Hiccup's Call to Adventure and Refusal of the Call

(See previous post about How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 by Cressida Cowell to learn more about Hiccup and his ordinary world)

Hiccup's ordinary world is disrupted when he's required to complete the Dragon Initiation Test. Gobber the Belch, the warrior in charge of the Test, serves as the Herald for this Call to Adventure. He presents the challenge of capturing a dragon from a cave of three thousand of them to Hiccup, and announces the significant changes that will occur if he succeeds:

1. He will have a dragon to hunt with.
2. He will become a fully-fledged Hairy Hooligan.

If he fails the test, he will be exiled. As mentioned before, Hiccup is terrified of exile. He's not foolhardy, though, and his brief thought processes represent his Refusal of the Call:

"Hiccup swallowed hard. He happened to know considerably more about dragons than anybody else there. ...And what Hiccup had learned about dragons told him that walking into a cave with three thousand dragons in it was an act of madness."

-Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 7

Hiccup isn't reluctant because he's unwilling to accept these changes. His own sense of self-preservation that makes him scared of exile also makes him scared of the Call to Adventure. He has insecurity that he will not survive this challenge.

Hiccup's Ordinary World

Hiccup is under pressure to become a "Hero":
masculine and powerful

"Hiccup spent the whole of the winter on Berk in various states of 'very cold,' ranging from 'fairly chilly' to 'absolutely freezing.' At night, too many layers were considered sissy, so Hiccup generally lay awake for a couple of hours until he had shivered himself into a light sleep."

-Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 80

My new book is How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 by Cressida Cowell. The protagonist, Hiccup, is the 10-year-old heir to the chiefdom of the Hairy Hooligans, a Viking tribe. His ordinary world is living on the bleak, cold Isle of Berk in a harsh society where "Heroism" is prized most. The Heroes of his tribe are like ancient Greek Heroes: masculine and powerful. Hiccup is neither, but his peers, tribe, and family pressure him to embody their idea of "Hero". If he fails his tests, he will be exiled. In the words of a tribe elder:

"'The Hairy Hooligan Tribe has no use for FAILURES. Only the strong can belong.'"

-Cressida Cowell, How To Train Your Dragon: Book 1 9

Despite struggling in this society, Hiccup is terrified of exile. Not only would he die living without his tribe, but deep down, he hopes that he can be the Hero everyone wants him to be, so his ordinary world would be a pleasant place to live. He doesn't want this chance taken away.

Image source:
A back like this isn't built by repeating your favorite lat pulldown routine for years on end. Digital image. T NATION | The Intelligent and Relentless Pursuit of Muscle. Testosterone, LLC, 1998-2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Famous Last Words: Fact Or Fiction?

Sir Harry Oakes

"Hugh Selwyn Mauberly"
by Ezra Pound

A Spitfire warplane

Famous Last Words by Timothy Findley features a World War II scheme designed to secure world domination. Findley writes very realistically, referencing real people and events. But how much is fact, and how much is fiction?

Hugh Selwyn Mauberley, the protagonist, is fictitious. However, Findley based him off Ezra Pound's poem of the same name. Hugh Selwyn Mauberley was Pound's brainchild, and in Findley's world, Mauberley's genius is a product of Pound's teaching.

In reality, Sir Harry Oakes was murdered at the same time and place as specified in Famous Last Words. In the book and real life, Oakes's killer was never caught.

The "Spitfire Bazaar", hosted by the Duchess of Windsor to purchase a Spitfire warplane, is an imagined event. However, the Spitfire was a real WWII-era plane.

Findley has cleverly blended fiction with history. That I needed to research these things is a testament to Findley's genius.

References:
Shields, E.F. "The Perfect Voice: Mauberley as Narrator in Timothy Findley's 'Famous Last Words'". Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review 119 (1988): 84-98. Print.

"Niagara Falls - Sir Harry Oakes: a History." Niagara Falls Thunder Alley. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

Price, Alfred. "Battle of Britain: August 18, 1940 - a Day That Saw Some of the Heaviest Fighting - Telegraph." Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph Online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph - Telegraph. The Telegraph, 28 July 2010. Web. 17 Dec. 2011.

Image sources:
Hugh Selwyn Mauberley by Ezra Pound. Digital image. ManyBooks.net - Ad-free EBooks for Your IPad, Kindle, or EBook Reader. ManyBooks.net, 19 Nov. 2007. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Sir Harry Oakes. Digital image. Niagara Parks Canada: Niagara Falls Tourism and Vacation Packages. Niagara Parks Canada. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.

Spitfire fighter planes played a decisive role in the Battle of Britain. Digital image. BBC - Homepage. BBC, 28 Aug. 2010. Web. 18 Dec. 2011.