What is the deal behind the penguin memes appearing on the internet?
There is a clip from Werner Herzog's 2007 Antarctic documentary "Encounters at the End of the World" in film, Herzog shows a long penguin peeling away from the safety of its colony and heading inland-toward certain death, according to Herzog.
But some see the penguin not as lost, but as a free thinker. To some the penguin is rejecting the colony and is marching toward a greater purpose.
Celebrated fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" Frodo Baggins leaves the comforts of the Shite on a grueling back-breaking quest. He faces hunger, fear, harsh weather, betrayal and danger. Tolkien shows us, through storytelling that all ordinary people are called to extraordinary courage by leaving comfort behind and facing suffering and sacrifice.
It's easy to think life is meaningless, civilization is collapsing and there's nothing let to save. But that's the lie of our age - the lie that nothing matters and the good cannot win.
The lone penguin speaks to something in us that wants more, to push our limits and see what we are truly made of.
Exerts taken from an opinion post by Evita Duffy-Alfonso on January 25, 2026.
