Stages: Refusal of the Call, Meeting wit the Mentor, & Crossing the First Threshold

In this section of Vogler he discusses the next three stages taken during a heros journey: Refusal of the Call, Meeting with the Mentor, and Crossing the First Threshold.  Each of these stages continue to propel the story towards the second act.

Refusal of the Call is a temporarily hesitation or complete refusal of the call.  It can appear only in the beginning or throughout the entire story.  The main function of this stage is to redirect the focus of the adventure.  Also, the hesitation allows the audience to be aware of the challenges ahead for the hero.

Meeting with the Mentor is the stage in the Hero's Journey where he gains the supplies, knowledge, and confidence needed to overcome fear and commit to the adventure.  The function of this stage is to provide the hero with something he/she needs for the journey: whether it be advise, magical gifts, or testing.  At some point in the story, if no apparent Mentor has been cast, one of the character has to wear the mask of the Mentor archetype. Lastly, the Mentor shines light on the reality that everyone has to learn the lessons of life. 

Crossing the First Threshold is when the Hero fully commits to the adventure.  Signifies we have reached the border of the Ordinary World and the Special World.  This stages combines the external and internal choices that puts the story in motion past the Threshold Guardian. Whose 'responsibilities' are to block the hero's way and to train them in preparation for their adventure.  It is the Hero's job to find his/her way around the Threshold Guardian. 

It is my belief that Vogler places these three stages in consecutive order because they each lead to the next stage.  For most of the other stages it seems that they can be molded together or mixed around in a different manner to tell a certain story.  However, these three seem to be very connected. The hero overcomes his fear by meeting with the mentor, and by doing so over comes his fear which leads him/her to the first threshold of the journey. 

In the section where Vogler talks about Mentors like parents and how an overprotective Mentor (parent) can lead to a tragic situation.  This reminds me of the relationship that my best friend and her mother have, which can be seen as a love-hate relationship.  Her mother is very overbearing, always wanting to know who she is with, what she is doing, where she is going.  This type of overprotectiveness is what Vogler stated as being obsessed with the hero. For my friend, she feels the need to revolt against her mother just so she can breath.  The relationship they have is leading down the wrong path or as Vogler puts it 'can lead to tragic situations.'

Some Questions to Think About....

1. If the Hero automatically accepts the call to adventure what do you believe would happen to the refusal? Would there still be one?

2. Can you think of any movies where there is no apparent Mentor?  How does the hero learn lessons if there is none?

3. Who have been Mentors and Threshold Guardians in your life? Have they been positive or negative? Why?

Extra Credit - The Web of Language

After searching through the long list of article on Dennis Beron's website I found one that seem interesting.  It was titled What to name the baby? Forget grandma, hire a consultant.  The reason this article grabbed my attention is my cousin is pregnant and currently looking for the perfect name for her baby.  While reading the article I did not know how I felt about people hiring a consultant to give you an exact formula to create the perfect name.  However, I believe that naming a child is a very personal experience for both the expecting mother and father.  But I think its a cleaver article and a unique idea and I will pass it along to my cousin so she can some to her own conclusion about the proposed idea. 

http://illinois.edu/blog/viewblogId=25&topicId=932&count=1&ACTION=VIEW_TOPIC_DIALOGS&skinId=286

Peer Revision

Alex's peer review helped me realize that it is okay for me to talk about my feelings and how I have grown from this experience and not just focus on my father's side of the story.  His suggestions helped a great deal and without them I might not have come to that realization. 

Stages: The Ordinary World & The Call to Adventure

In this section of Vogler, he discusses the first and second stage of a story, the Ordinary World and the Call to Adventure.  The Ordinary World can also be known as the 'world of common day' because this is the comparison for the rest of the story.  It is through this stage the the audience gets hooked to the story.  However, prior to viewing the audience has to be in a certain state of mind for the particular film, play, or novel they are about to view whether it be a thriller, drama, comedy, etc.  Before the story even begins two metaphors are used, the title, which has to be multi-leveled for the condition of the hero and his world, and the opening image which creates the mood and states where the story will go.  All good stories in the Ordinary World raise a dramatic question, present the inner and outer problems of the hero, and also have the hero make an entrance which introduces the hero to the audience. But the most important function of the Ordinary World is the identification between the hero and the audience of the bat because they have to sense they are in some way equal.  The Ordinary World is the first statement of the main idea.  Vogler then moves on to the Call to Adventure which is the event that gets the story going.  Now they may present themselves in many different forms to the hero. For example, by a message or a messenger, from an accident or coincidence, may come from a temptation, delivered from the Herald, from a loss in the hero's life, or just the hero is running out of options.  No matter the way the Call to Adventure is presented to the hero it is still ultimately a process of selection.

Vogler seems to be very adamant in relating his archetype of the Hero to the audience.  It is talked about, so far, in all of his chapters about the importance of the Hero being humanize to a level at which the audience can have a sense of being equal.  Not only is is important for the Hero to be relatable but Vogler also discusses how powerful the opening of a story must be in order for it to be a success.  Without grabbing the readers attention and making the Hero relatable what is to come of your story?  Vogler makes writers focus heavily on these two components because without an audience your story is just words written on paper. 

When Vogler discussed how the Ordinary World and the Special World have to be very different I began to reflect on my life to see if I have a contrast that like.  After sitting with the idea for a while I finally had an ah ha moment, how could I now have thought of this sooner?  For me, the Ordinary World would be the life I live when I am back home in West Chester, Pennsylvania with the comforts of my family and friends close by; then my Special World would be my life here at Eckerd College, where new adventures and challenges are presented to me everyday that I would never be able to experience in my own 'Ordinary World'. 

Some Questions to Think About...

1. In your own life, what would you consider your Ordinary World vs. the Special World?

2. In your first project how is your hero presented the Call to Adventure? Did your hero have more the one 'path' to choice from?

3. Say you are the audience, what is the best way for a movie to capture your attention?

Extra Credit - NPR StoryCorps

With the current start of our economy many Americans who experienced the Great Depression are growing worried because never again do they want to experience the financial anguish again. James Bost was nine years old in 1932 when his father had to work around the clock just to make ends meat.  He recalls one incident when his father went to the back and withdrew all his money because he did not trust what the bank would do with his money.  So when he returned home Bost's father placed the money in a suitcase and buried it deep in the ground in their back yard. Currently with the recent downfall, James Bost has taken some of his funds out of his bank account and placed the money aside just to be prepared if the economy takes a turn for the worse. 

After listening to this piece from StoryCorps my eyes were opened to the fact that our economy is beginning to mirror the economy during the Great Depression, which is a scary realization.  Each person should listen to a person's story who lived through the Depression to learn their experience so hopefully we can avoid a relapse. 

Strength & Weaknesses of Draft #1

Strength:

1. In paragraph number two, I provide the reader with good detail.  It grabs the readers attention allowing them to have a clear picture in their mind about what I am explaining. 

2. In paragraph number four, I show the reader what I have learned.  The reader can understand 'how family can effect an individual' and how I have grown from the experience.

Weaknesses:

1. I need to improve on the sentence structure within each paragraph.  The first sentence needs to be the topic sentence of the paragraphs and from there each paragraph should go from broad to specific. Staying on the same topic, if I create a sentence that is not on the same track of the topic sentence then I will have to remove it and replace it with a new more specific to the paragraph.

2. I need to improve on replacing the vague words.  Replace the words such as "it, this, that, you" with more detailed words to help the reader 'get' what I am trying to say. 

The Archetypes - From Threshold Guardian to Trickster

In this weeks reading of Vogler, he discusses the remaining archetypes that are responsible for bringing a story to life.  Even though the hero and the mentor are two of the major components of constructing a story without having the other archetypes present leaves the audience guessing.  So in order to have a well rounded story the archetypes of threshold guardian, herald, shapeshifter, shadow, ally, and trickster must all have a role.  The threshold guardian primary function is to test the hero and see if the Hero is able to incorporate them instead of destroying them.  The Herald job is to issue challenges and announce the coming of change, it is from the herald the Hero learns about their Call to Adventure.  The shapeshifter are changeable characters who express the energy of animus (male to female) and anima (female to male) and are the symbol of transformation.  The shadow represents the dark side or the power of repressed feelings; however, they do create conflict while trying to bring out the best in the Hero.  The ally can be seen as the Hero's companion whose function is to humanize the Hero.  Lastly, there is the trickster who usually brings comic relief to many stories, whose embodies energy of mischief and desire for change.  As Vogler states 'archetypes are infinitely flexible language of character' which make it possible for audiences to understand the story given.

The way Vogler presents the remaining archetypes shows readers how they are just as important to the story as the Hero and the Mentor.  In my opinion, the archetypes that usually don't pull as much weight in the story are the ones that determine a good story from a bad one.  You can only take so much from the Heros and the Mentors, which leaves the rest up to the other archetypes to piece together the rest of the story.  Without an ally a viewer couldn't relate to the Hero, or if there was no herald the Hero wouldn't be faced with a challenge, and if there was no trickster audiences would not be able to recognize hope in a story.  But the main thing I will take away from archetype's is their ability to be interchanging, or the ability of different characters to take on different archetypes as if they were masks.  I believe that through archetypes audiences relate to a certain character in a film, novel, or play that will help further their understanding of the story.

After reading about the variety of archetype Vogler presents, one movie came to mind right away (even mentioned throughout Vogler), The Dark Knight.  This is a classic comic turned into a big screen hit, where the characters embrace the archetype given to them.  Each character embodies one certain archetype; however like most things these can be debated.  So I believe Bruce Wayne/Batman to be the Hero, Rachel Dowes to be the Shapshifter, the Joker is the Shadow, Harvey Dent at first is an Ally who quickly changes into a Shadow, Lucius Fox is an Ally, and Alfred is the Mentor.  However, each of these characters take on other archetypes to make them seem more human and more relatable to the audience. 

Questions to Think About...

1. If you were to star in a movie, which archetypes do you think you would take on? Why?

2. The Shapeshifter archetype is a catalyst for change, in what whys do you embody this archetype when having a relationship with the opposite sex? 

3. What are examples of other movies where the main character take on multiply masks of archetypes?

Extra Credit - Six Word Memoir

When Professor Kat told us about this weeks extra credit I was intrigued, mostly because I had no clue what six words could describe me. Upon visiting the website I saw a wide variety of memoirs ranging from strange to clover but all very unique. After some contemplation as to what to say, I decided on something simple:

"Forever I.. daughter, sister, aunt, friend."

The reason I chose those four words is because they explain four parts of me that I will "forever" be. Other labels will come and go but those four words are the constants in my life!

Extra Credit - Rice

Freerice.com has a great concept, helping people improve their vocabulary while providing hungry people with rice. For each correct answer 10 grains of rice are donated to the UN. As for the vocabulary portion I felt as though it was laid out for people to easily understand. I know for myself vocabulary has always been a trouble spot. However, through this experience I was able to recognize that I can work through tough words by previous knowledge. Another part about the site that I liked was when you got a word incorrect, the same word would show up again after some rotation to make sure you know the correct meaning. I definitely will be visiting this site again not only to help feed the hungry but more so to improve my vocabulary skills!

"You have now donated
1000 grains of rice."

The Archetypes - Heros & Mentor

In this section of Vogler's book, he discusses the various aspects of the Hero and the Mentor through their different types of archetypes.  The definition given in the chapter is "an ancient patterns of personality that are the shared heritage of the human race; however, it can be defined simply as a model of a person, personality or behavior. Archetype is the key tool for understanding the concepts and functions of a story and is known as the 'universal language of storytelling'.  They are used as functions or can be seen as masks for the characters because they are what moves the story along.  Without archetypes the characters personality would be unknown. Vogler explains the Hero's as 'one who is able to transcend the bounds and illusions of the ego'. Hero's go through many dramatic functions throughout a story including the audiences ability to identify with the hero, sacrifice, dealing with death, character flaws, being able to be flexible, but most importantly the hero is the symbol of transformation.  Then Vogler goes into the different archetypes the Mentor, or the positive figure who helps the hero, goes through. Their function is to represent the self, the aspect of personality that is connected to all things. But their purpose in the story is to train or teach.  The Hero and Mentor are closely tied to each other so much so that their archetypes can be interchangeable.

Vogler's thoughts on archetypes helped my ability to understand the structure of a story.  I certainly feel that is it important for anyone who writes to understand the fundamental structure of how a character is developed and drives a story along.  I especially connected to Voglers idea of the archetypes of the hero and mentor being interchangeable because character development should be something a writer can have liberty with. In other words I do not believe that archetypes are something that should be strictly applied by the writer or enforced by a critic because is this were so, creativity in literature would be greatly restricted.

After finishing reading, the first connection that popped into my head was the movie He's Just Not that Into You where the main character finds the guidance through a complete stranger. Gigi is a helpless romantic whose ideals about love, relationships and men get shattered when Alex explains to her how men see those three things and this realization changes the way Gigi dates.  Gigi can be seen as a willing hero who is not afraid to sacrifice heartbreaks in search for true love.  Alex obtains many different types of archetypes as the mentor.  For example, he teaches Gigi a thing about love but in doing so he learns a little something himself, which can be categorized as a fallen mentor.  Without reading Vogler I would not have been able to analyze these character for what they truly are.

Question to Think about...

1.  What are archetypes in your life?

2.  How have Mentors in your life helped shape the person you are today?

3.  If it is true that each of us are the Hero's of our own lives then how do you think outsiders would portray your personal journey?