Classic stories and epics reach deep into our hearts to connect with timeless themes and call us to greater hopes and dreams.

Qualities of a classic

For a literary work to become a classic, it must have at least two, often three different layers of meaning.    For example, the classic shipwreck tale Robinson Crusoe had three layers woven throughout the book:

• What was happening to Crusoe and what he was doing.
• What Crusoe was thinking at the moment.
• Crusoe’s present commentary on what he was thinking and doing.

Some of Crusoe’s commentary back in the 1719 included insights about the nature of religion and the Church that are as poignant 300 years later as they were when first penned by author Daniel Defoe.

The classic children’s book Winnie the Pooh contains similar layers.  It’s the story of a father telling made-up stories to his son, and talking about the stories to his son in the process, and thus we have stories within stories that capture the imagination.

“When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

C.S. Lewis

What makes an epic

Epic stories go further, anchoring their themes across multiple generations.  Did you know that there is a 4-cycle, 80-to-100-year generational pattern that finds its way into every stable civilization, and into every fairy tale and epic story that has multiple generations?

If we define a generation by the length of time it takes a child to reach adulthood — about 20-25 years — we can see this pattern in US history since World War II.   (I learned this pattern from a book called The Fourth Turning by Strauss & Howe.)

Each generation has a prototype:

Heroes — those that fought WWII we still call the Greatest Generation.  Can’t get any more heroic than that.

Artists — the Builder generation, the younger brothers and sisters of those returning from battle, never could live up to that heroic reputation.  So they simply sought to fit in, and filled society with bureaucrats and artistic-minded beatniks that gave us the 1950s.

Prophets — the Baby Boomers were handed a stable, prosperous society.  But underneath the veneer they saw many evils that they were compelled to tackle head-on.  Whether hippies or Jesus People, they challenged the status quo with a distinctly prophetic voice, promoting “love” and seeking to save the planet from racism, nuclear war and environmental devastation.

Nomad — Generation X was a group of latchkey kids who grew up to be first Yuppies and then helicopter parents when they realized Dan Quayle was right, and rejected the idealism of the Boomers that was too busy changing the world instead of taking care of their families.

In the Secular Cycle, this Nomad (Lost) Generation is often typified by merchants and mercenaries who raise or mentor the next generation of heroes.

Eventually a crisis hits, and every generation has a role.  The prophets are the elder statesmen, the lost generation are generals, and the heroes are fighting the battles.  The artist generation are the innocents being protected at home.

Epic adults and epic children

The main characters in adult-centered epic stories are typically a hero or prophet.

The main characters in children-centered epic stories are usually from the artist or nomad/lost generation.

The Secular Cycle in the Bible

This 100-year cycle is historically called a Secular Cycle — from the Latin word saecularis meaning generation or age — and it was even recognized by Greek and Roman historians.  Eventually, theology took “secular” to mean the “this current worldly age”, so now, with linguistic irony, I get to explain how we find the Secular Cycle in the Bible.

The stories of Moses (prophet) and David (hero) illustrate two secular cycles.  Note the order:

• Prophet = Moses
• Nomad/Lost = children of Israel wandering in the desert (Joshua and Caleb)
• Hero = children raised in the desert, entering the promised land
• Artists = settling the land

We see the same cycle in the first monarchs of Israel, many decades later:

• Prophet = Samuel
• Nomad/Lost = King Saul
• Hero = King David
• Artist = King Solomon

Those were examples I found in Scripture after pondering whether the secular cycle might be something worth considering as wisdom.

The Secular Cycle in fairy tales

The epic fairy tales that inspired the classic Disney animations contain a timeless cycle of generations, which makes them immediately accessible and linked to a greater pattern we all know subconsciously.  The characteristics of each generation are clear and predictable, whether the characters are good or evil.

Children’s stories focused on the Lost Generation always have a theme of self-discovery, which is necessary because social structures have broken down.

In Cinderella we find the generational characters in exactly the expected order:

• Prophet = wicked stepmother, fairy godmother
• Nomad/lost = Cinderella
• Heroes = the little guys, mice and other characters who will pull the carriage

It’s the same with Snow White:

• Prophet = the queen, fairy godmother
• Nomad/Lost = Snow White
• Heroes = the little guys, the seven dwarfs

With Pinocchio, we see the other end of the generational cycle.  With stories set in the Artist Generation, the theme is conformity with social and moral standards.

• Hero = Geppetto, the loving father
• Artist = Pinocchio
• Prophet = the little guy, Jiminy Cricket

A long time ago in a galaxy far away…

Even Star Wars contains the epic generational cycle.  Well at least the first three released did (now called IV, V and VI).  Whether on purpose or not, George Lucas nailed it.

• Prophet = Obi Wan, Darth Vader
• Nomad/Lost = Han Solo (merchant turned reluctant general)
• Hero = Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia
• Artist = the little guy R2D2, bureaucratic C3PO

The epic nature of subsequent Star Wars releases, or lack thereof, remains to be seen.

American Revolution

The generations of the American Revolution illustrate the same cycle:

• Prophet = Ben Franklin (remember his speech in the continental congress?)
• Nomad/Lost = George Washington (merchant turned reluctant general)
• Hero = Thomas Jefferson (Declaration of Independence)
• Artist = Lewis & Clark, charting the new land

Looking forward

Not everyone buys the Strauss–Howe generational theory, as you can see by reading the analysis in Wikipedia.  But I tend to believe that it’s a valuable analysis, given how many different places we can see the pattern, including in the multi-generational stories of Scripture.

History is guided by the hand of God, not a cyclical determinism, so we do not want to fall into magical thinking like so many do who incorrectly look to astrology or other mystical cycles for explanations of human behavior.

I do think this secular cycle illustrates how generations can adopt certain rhythmic patterns due to human nature.  This can be explained by the generational impact of children being alternately over-protected and over-neglected, and an alternating cycle of social renewal and spiritual renewal.

How differently raised children respond as adults does produce different outcomes, as different as the eventual outcomes of World War I and World War II.

If the analysis of Strauss and Howe is correct, then the Millennial Generation is poised to be the next hero generation.  They do seem to be a group of young people who are ready for great teamwork, who are idealistic … but have no clear idea what to be idealistic about.

We who are slightly older — I’m a Generation Xer — have the responsibility to mentor the next generation.  If a crisis comes, we may be called into action as generals, which I can say with fair certainty is one of the last things my generation is interested in doing.  But, like Han Solo (and George Washington), we’ll probably be ready and will do a surprisingly decent job at it.