No, he is not. What does quest mean? Well, it means “a long or arduous search for something” but with a connotation that the search will have multiple obstacles and a treacherous path in the way. While the search for Bethany is a “long” one, he has the place where he needs to go on a sheet of paper. So the only aspect that is “quest-like” is him traveling across the country on his bike. But that in itself is not a quest. That is a challenge, one which numerous people do each year. For example, the Tour de France consists of 2277 miles (while his trip from consists of approximately 2800 miles) and hundreds participate. So let’s summarize this: he is going on a bike across the country without a treacherous path in the way (riding on high quality roads with people that obey traffic laws) and is doing something which many people do every year. I don’t see a quest in this.
What is interesting, however, is when Norma times this idea of his journey being a quest. We can now kind of see it as a quest because Smithy is rediscovering himself, as well as discovering new things. He is going outside to see the real world (something humans should do in the first place!) instead of watching television all day long and getting fat and drunk. He is recalling memories of the past as well as experiencing life in a new manner (while losing weight as well as his appreciation for smoking and drinking). These are all very nice things but are they really akin to a quest? The answer is no, once again. You see, quest indicates that there is goal planned and you have to reach that goal. When Smithy set out on his trip, he hadn’t planned for all these memories to come back (he still doesn’t plan to seek out more memories) -- they just did.
While I agree this trip has now shaped Smithy’s clean and healthy life for the future, I still believe that this “revelation” isn’t part of a quest. There is a certain aspect to the whole idea of a quest involved, however, it is important to keep in mind that when Smithy decided to do his trip, he didn’t really have anything planned -- he was drunk and just went with it.
Thursday, November 13
I would argue that Smithy is on a spiritual quest of self fulfillment, and though this may seem somewhat fake, he is clearly attempting to escape his emotional troubles and re-create a new identity. In a way, he is going on a journey in the superficial sense of traveling, but he also transforms himself into a new person.
ReplyDeleteThis is true, however this develops on the way. This idea of a spiritual quest is not what he starts out with nor is it something that he feels he is on. It is something which just happens along the way, like his taste for water and bananas.
DeleteYou imply that Smithy doesn't have a goal in mind when he sets out, but he does. He's going to Los Angeles to find his dead sister. I think Smithy is on a quest of sorts, with the physical goal being to find Bethany and his emotional goal being to rediscover himself (albeit the former is more sub-concious)
ReplyDeleteI've developed my own tangled thoughts on this question at length on my blog, but I will point out that "quest" indeed does mean "a long and arduous search for something," but I'll add that that "something" can be abstract or immaterial. The novel does raise a question: Is it possible to simply *find oneself* on a "quest" that one never intended to set out upon? Because this does seem to be the deal with Smithy: he just finds himself riding the bike, with only a vague sense of destination (it's like he doesn't even know he's riding to LA until he's already progressed a hundred miles west). But is it possible that he comes to understand the nature of his quest only once he nears the end? That the writing of the story (and of Bethany's story) is a way of trying to discover or unravel the meaning of what he's doing? So the "quest" continues even into the writing--and writers do go on quests for truth, as quest/question have the same etymology.
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