Friday, April 10, 2009

Lane Wallace says "Suck It Up"

She takes a somewhat unsympathetic view of the travails of Alexandra Penney, the over-celebrated Madoff victim. Unfortunately, she strays off into literary criticism:

To put Penny’s posts in perspective, imagine Frodo Baggins, the hobbit hero in The Lord of the Rings, reacting similarly. Imagine him railing in the woods about how unfair it was that he had to go return this stupid ring to fix a problem someone else created, complaining about the rain, the uncomfortable leaf piles he and Sam had to sleep on, how hard the walk and journey was … and getting a bit happier only if some opportunist or kind soul took pity on his victim-pout complaints and installed him safely back in a warm, cozy house with ease, comfort, and good food and wine. Or, if you haven’t read or seen that particular story, you could try the same exercise with Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, or Ulysses, in Homer’s Odyssey. Or any epic hero, for that matter.

Except that is exactly what all those heroes do. Greatness is thrust upon them against their will. That's the story.

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