Stages 3 & 4 of the Journey
Vogler, Christopher. Vogler, Christopher. “Book Two: Stages of the Journey.” The Writer's Journey. Third. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998. 107-125.
Summary:
Refusal of the Call -
- Informs the audience of how risky the journey truly is.
- Shows that the reward is greater than the risk.
- Types of Refusals
o Avoidance: usually overcome by an inciting event.
o Excuses: usually overcome by the urgency of the quest
§ Persistent refusal leads to tragedy.
§ There can be multiple calls at once.
o Positive Refusals
§ Usually refusing the call has a negative outcome, but not always.
§ Artist as a Hero.
- Willing heroes are the exception, and don’t try to refuse the call but rather seek it out.
- Threshold Guardians (who is sometimes the mentor too).
o Usually appear after the Hero has accepted the call.
o Used to question the Hero’s worthiness.
- The Secret Door is the kryptonite of a hero and brings out their curiosity.
Meeting with the Mentor -
- Mentor’s Job
o Supplies the hero with something needed.
§ Teach, guide, protect, test, train, and provide magical gifts.
· Help get the hero past his fear/doubt.
§ They are the evolved hero.
- Meeting with the Mentor
o Rich in potential for conflict, involvement, humor, and tragedy.
- A good mentor is enthused about learning.
- Conflict
o Sometimes the mentor can turn into a villain or betray the hero.
§ It’s healthy to be slightly distrustful.
Reaction:
Similar to how I have felt about other readings, I never realized how important these roles and stages are to creating an intricate and interesting story. I also never realized how important foreshadowing and allusions to the past could be.
Questions:
- Do you think it is possible to have an inexperienced Mentor?
- Is a Hero truly a Hero if he gives in to his secret door? Can a story end with the secret door, or does the Hero always regain their authority?
2 comments:
i think it is very possible to have an inexperienced mentor. i think many times in stories mentors are giving advice without even knowing it, especially when there are many mentors in a story
I think it's possible to have an inexperienced mentor. Not everyone who gives advice and trys to help guide others is qualified to do so. Some mentors can lead people astray because they might not be as wise as they think they are and may give bad advice.
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