Good ol' bumbling Samwise says in the Lord of the Rings (movie):
"This shadow, even darkness, must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you, that meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, i do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going because they were holding on to something. "

Frodo: "What are we holding on to, Sam?"

Sam: "That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth fighting for."