| Today's rant, about the siligism "light at the end of the tunnel." Why? In the Odyssey of the Mind meeting today, Amy brought it up.
So let's see. It stands for a lot of things. Usually one would use it to represent hope or a way out, sort of like a way to achieve victory or escape. For example, in the Lord of the Rings, the bridge of Khazad-Dum was the light at the end of the tunnel for the beleagered Fellowship, for it symbolized escape from Moria and the Balrog.
If you take it a step further, the light could also represent death, the tunnel a corridor of life. As you walk forward through the tunnel, you experience things, then when death comes, it is like a light at the end of the tunnel. Akin to this is how some bugs fly into lamps and electrocute and/or burn themselves, causing their deaths. This light also represents the mezmerizing power of death, along with representing death itself.
To put my own spin on it, I believe you can use this siligism for desparation, suicide, or giving up. This means that you are walking along the tunnel, and you are being pressured from all sides. Then, you turn back toward the light, and give up (ie. find release). What is interesting about this application is that it gives a negativetone to the light rather than a positive one (though death really isn't considered positive). So, if going toward the light is a bad thing, entering the darkness is a good thing. This brings up another question, how can going into the darkness of the tunnel be a good thing? Imagine the darkness as a force, a pressure, a fear working against you. The light you are turning away from is a crutch or a release in order to unshoulder the burden of the dark. The only problem is the word "end," which usually means you are walking toward the light. However, a tunnel has two ends, and one can be positive while the other negative. Surely on the other side of the tunnel, there is an end, and a light, but you must tread through your fears, pain, and pressures in order to reach the positive light of success or victory. As they say in Wizard's First Rule, there are two sides to everything. |
