Adventure story settings can vary greatly ...... from jungles to cities, from historical to futuristic time periods. Heroes and villains can be male or female, young or old, human or alien. No matter what the setting or time period, there is always an element of danger, the sense of anticipation as the suspense mounts.
Although there are emerging
contemporary adventure stories that revolve around female heroines, the traditional
adventure stories were largely written by men for men. They are what my male
friends call “male adventure romance stories”.
They focus on strong, intelligent, selfless protagonists overcoming
seemingly insurmountable challenges and dangers, in hostile environments, to
complete important (often life saving) missions or quests.
Green (1991) states that traditional
adventure books are ….. aimed at men, and celebrate manliness. I'm not sure about this though as I am one woman who certainly enjoys a great adventure tale, whether it be traditional or more contemporary. He also states that, as most adventure tales
are fictional, they have in the past been “smuggled into high culture, into
serious people’s readings”. Cohen (2010) agrees that although adventure fiction is very popular it is "denigrated by critics" (p. 661).
Saricks (2009), lists the qualities
of an adventure story
·
Stories
that focus on action, and a mission,
·
Detailed
settings, often in exotic locales,
·
Stories
that have a myriad of obstacles and dangers,
·
Heroes
who save the day through ingenuity and skill,
·
Fast
paced tales moving from one dangerous escapade to the next.
Saricks (2005), expands on the
characteristic of pace, stating that fast moving action, often at seemingly breakneck
speeds compels the reader forward. It has them on the edge of their seats,
biting their nails in anticipation and rooting for the protagonist to
prevail.
A good adventure story would be …“A treasure
hunter being shot down from his plane, while on a mission, over the middle of
the Amazon jungle. He is then chased by
government spies who don’t want him to complete his mission and find the
treasure….oh and a tribe of cannibals are also chasing him……and maybe some
vicious animals as well……”
