Hobbits and the Argo

While going through blog posts, one of the authors mentioned something about Jason staying in his shire. Massive geek that I am, my first thoughts were to Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, as The Shire was a prominent setting in both the LOTR trilogy, and in the Hobbit. Specifically, The Shire is the ancestral land of the hobbit people, and therefore the place of origin for the main protagonists of the series. 

I thought to myself, "is there actually a connection between LOTR and BSG? Or am I making a connection out of nothing?". Obviously there is a passing connection-- Jason mentions his Middle Earth poster on his wall, along with his enjoyment of the series. However, I wanted something more concrete. Then it hit me, the connection was through Jason's name-- Jason shares a name with the protagonist of Homer's The Odyssey (as pointed out by Madame Crommlynck). Both The Odyssey and LOTR are archetypal examples of the Hero's Journey narrative. In the Hero's Journey story structure, the protagonist has a defined goal, sets off to reach said goal, goes through many ordeals to reach their goal, and return changed forever. 

None of this happens to Jason. Jason has no defined goal to reach, no Cyclops to fight, no Mt. Doom to throw the ring into. Black Swan Green takes place almost entirely in Black Swan Green, and the events that Jason goes through just sort of happen to Jason. I think the passing references or comparisons to books in the Hero's Journey archetype is done to highlight just how different Jason's character arc is-- he stays in 'The Shire' for most of the book, but he still finds conflict and adventure; and at the end of the book, Jason leaves BSG changed forever.