Rhianna Lebedz
October 6, 2008
Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. pg. 107-125.
Summary
In the next two stages, Vogler explains 'Refusal of the Call' and 'Meeting with the Mentor'. 'Refusal of the Call' lets the audience know that the upcoming adventure can be risky (107). There's a few ways that a hero can refuse the adventure, which is avoidance, making excuses, or being challenged by the Threshold Guardian (108-111). Sometimes refusing the call can be positive if it helps save your life (109). The fear of proceeding with the adventure or challenge that lies ahead, is usually overcome with the help of the Mentor (113).
Vogler then went on to explain the stage of 'Meeting with the Mentor'. The mentor is there to protect, guide, teach, test, train, and provide for the Hero (117). Sometimes the hero and the mentor run into conflicts with one another and is usually because the hero is ungrateful or violence-prone (121). However, the mentor can turn into the villain and not all mentors can be trusted (121-122).
Reaction
My favorite stage so far is the 'Refusal of the Call' stage because this one adds a lot of drama to the adventure. This stage makes the audience question if the hero will continue on or refuse the adventure. I really like how Vogler is using The Wizard of Oz as an example for each stage because it's such a well known movie and almost everyone can follow along with the stages as he describes them.
Questions
1. If the Mentor is always wise, then do you think Wilson in Castaway can serve as the mentor, or is it someone else?
2. Do you enjoy stories more when there is a refusal of the call or when the hero gets right into the adventure without and hesitation?
3. Will the hero sometimes not refuse the call because they think the adventure is not dangerous or has no risk, or is it because they have no fear of what lies ahead?
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2 comments:
For question #3:
Although both, The Refusal of the Call and the unhesitant Answering of the Call, have the ability to be equally intriguing, I feel the Hero who initially refuses the call adds more grit to the story.
Even though Wilson wasn't necessarily wise, I think that he/it was a mentor in the movie. He helped guide the hero (Tom Hanks) and was there to "listen" which helped the main character work out his problems. Maybe that means the main character was his own mentor, but needed to give his rationality some sort of legitimacy, so he pretended like the ball was saying those things instead (kinda funny).
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