Approach to the Inmnost Cave and the Ordeal

Approach to the Inmost Cave

Now our characters approach the middle place between the entrance to the new world and the center of the adventure. At this point the heroes would fall in the zone of Approach; here they "make plans, recognize the enemy, reorganize the group and arm themselves." Also a romance may be ignite, confident heroes will go on a head, information is gather, obstacles confront, dealing with complications and the heroes will put something on a stake.

Ordeal

"The face of the greatest challenge and the most fearsome opponent.' It's secret is that the hero most die and be reborn and when they are reborn they should have change in some way. The ordeal is not the climax, but a dramatic point with a crisis that can appear in the middle, or can be delayed and come near the end of act II. Is the most tense stage for the hero as he must make sacrifices and even pretend to die, watch death or/and kill someone.
Another important part of the ordeal is facing the shadow or the the "hero's fears or rejected qualities which can be demonize or projected into other people. Finally the hero will face the villain in battle and one of them will win and the other may die. Ariadne's Thread is an elastic band that connects heroes' with loved ones, and can help them come back to life. In romantic stories the ordeal can be a crisis of the heart or fear of commitment.

As the hero approaches the cave it most prepared and plan for the ordeal that it would confront a head in the journey; approaching the cave is the perfect place for the hero to think, plan and prepare himself and his company to face his or their biggest fears. The ordeal is when the hero learns who he really is by facing his fears and the outcome may be death. If he comes back to life he would change and be a new and better human. The hero does not have to face the ordeal by himself and sometimes the allies and mentors can become heroes to the hero in distress, as it happens in "The Wizard of Oz"

Vogler mentions how people pay money to have a taste of death; for that feeling of almost dying and coming back to life. We all have always wonder how does it feel to die, because we all know one day it may come to us and we want to be ready for it and for death to be as painless as possible. Even if we all wonder about the feeling of death not many like to take the risk of bungee jumping or the adrenaline of rollercoasters; myself being one of them. I hate rollercoaster and you can not tell me is because I have not try becuase I did, twice. If this is the case does it mean I have an extra fear of death? I do not think so. If I were to die today I don't think I may be afraid since I do not have any regrets.

Questions

1. What is your biggest fear?
2. Do you think people like to ride rollercoasters and do extreme sports to have a taste of death?
3. What is that deffect about yourself that you demonize onto others?

Crossing the First Threshold; Tests, Allies and Enemies

Crossing the First Threshold

The last stage in Act 1, at this point the turning point or the plot point appears. The hero decides to start the adventure in the new world. Also they can be "shanghaied" or push into the adventure, or a combination of internal choices and external events.
Threshold guardians may try to block the path and stop the hero, some may be turn into allies.
After the guardian, the hero most cross the to the other world, so the adventure can begin. Landing in the other side can sometimes be difficult.

Tests, Allies and Enemies

First stage of the 2nd act, now we can see the contrast between the new world and the ordinary world. Now the hero will be put trough a series of tests to prepare him for even bigger challenges.
The hero may meet allies and sidekicks that can help it overcome these challenges. Also the enemies and rivals that will produce those challenges. The hero will have to get use to new rules different from the ones he is used to.

In these two sections we learned the last step of the first act, and we were introduced to the second act. Now the hero has the courage to cross to the other side into the new world. In this world he is going to confront different challenges to test him as the adventure goes. Some of these challenges may be brought by his enemies and/or rival, but he would not be alone since he has allies and sidekicks to help him out.

I think the most difficult task the hero has is choosing the allies; to trust others is really difficult. I am really careful when I make friends since I want to make sure I can trust them. This is why sometimes people think I am antisocial. I think the hero most be really smart when it comes to choosing allies, he has to make sure they may not betray him in points where the adventure gets difficult.

Questions
1.How do you choose your friends?
2.Are you scare of trying new things or unannounced events?
3. How is an ally different from a sidekick?

Stages: Refusal of the Call and Meeting with the mentor

Refusal of the call

Is the threshold of fear and an understandable reaction to hesitation or refusal of the Call for some period of time.
The first step is avoidance which is natural and happens when the hero tries to avoid the adventure. Then the hero makes excuses and this refusal may lead to tragedy. After that the hero may have to decide between two calls; is never good to refuse a call unless is a temptation to evil or a summon to disaster.
Some heroes can be willing and accept or even sought out the adventure. Therefore heroes who overcome the fear and commit can still be tested by powerful figures who question the hero's worthiness and capabilities. They are known as threshold guardians.
Also the hero can be tested by a secret door or symbols of human curiosity, the powerful drive to know all the hidden things, all the secrets.

Meeting with the Mentor

A mentor prepares the hero to face the unknown world. It can also protect, guide, teach, test, train and provide magical gifts. Sometimes the mentor can misdirect or have conflicts with the hero.

To start a new journey can be scary or troublesome to the hero. First it can make excuses and refuse the call. Also if it decides to refuse one or more calls it can bring calamities to him, unless he refused an evil temptation that could have diverge he from the adventure.
If the hero is still insecure a mentor can guide him and help him understand the new world. Also he can be helpful along the adventure even if sometimes he can get in an argument with the hero.

When Volger mentioned the secret door (in the refusal of the call chapter), it made me wonder of how much this concept is used in books and movies. Besides the beauty and the best there are many others, for example the door to Narnia was in a misterious room that had only an old wardrove. If Susie did not have gone to that room while playing "hide and seek", the children would not have been able to find that new world which would become their kingdom.
A most recent one is the book I am reading right now "Coraline". Coraline discovers her "other mother and father" behind a door that was supposed to lead to a brick wall, but when the crazy old man tells her that the rats warn her not to approach the door; curiousity takes over her and she opens it reaching the world behind the door were her adventure starts.

Questions

1. Have you ever refuse some opportunity that if you had accepted it would have been for the best?
2. Is the mentor always present in a story?
3. Have you ever open a secret door or done something out of curiosity?

Stages: One-The Ordinary World and Two- The Call to Adventure

The Ordinary World

Known as the "world of common day", it is the start of the journey; "the context, home base and background of the hero." Also it is use to show the contrast between this world and the new world and foreshadowing aspects of that new world.

In the hero's world a dramatic question is raised to make the audience wonder of the hero can achieve or find the answer to this question. Additionally the hero shows it's inner and outer problems and the audience will be able to see it's entrance or "what is he doing the first time we see him"

Heroes must be relatable, being able to identify with the audience by lacking something or someone and it should have flaws and wounds. Furthermore in this stage the writer establishes what is in stake for the hero or what does the hero stand to gain or lose in the adventure, likewise his backstory, exposition and the story's theme.

Even though this is the first stage before it, the author must have an interesting title, an opening image and a prologue to captivate the audience.

The Call to Adventure

The second stage, "it may come in the form of a message or a messenger". Also it can come as a string of events, temptation, or by a herald. Likewise a lack or need and if the hero does not have any other option.
The hero can be warned about the outcome of the adventure during this stage.

The first stage seems to be of great importance since it establishes the hero and it surroundings to the audience. It gives the opportunity to learn about his world and how it is different from the new world. Also about the personality and the backstory of the hero or/and an exposition of this world. Of course the hero has to be able to make the audience relate to him by having flaws and human emotions. Then because of a new event, a message or the involvement of a herald the hero will be invited to start a journey.

Like Vogler I always thought that besides having a good story, plots and characters if you do not have an alluring title and opening image the work may not be recognized by the audience. I say this because I do choose what books I read or what movies I watch based on the title, image and synopsis. If the title sounds to boring or to childish I do not pick up the book, in the other hand if I like the title I will read the synopsis to make sure that the story will be of my liking. I know this is not a smart way to choose books or movies, but it works most of the time and many use this same method to choose movies and books.

Questions

1. How do you choose the books you read or the movies you watch?
2. Do all stories need a prologue?
3. Why a Herald usually gives the call to adventure?

Archetypes: Threshold Guardian, Herald, Shapeshifter, Shadow, Ally and Trickster

Threshold Guardians

Obstacles on the road that the hero has to overcome. They can be related to the villain, be neutral and sometimes become allies. They stand for the neuroses of the hero: emotional scars, vices, dependencies and self-limitations that hold back our growth.

Herald

Is the messenger of new adventures or change. Also it provides motivation, offer the hero a challenge and get the story rolling.

Shapeshifter

A character whose appearance or characteristics change, most of the time from the hero's point of view and it can not be sure if it is trustful. It exposes the energy of the animus, or the male element in the female unconscious and the anima or the female element in the male unconcius.
It brings doubt and suspense into the story. It can be manifest by a femme or homme fatale.

Shadow

Represents the energy of the dark side, the unexpressesed, unrealized or rejected aspects of something. It can be projected onto the villains, antagonists or enemies. Stands for psychoses that cab destroy us. It gives the hero a worthy opponent and it can be a mask which can be worn by any character. A shadow can be humanized.

Ally

It can be any character that travels with the hero and helps him. Besides being a companion, a partner, conscience or comic relief it can also bring out human feelings and reveal important questions in the plot.

Tricksters

Provoke healthy laughter and bring out healthy change and transformation. They are the comic relief and can be catalyst characters who affect others but their life do not change.

It seems that there are many types of archetypes in a story, but sometimes we never stop to think about it. Threshold guardians are the ones that give obstecles to overcome, heralds bring news of change and adventures, shapeshifters bring doubt and suspicion to the hero, shadows bring its greatest fears, allies help when need it and tricksters are the comic relief.
As before this archetypes can be seen in our own life. Like the thresholds we overcome to reach our dreams, the news of change that affect our journey for example moving to a new city, a job promotion or someones dead. Shapeshifter can be those we thought or friends but at the end turn their back on us, everyone has shadows or dark secrets from the past that they trie to hide or eave behind. Then there are those who we trust or allies represented by our family and friends. Finally the funny person our moments that makes us laugh are the tricksters.

When I was reading the chapter about allies I knew that he had to mention Albert. To me there are the perfect definition of ally. Albert is always there not just to help Batman but Bruce, the man behind Batman. He makes sure Bruce follows his sheduled as a rich young man while keeping his identity secret. Also he makes sure Batmn's suite and equipment are always in good conditions. Sometimes he is a mentor giving advice to Bruce when he needs it

Questions

1. Which one of the archetypes do you think is the most important to the hero?
2. Can an ally turn into a shapeshifter?
3. Have you ever confront someone who was a shapeshifter?

The Archetypes: Heroes and Mentors

Archetypes

Archetypes are the different types of characters you can find in a story. Carl G Jung defines it as "the ancient patterns of personality that are the shared heritage of the human race". A character can be more than one archetype during the story and the hero can learn from these characters. To identify an archetype is useful to have in mind these two questions: 1)What psychological function or part of the personality does it represent? 2)What is its dramatic function in the story?
The most common archetypes are: The Hero, Mentor, Threshold Guardian, Herald, Shapeshifter, Shadow, Ally and Trickster.

The Hero

In Greek hero means "to protect and to serve". Its purpose is to let the audience identify with it and feel and see what it is feeling or seeing. The main character is the one that learns and grows in the course of the story. The hero is usually the most active person in the story and takes the most risks and responsibilities. A true hero is willing to give sacrifices and to deal with death. A hero can be more appealing if they have some kind of flaw as any human being.
There are many types of heroes: Willing heroes who are committed to adventures with no doubt, unwilling heroes who are full of doubts and hesitations. Anti-heroes who do not act like an stereotypical hero but the audience still feels sympathy for it. Group oriented when there is more than one hero in a group of people, a loner or the hero that decides to leave society and a catalyst who does not change itself but changes others.

Mentor

Known as the wise old man or the wise old woman. It represents the self, the god within us that aspect of personality that is connected with all things. It teaches and trains the hero so it can reach its goal. Also it gives gifts to the hero which can come in handy on the way, but only if the gifts have been earned by learning, sacrifice or commitment. Sometimes it can be the heroes conscience, motivation or sexual initiator.
There are six types of mentors: Dark mentor who helps the anti-hero; fallen mentor who may experience a crisis in their calling, for example death. Continuing mentors who give assignments and set the stories in motion; multiple mentors or more than one mentor for a hero; comic mentor use in romantic comedies usually the same sex as the hero. Finally is the mentor as a shaman who guide the hero trough other worlds and life.

Archetypes seem to be essential for a characters development. It is necessary for the audience to know what kind of role or job is the character playing or doing. This way is easier to understand the character and sympathize with it. Human emotions are a big part of every culture that is why most cultures have the same pattern of archetypes. The hero and the mentor seem to be the most important ones. First you need a main character who is usually the hero with whom the audience can interact and feel empathy for it. Of course most heroes do not start as heroes, they need the guidance, gifts and advices of the mentor to be able to succeed in its journey.

The author mentions how the Greek definition of hero is the same as the motto of the L.A.P.D: "to protect and to serve". He says that the coincidence is incidental, but I do not think so. Probably someone in the department knew the Greek meaning of hero. After all it can be say that they are the heroes of Los Angeles since they protect and keep the peace in the city.
Another fact that caught my attention was how many of the words we use today come from Homer's epic poem. First the title of the poem "The Odyssey", we use the word odyssey to infer to a big predicament. Also Vogler points out that the word mentor comes from this same epic, it was the name Athena took when she disguised as an old man to help Telemachus. I always thought that it was just the word use at the time of translation. It is really surprising how much written works affect our culture and even or vocabulary.

Questions

1. Vogler mentions the most important archetypes but he did not say anything about the antagonist/rival. Do you think it can be count as an archetype?
2. Are the hero and the mentor the two most essential archetypes in a story?
3. When reading a story or watching a movie or TV show, do you always see the story through the eyes of the chosen hero or do you sympathize more with other characters?

A Practical Guide

Vogler starts this chapter by introducing Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces and as he said the "ageless patterns of the hero and his/her journey". There are twelve stages to a heroes journey that can be understand by everyone and can be seen in almost every culture. First in the ordinary world or the place where the hero lives before it is call to an adventure which is a problem, challenge or adventure. Then the hero is reluctant since the adventure does not affect him personally, but then a mentor encourages him or her to cross the first threshold and face the challenge. On the way it will meet tests, allies and enemies. After that comes the approach to the inmost cave or the lion's cave, there it will confront an ordeal or the confrontation with it's greatest fear. Finally the hero obtains the reward, starts it's road back, learns from the experiences and resurrects to return with the elixir to the normal world.

Even though these stages are use to explain movies it can also be use to explain life. Life itself is a journey we start in that place were we feel most comfortable and as we grow up we have to go to special worlds to meet our expectations and fulfill our dreams. On this hard journey we are guide by people like our parents and professors and helped by our friends and family. Of course the way is not easy and there will be time in which we also enter the cave and face an ordeal like money, family or internal problems. We all hope that at the end we receive our reward and learn all we need to achieve our dreams. Then when we get older we will have no regrets.

In western Heritage last semester we also talked about the meaning of a hero and its journey. The stages were not unfamiliar to me and it is really interesting how as mentioned in the book, you can find them in almost every culture in the world. We read books from Greek culture like The Odyssey and Indian like The Ramayana and both follow this pattern. To explain the stages many movies were used, most of them were unfamiliar to me. The one I could identify was The Count of Monte Cristo. Dante is a peculiar hero since his motives are based on revenge which made him act in a way not common to the stereotype of a hero. He commits crimes against people that did not do anything wrong to him, he will use them to be able to get his revenge. For example how he use and almost killed Albert without knowing he was his son. Still while watching the movie we cheered for him and as him we wanted his enemies to die too. In some way he makes the audience perceive him as a hero.

Questions

1. What makes Edmund Dante from "The Count of Monte Cristo" a hero in a journey?
2. Do you think that all of the twelve stages can be use not only to explain movies and books, but to explain life?
3. Of the twelve stages, which one is the most important?