, a new student at Trinity High School, and Leesha Middleton, his former girlfriend, who decides she wants him back.

     Discovered and besieged by treachery at home, he flees to the Lake District of England. There he is confronted by the greatest challenge of all...”

    Click here to go to Cinda Williams Chima's website: http://www.cindachima.com/Warrior_Heir/Warrior_Heir.htm

            Now, let’s get back to the Hero’s Journey Monomyth, and how it can be applied to Jack in Warrior Heir...

            1. Call to Adventure: A discovery, an event, or danger of some sort starts the hero on their quest.  Jack’s Call to Adventure begins when he forgets to take his medicine. He discovers that instead of feeling ill, he feels better than he’s ever felt before; stronger, faster, and things are in sharper focus.

            2. Acceptance or Refusal of the Call: Once the hero accepts the call, the hero advances to the next stage of the journey. Jack’s Acceptance of the Call begins in the graveyard, where he begins to adapt his behavior by stepping into the protective role of a warrior without conscious thought.

            3. Crossing the Threshold: The hero leaves their familiar world behind, and enters a new, unknown world. Jack’s Crossing the Threshold occurs when he begins warrior and wizard training with Leander Hastings.

            4. Supernatural Aid / Talisman: Sometimes appears in the form of a little old man or woman. Supernatural Aid doesn’t have to mean magical, but sometimes...it does. The hero is sometimes given a talisman of some sort to assist the hero on their quest. Jack’s Supernatural Aid comes from Nickolas Snowbeard, the family caretaker, and Jack’s Aunt Linda, both of whom have watched over and taught Jack his whole life. After Jack’s Call to Adventure, Nick and Linda are joined by Leander Hastings in filling this step. Jack’s Talisman is his sword, Shadowslayer, inherited from his great-great grandmother, Susannah Downey, who was also a warrior.

            5. Allies / Helpers: Most heroes are more successful with a bit of help. In fact, they would probably fail miserably without it.  Jack’s allies are his good friends, Will and Fitch.

            6. Tests / Trials: The hero will go through a set of obstacles, or a series of tests meant to refine him, make him stronger, and get him ready for the ultimate showdown. Jack’s Series of tests and trials begin on the soccer field that first day, and mainly consist of trying to stay out of the clutches of the Red and White Wizard Houses. The test that almost kills Jack is when he is struck by Jessamine Longbranch’s wizard’s graffe.

            7. The Belly of the Whale: Also known as The Supreme Ordeal. This is what all the training has been geared toward; this is the trial of all trials. Jack’s Belly of the Whale ordeal occurs when he arrives at the tournament at Raven’s Ghyll and discovers that the warrior he must battle to the death is his girlfriend, Ellen Stephenson.  

            8. Reward / Journey Home: Usually, there is a reward given to heroes for completing the Supreme Ordeal, for making it out of the Belly of the Whale. Jack’s rewards are living through a tournament that was supposed to be fought to the death, a stronger relationship with Ellen, a new set of Rules of Engagement that toppled wizard dominance over the rest of the Weir, and as he returns home, it is to a home town that has been turned into a sanctuary.

            The Hero’s Journey is a tool that can be used to help us better understand the movies we watch, the books we read—even our own lives—because aren’t we the hero of our own life story? Try applying these eight steps to your favorite fairytale or story; I think you’ll be amazed at what you find!

Happy Reading!

Tru

NOT just a pleasure-read!

           A friend and I were talking the other day about my YA Literature class, and the book I’m focusing my final project on: Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. “Why are you using that book? It’s just a pleasure-read, isn’t it?” she asked, as she turned away to go to her class, leaving me gasping there on the sidewalk. Just a pleasure-read?!  Oh, my goodness, no! It’s not just a pleasure-read—it’s so much more!

            In what way is it more, you ask? Well, let’s discuss. Over a series of several posts, I’ll present different ways and methods of looking at Warrior Heir that go beyond the basic pleasure-read. These methods can be applied to any novel, whether YA Literature or Adult Literature, whether the book is modern,  or a classic.

To begin with, I present you with a question: Have you ever heard of the Hero’s Journey Monomyth? No? Allow me to share what I’ve learned, and then I’ll demonstrate how it applies to Warrior Heir.

The Hero’s Journey Monomyth was developed by Joseph Campbell. In his research on world myths, Campbell discovered that a lot of similar patterns appeared in the hero myths and stories from cultures the world over. He noticed that there seemed to be a series of basic steps that almost every hero-quest story went through, no matter where the story or myth originated. Campbell shared his findings in a book entitled The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and he called this series of steps The Hero’s Journey Monomyth. The Monomyth can be very complex, but at its core are a series of 8 basic steps:

1. The Call to Adventure

 2. Acceptance or Refusal of the Call

3. Crossing the Threshold

4. Supernatural Aid / Talisman

5. Allies / Helpers

6. Tests and Trials

7. Belly of the Whale

8. Reward / Journey Home
Click here to find out more about Joseph Campbell:
http://www.jcf.org/       (Don't skip the intro; I think it's worth the wait.)
I’ll leave it here for tonight, and I’ll apply the Monomyth to Warrior Heir in the next post.

Happy Reading!
Tru