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?