Quote:
|
There's a little story about David and Goliath that was written way before Tolkien was born.
|
Keneldil - First off, Welcome to the Downs!
Secondly - And when I state this, I am in no way making any kind of judgement call on stories of the Old Testment, or seeking to get into a theological debate. But if you look at the first part of the story of King David, it follows many of the elements that I mentioned above of the classic "Fairy Tale", in that it is the story of a small boy of the common people, who is called on to defeat an opponent, and in doing so earns a higher status and earthly rewards. (He become the King). It is only later in the story of David that we see the High Hero of the Mythic Quest, who struggles against adversity and his own human faults.
David faces no such doubts and trouble at the beginning of the tale. He retains his innocence and his faith. We don't have the young David questioning his destiny, or falling from favor of God, or commiting some grievous error or sin that will change him forever. He is in the beginning, just a plucky shepherd boy with a sling, who steps forward, triumphs, and earns his reward. "And he lived happily ever after" The End.
Of course we know that is not the end, any more than it was "The End" for Bilbo after he returns to the Shire after his adventures. But the Fairy Tale seldom takes us beyond that point.
I'm reminded of a bit of doggerel by one of my favorite "local" authors, James Thurber:
The World is so full of wonderful things,
I'm sure we could all be as happy as Kings.
(...and we all know how happy Kings are.)"
But as I said earlier, Tolkien was the first to blend these two elements, the common hero of the Fairy Tale who goes on the epic Mythical Quest, and suffers some very deep, fundamental changes from it. He also suffers loss, falls from grace, and, eventually, gains redemption.
None of these things happen in the first part of the Story of David. It may happen to him later, but that is another story, about a King, not a shepherd boy.
[ November 13, 2002: Message edited by: Birdland ]