ART 311 - May 30, 2020 The Heroes’ Journey Again
I’ve been rereading The Name of the Wind, which is what I’m basing my Assignment #2 essay on, and I’m again blown away by Patrick Rothfuss’ poetic writing style. Ignoring issues that I have with some of his characters or themes, he uses words so purposefully that it feels as though not a single word is used in excess to what he needs to convey subtle meanings, emotions, and lore. Kvothe’s journey from just another kid in a travelling Adema Ruh caravan to becoming a musician and wizard of infamy and legend is a pleasure to read, even if it is for the 15th+ time. He never ignores the call to action if he is aware of the call; he has believable flaws, especially social flaws which are because of his youth and inexperience; his successive list of mentors are all extremely influential on his development in some manner, no matter for small or insignificant it may seem at first Rothfuss eventually reveals what important effect they had. The only major gripe that I have with this book and its sequel is that it succumbs to the ‘Mary Sue’, or ‘Gary Stue’ for males, trope of an excessively competent character. There is emphasis on how much he struggles for his rewards at times, and I realize that this excellence is actually a major part of some underlying themes for the trilogy as a whole, but I wish he struggled a bit more.













