Quest Narrative: Personal Journey and Literary Analysis Assignment

This assignment presents a quest narrative, detailing a student's personal journey to witness the Aurora Borealis. The narrative begins with the student's childhood dream and follows their efforts to overcome obstacles, including financial constraints, to achieve their goal. The story emphasizes the use of symbolism and metaphor, with the brochure representing the dream and the Northern Lights symbolizing the quest itself. The student analyzes the narrative as a form of bildungsroman, demonstrating the use of demonstrative techniques to persuade the reader to pursue their own dreams. The assignment explores the importance of nurturing dreams and taking an active role in achieving them, highlighting the liberating and satisfying nature of such endeavors. The narrative concludes with a reflection on the experience's impact and its role in shaping the student's perspective on life and potential for leadership, and the value of the assignment as a quality of leadership that will be useful in the workplace and throughout your life.

Running head: QUEST NARRATIVE
Quest narrative
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1QUEST NARRATIVE
Part I:
My story begins in the eighth standard, when I came across an article on the Aurora
Borealis in Alaska on the internet. The pictures were mesmerizing, and the thirteen year old
me was instantly enthralled. I knew that when the timing was right, my destiny would lead
me towards my goal – to witness the Northern Lights; yet, every time I mentioned it to my
family, they dismissed it. Over time, the dream that I held so dear was soon boxed up and
shoved to a dark, hidden crevice of my mind, until last year.
In December last year, I came across what I believe to be somewhat symbolic, a sign
that I was meant to pursue what I dreamt of. I was walking down the street when I noticed a
brochure on the Northern Lights by the sidewalk, and all of a sudden, I felt a rush of emotions
consuming me – my long lost dream had bludgeoned to the surface, and I knew I could not
let it go. I began extensively researching about the Northern Lights, how to get to Alaska, the
best time to go, and most importantly, the expenses involved. As a student, I knew I would
have to live hand to mouth for the next few months if I really wanted to live my dream. I got
a part time job and worked overtime for the next two months, and by March, I had managed
to accumulate sufficient funds to get myself to Alaska. Yet, there was a nagging voice in my
head telling me that I should not get my hopes high – the Northern Lights, it seemed, had a
mind of their own. They only appeared when the weather conditions were perfectly aligned,
an occurrence that was very rare. However, I did not give up. On March 15th, I was in South
Alaska. I had hired a car and had driven up to a glacier, where I was told I would get a perfect
view of the lights. It was nearing midnight, and there was no sign of the lights. At this point, I
could not help thinking about all the people who had told me I would not get this far, and I
simply looked up at the vast expanse above, and prayed for a sign, that my quest had not been
in vain. I am not ashamed to admit that I did indeed shed a few silent tears, because I could
feel my dream slipping out of my hands as I kneeled on the ground outside my car. As

2QUEST NARRATIVE
difficult is it to believe, the lights appeared at that very instant – a visual metaphor of the fact
that if you yearn for something, and try hard enough, nothing can get in your way.
The lights appeared to me for exactly fifteen seconds, before they disappeared without
a trace. Yet, those fifteen seconds came to me like an epiphany – every obstacle I had
encountered, every thorn in my path, had been worth it. I knew, in that moment, that if I
could achieve this, I could handle everything that was coming my way. I had taken this
decision on an impulse, and that allowed me to make the most of the experience; not knowing
what is awaits you is liberating in the true sense of the term. The purpose of narrating my
account is to make the reader aware of the fact that a dream does not deserve to sit dormant;
and that if there is something that you have always wanted to do, there will not be a better
time for it than the present.
Part II:
a. To better narrate my experience, I have made use of two concepts of literature, namely
symbolism and metaphor (Symons, 2014). The brochure that I came across on the Northern
Lights was equivalent to a wake-up call for me; it was symbolic of the dream that I nurtured
from a young age. The Northern Lights itself was a metaphor of the quest that I had
undertaken. This narrative can be read as a kind of bildungsroman, where I narrate the chain
of events from start to finish; the narrative ends with the epiphany that I experienced when I
finally saw the lights (Brown, 2013).
b. I used a demonstrative technique in order to present my story. The narrative presented
above traces my quest, from the moment of inception, to when I actually fulfilled my dream,
despite hindrances that failed to derail me.

3QUEST NARRATIVE
I gave a detailed account so as to persuade the reader to take action. The goal was not to
simply persuade the reader to pursue their dreams, but to show how liberating and satisfying
it can be.
Through my narrative, I aim to make the reader understand the importance of
nurturing a dream and working towards it.
The success of the narrative can be measured on the extent to which it leaves a mark
on the reader and if it engages him enough to embark on a similar quest.
Through my narrative, I want the reader to understand that to simply dream is not
sufficient, one cannot be the passive recipient of fate; instead, one needs to take an active
role, and work towards fulfilling that dream.
Some of us lack the courage to dream, because in most cases, they tend to fail.
However, if one stays true to their goal and works towards it, they are bound to reach their
destination – if not immediately, then surely later
The objective of a quest narrative is to show an individual, by means of an example,
the multi layered meaning hidden in each experience, and the journey from commitment unto
progression. Every narrative has a purpose, to endear the reader by appealing to their
respective emotions and feelings. It is the reader’s onus to read between the lines and
understand the moral concealed in the narrative.
c. It was not difficult to narrate the story, for I consider it to be the single most important
event of my life – a life defining event, to say the least. I chose this story because I believe it
can be inspiring to others as well, and would instill courage in them to uncover their own
potential. The process of writing this narrative was oddly cathartic, because it allowed me to

4QUEST NARRATIVE
reflect on my actions and also gain a better understanding of how these events have shaped
me, and made me the person I am today.

5QUEST NARRATIVE
References:
Brown, J. P. (2013). The moral scope of the English Bildungsroman. In The Oxford
Handbook of the Victorian Novel.
Symons, A. (2014). The symbolist movement in literature. Carcanet.