Guilt and self-preservation...
Jun. 4th, 2006 01:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
khiemtranI've got an interesting conundrum at the moment with The Silver Bowl...
In one of the story variants, the protagonist finds himself in effective exile from his home village due to an outside threat. The threat is that of being effectively pressganged into forced labour by one of the minor powers in the area, and so also applies to just about any boy of suitable age of his village. Now, this particular boy happens to have a unique opportunity to travel to a distant place and call in a favour owed to his father by someone there (which happens to kick off the rest of the story).
The interesting question is how all the other boys fit into the equation. In one variant, the opportunity is opened to any of the eligible boys, but only the protag accepts. In another, the other boys are to hide out in some other, nearer place and only the protagonist is unlucky enough to be sent so far afield. Both these options absolve the protag of any guilt in the same way as Noah's neighbours being wicked and mocking him absolves him from having to rescue them too. Another option is to turn it around and focus on the protagonist's guilt - either his father chooses to save his own son first by calling in the favour, or the protag seizes the opportunity to save himself willingly, which then has consequences when he faces questioning about it later in the story. In another version, he does leave with other boys, but only he made it all the way.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards downplaying the threat and playing up the distance of the journey, so I can concentrate on other elements of the story, but it's interesting to watch how the dynamics of the story change in each of the slightly different scenarios.
In one of the story variants, the protagonist finds himself in effective exile from his home village due to an outside threat. The threat is that of being effectively pressganged into forced labour by one of the minor powers in the area, and so also applies to just about any boy of suitable age of his village. Now, this particular boy happens to have a unique opportunity to travel to a distant place and call in a favour owed to his father by someone there (which happens to kick off the rest of the story).
The interesting question is how all the other boys fit into the equation. In one variant, the opportunity is opened to any of the eligible boys, but only the protag accepts. In another, the other boys are to hide out in some other, nearer place and only the protagonist is unlucky enough to be sent so far afield. Both these options absolve the protag of any guilt in the same way as Noah's neighbours being wicked and mocking him absolves him from having to rescue them too. Another option is to turn it around and focus on the protagonist's guilt - either his father chooses to save his own son first by calling in the favour, or the protag seizes the opportunity to save himself willingly, which then has consequences when he faces questioning about it later in the story. In another version, he does leave with other boys, but only he made it all the way.
At the moment, I'm leaning towards downplaying the threat and playing up the distance of the journey, so I can concentrate on other elements of the story, but it's interesting to watch how the dynamics of the story change in each of the slightly different scenarios.
