Response to Prompt #2

King Solomon wrote, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Foster applies this

precept saying that all “writing and telling belong to one big story." What does he

mean by this? How does this idea add to understanding and the richness of the

reading experience? How have you seen this principle in action in your own

experience with art in general?

Every new piece of art is just an expansion of everything that has come before, whether the creator realizes it or not. This takes on many forms, be it adaptations, sequels, or allusions. This means that the more art that the reader is aware of, the more parallels that can be drawn between art pieces. For instance, on one the best top-down puzzle adventure games out there is a little idie title called “Undertale.” The goal is to guide the main character (Friske, a human child) through the world of the game (The Underground) and return to the surface, home. At the same time, however, the inhabitants Underground (monsters) either love Friske or are hoping that Friske’s soul is the last soul that the king, King Asgore Dreemur, needs to break the barrier and set all monsterkind free.

While the story has originality, there is no denying the parallels between it and the classic book The Wizard of Oz. In it, the main character, Dorothy, is thrust into the strange world of Oz, much like Friske entering the Underground. One of the first major characters Dorothy meets is Glinda the Good, a witch who helps Dorothy out at the beginning of her journey. This is similar to when Friske meets Toriel (the game’s tutoriel). Both Glinda and Toriel are influential at the start of the story, but remain absent until the end. (At least in the movie. In the book, Glinda does not show up again, but they instead visit the Good Witch of the North.)

Another noteworthy parallel is between the encounters Dorothy has with the Wicked Witch of the West and early encounters Friske has with the Captain of the Royal Guard, Undyne. Both Friske and Dorothy have brief encounters with their respective antagonists that end with someone or something saving them from death at the last minute. That is, until the final encounter. Dorothy’s final encounter with the Wicked Witch happens after she’s been locked in her castle and ends when she melts the Witch with water. Friske’s final encounter with Undyne happens after Friske’s been locked in a fight with Undyne and ends with Friske dumping a cup of water on Undyne to save her from dehydration. Doing this opens up the string of events that ends with Undyne being Friske’s friend.