Entry One

Image Courtesy of Naughty Dog, Inc. (2013)

Me and Tess were leading Ellie out of Quarantine when we got caught. We just made it outside, it was pitch dark, rainy, and I thought we’d gotten off clean. A soldier side-swiped me, and knocked us all down to our knees, hands behind our heads. Damn Marlene for coaxing us into doing this. Following protocol, they checked each of us, one by one, for infection. I knew I was clean; I was just trying to figure ourselves a way out of this. The soldier goes to check Ellie, and she stabs him in the leg and knocks him clean off his feet. Me and Tess joined in and took down the other soldier, but they got a call in for back up first. Shit, this kid’s got guts. She’s smart, but she’s got a smart mouth on her too. Kinda reminds me of my Sarah…

This entry illustrates the trials and tribulations that are expected of a quest narrative. The group is stopped and put into a position where they must “prove themselves” and find a solution. Here, they prove themselves through relying on their survival instincts—waiting for an opportune moment, making a decision, and later coping with the results. This is reminiscent of “side-quests” in many Medieval narratives, including Sir Thomas Malory’s The Noble Tale of the Sankgreal. Malory’s side-quests stress the importance of making a decision, choosing left or right, and then dealing with the ramifications of one’s decision, whether it was “right” or “wrong.” Although Joel, Tess, and Ellie don’t have a “good man” to tell them whether their decision was right or wrong, they do have a disembodied voice coming from one of the soldier’s walkie-talkie, confirming that they are en route to their location to provide back-up enforcements to capture the three stragglers. This is the retrospective figure telling them that although they made a good decision to fight back, their response was ill-timed. Joel also hints at an oath that he and Tess made to a character named Marlene. Marlene is really the one who gave them the quest to transport Ellie, and although it is a difficult task, they understand the necessity of keeping their word. Oaths are prominent themes of quest narratives, and this oath operates as the catalyst to their quest, similar to Perceval’s oath to discover why the lance bleeds in The Story of the Grail by Chretien de Troyes. The aspect that is unexpected is that the group is not seeking a tangible thing, like a grail; instead, they are seeking a place. In addition, Tess and Joel are not seeking something to acquire; instead, they are seeking to deliver something. If Ellie’s antibody-filled blood is the “Holy Grail” of this world, then Tess and Joel are doing the exact opposite from what most characters do in a quest narrative. By trying to rid themselves of their Holy Grail figure instead of keep it for themselves, they are participating in a very different quest from that of Medieval texts. They are trading Ellie for a gun shipment that they can sell in exchange for ration cards—they are selling the Holy Grail for food. This is analogous to trading a spiritual pleasure for an earthly pleasure, and deviates from the ideal of spiritual accomplishment as more desirable than physical experiences. 
Quest Expectations/Terms: Tests; Oaths; Travel; Signifier/Signified