The Good Ol' Day Ain't What They Used to Be.

For this weeks reading, I read Terry Pratchett's short story, Troll Bridge. What I found interesting about this piece is that is decides to follow a hero many years after he's gone through his archetypal journey.  He's washed up with almost no treasure to use to retire because as he put's it he, " Spent it all. Drank it all. Gave it all away. Lost it." The golden hero Cohen The Barbarian who is reminiscent of the typical serial comic adventures of the 50's and 60's seems like the type of hero who you never see age. Every month a new issue in a shiny new land with a new gal by his side and new treasure to seek. He is the archetypal hero who never ages, always cycling through his journey. You usually don't get to see what happens to him after the end, that is until Terry Pratchett decides to make his beginning his end. Cohen the Barbarian admits to his trusty yet sarcastic steed that he "Never thought I'd have an old age."  The now ancient, aching man is desperately trying to hold onto his glory days by traveling far out of his way to seek a troll to battle. Having once fought many divisive wars against troll kind, it seems that type of animosity has dried up in recent years as "there's more trolls in the cities than there are in the mountains." Trolls and humans caught up in modern living have moved passed traditional and stereotypical occupations, too caught up in their own business to really care to go against each other. Younger trolls and humans alike are drawn to work in the cities which offer them more options. This is an obvious commentary on the diversification and integration of Western countries. Cultures that were once isolated and radically different have faded due to assimilation. Pratchett isn't using this story to say that things were better in the old days, far from it. This set up subtlyt points out how odd it is that fantasy is so focused on the races of the different creatures and where they line up in a hierarchy. Cohen meets his equivalent, a troll who has refused to move on from the family bridge despite no one coming there anymore and thus dooming his family to poverty as he has ignored new opportunities. Far from what we expect, the troll is actually honored that such a fearsome and respected warrior has come to try to slay him as in his mind it's a return to form for his kind. Cohen is taken aback by this and he and the troll seem to hit it off as they both lament over the way things have changed in their lifetime. Rather than fighting the troll as they both had originally expected and hoped for, he gives the guy the last of his money and wishes him luck before moving on. It's a somewhat hopeful note to end the story on as it proves that even old souls set in their ways aren't immune to the progress of time. Despite not going through yet another epic journey, the small experience he has with the troll does change him for the better the way an epic journey usually would.

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