How to Read Literature Like a Professor: Assignment One

Disney movies are one of the many memories that virtually every child continues to remember. Some of us even continue to watch them in our older years (quite often in fact). However, by taking a look further into these delightfully colorful and amusing stories, we can all find a quest.

Lion King is one of my favorite movies. Breaking down this story for the summer English Assignment introduced me to new parts that I had not realized. One of them being that it contained all the parts of a quest...

1. A quester: Simba, a lion cub born into a particularly important family. He goes through the traumatic experience of losing his father, and is convinced that the event was his fault. He runs away for fear that his entire family would be too upset to see him again.

2. A place to go: Simba runs into a baboon named Rafiki, who happens to be a little bit crazy and enjoy whacking Simba over the head with a stick. Something rolls around in Simba's brain that makes him decide to go back to Pride Rock to save his family from his Uncle Scar.

3. A stated reason to go there: After being harassed by the crazy baboon, Simba is convinced that he needs to go back simply to help his family and to tell them "the truth," about what happened to his father.

4. Challenges and Trials: The only person, or lion, standing in Simba's way is his dreadfully dull and mean Uncle. Since Simba had run away, Scar had taken his place as King of Pride Rock. They start to battle and while they fight, Scar admits that he is the one that killed Simba's father, Mufasa!

5. A real reason to go there: After learning that Mufasa's death was not Simba's own fault, he finds a new power in himself. He defeats Scar and takes his rightful place at the thrown and transforms the Pride Lands back to the peaceful way they once were.