Vogler Annotation (p.83-105)

Analytical and Persuasive Writing
Annotated Bibliography
Vogler (p.83 – 105)
Rajeev Rupani

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey (Mythic Structure for Writers). 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 83-105.

Summary:


In this reading Vogler discusses the first two stages of the Hero’s journey in detail: The Ordinary World and The Call to Adventure. Vogler describes the Ordinary World as the ‘world of common day’ and explains that it is a very delicate time as it sets the premise and tone for the rest of the story. Vogler then goes on to discuss the method of introducing the reader or viewer to the Ordinary World of the hero and how the storyteller must face ‘creative choices’, even before the story actually begins. The title can provide a ‘important clue’ to the reader about the nature of the story, the opening image can ‘suggest where the story is going’ and the prologue can provide an ‘essential piece of the back story’. Vogler then goes into the importance of the structure of the Ordinary World and how it must be described as a ‘home base’ for the hero, to which the Special World of adventure can be compared. The concept of foreshadowing is also discussed where the writer foretells the audience about a latter battle or moral dilemma, by depicting a similar event in the Ordinary World. The inner and outer problems of the hero are then shown to be a key to proving the hero’s worth to the audience, by establishing sympathy. The entrance of a hero, as discussed by Vogler, is an important event in the story because it portrays their ‘attitude, emotional state, background, strengths and problems’; along with helping the audience establish a relationship with the hero.


Vogler then describes the various aspects that writers can use to create an ‘identification’ between the hero and audience: the lack of something important in the hero’s life or something that is taken away from them, some sort of a tragic flaw (such as arrogance) and the concept of a wounded hero. The stakes in the story are also shown to be very important, as they are a good measure of the importance of the entire adventure. The method of conveying the back-story of the hero’s life, the exposition, is also explained to be among the ‘hardest writing skills to master’. Vogler completes the discussion of the Ordinary World by describing how the theme of a story can be stated here, even without formally informing the audience, which then sets up the course of the story to come.


Vogler then discusses the Call to Adventure, which is basically described as the ‘catalyst’ that sets events in motion once the hero has been introduced. The concept of synchronicity is then discussed where the hero encounters a string of accidents or coincidences that calls them to adventure. These accidents or events can include temptation, encountering the herald archetype character or reconnaissance by the villain into the hero’s territory. Vogler clearly explains that this Call to Adventure can also be ‘unsettling and disorientating’ to the hero, if it comes in the form of a loss in the hero’s Ordinary World, such as the death of a dear one. The hero is also shown to have no options in some circumstances or is simply ‘shanghaied’ into adventure. Vogler finishes this discussion by introducing the concept of multiple calls to adventure or ‘call waiting’, where the hero can choose between several calls depending on his or her level of interaction in the story.


Reaction:


This reading was very smooth and simple because of the preceding archetype chapters as many of these were actually included in the first two stages. The herald, hero and shadow archetype were discussed, in context to the stages in the hero’s journey. I agreed with most of Vogler’s points and could relate to the story that he was portraying, while discussing the two stages (about the tribe). I could understand his emphasis on the contrast between the Ordinary and the Special world, where the underlying theme was that they have to be different in relation to the hero. For example, the Ordinary, simple and family-orientated world of Don Corleone is significantly different than his Special, dark and crime-driven world. I did not agree with Vogler’s discussion about foreshadowing because it would in a way make it very cliché and boring for the reader who can actually deduce the premise of the story, given this clue. However, if the aim of the storyteller is to mislead the audience with this ‘foreshadow’, then it would be a good setup for a dramatic ‘twist in the tale’.


I could also relate to the ‘flat and un-involving ‘ heroes in the form of Prince Charming from Shrek 2 and 3, since he does not relate to the audience in any other way than a fake and expressionless hero. Also, the identification between the audience and the hero allows the writer to justify the wrongs done by the hero, such as the character of Robin Hood (as discussed in class). I could also see the origin of the ‘so what’ discussion in our Project I memoir, where we need to establish the stakes with the audience. I did not have many thoughts on the Call to Adventure section as I completely agreed with Vogler’s discussion about a needed ‘catalyst’ in the hero’s Ordinary World. I do believe that these two introductory stages are vital in setting up a solid platform for the upcoming story.


Questions:

1. How does the concept of a tragic flaw relate to you? What were your thoughts on the word Nemesis before you had read Vogler? Knowing this definition, have you ever played a Nemesis role in your own life?

2. Relating to the ‘so what’ reaction discussed in Vogler, how would you go about establishing the stakes in your memoir for Project 1? How would you emphasize on the importance of your journey and the values learnt from it? Is this usually the most difficult point to get across to your audience?

3. Have you ever experienced the concept of ‘call waiting’ while reading a story or watching a movie? How does one choose their call to adventure and what do you think are the important aspects that should be kept in mind while making such as choice?

Vogler Questions

Questions:

1. How important is the role of the Herald in modern literature? Does the Ally (best friend) often play the part of the Herald as well?

2. What do you feel is your Threshold Guardian, in your life, at the present? Do you believe that they are any impassable Guardians, that remain with you your entire life?

3. What are some common examples of instances when we naturally wear the mask of the Shape shifter archetype? (Not to be confused with politically correct)

Vogler Annotation (p39-80)

Analytical and Persuasive Writing

Annotated Bibliography

Vogler (p.49 – 80)

Rajeev Rupani

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey (Mythic Structure for Writers). 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 49-80.

Summary:

In this reading Vogler discusses the remaining archetypes that complete the different facets of a hero’s personality and are involved in his or her journey: the Threshold Guardian, the Herald, the Shape shifter, the Shadow, the Ally and the Trickster. Vogler differentiates between the above archetypes by discussing each one by role, function and by associating human feelings with these archetypes. The Threshold Guardian is designed to ‘keep the unworthy from entering’ and can represent internal demons, which challenge the hero with change. As Vogler explains, the hero must outwit the Guardian, form a friendship with them or ‘get into their skin’, in order to get past. Vogler associates this with the coming of a new power or success for the hero, where the hero needs to ‘incorporate’ the Guardian in order to transcend and become merciful.

The function of the Herald archetype is simply shown to be this new form of ‘energy’ that the upsets the balance in the hero’s ordinary life. Vogler discusses the need of the Herald archetype in order to bring about the change or the call to adventure to the hero, when they are ready to change. The Herald can supposedly take any stance in the hero’s journey, such as Darth Vader does in Luke’s by kidnapping Lea, and can also be temporarily portrayed by the Mentor when giving a test or a challenge to the hero. Vogler emphasizes on the importance of the Herald by stating that ‘the energy of the Herald is needed in almost every story’.

The Shape shifter archetype is defined as ‘shifting and unstable’ along with being one of the ‘powerful’ archetypes in the hero’s journey. Vogler describes this archetype as representations of the animus or the anima, as explained by Carl Jung. The encounter with the Shape shifter is seen as a very important step in the psychological growth of the hero, since they often ‘project’ their image (animus/anima) on their partner. The function of the Shape shifter is to bring ‘suspense’ and ‘doubt’ into a story and is usually found in the form of a femme fatale. Similar to the Herald, this archetype mask can be worn by anyone involved in the hero’s journey and even the hero himself, as seen in the Richard Gere example in An Officer and a Gentleman. The Shape shifter archetype can be used to clearly portray the changes in behavior or personality of the characters, in the given storyline.

The Shadow archetype ‘represents the energy of the dark side’ and can usually be portrayed by the villain in the story. Vogler states that the Shadow archetype represents the ‘power of repressed feelings’ and can be very dangerous, if not kept in check, to the hero. The function of the Shadow archetype is to challenge the hero and to force them to fight back and rise to the challenge. This archetype mask can be worn by many different characters in the story, who do not think that their actions are morally wrong. This archetype can represent the feelings of the hero, which were ignored or forgotten and can be used to understand the character of the villain in the story.

The Ally archetype can serve many important functions that can ‘humanize the heroes’. A hero can have one or more Allies, who can represent the ‘unexpressed or unused parts of the personality’ and can assist the hero in overcoming his or her obstacles. Vogler discusses different kinds of archetypes that can be non-human, animal or even from beyond the grave, each with their own function but with the common purpose of assisting the hero. The Ally archetype can also express emotions that the hero is forbidden to express, either due to their nature or their fame.

The Trickster archetype is defined as one who ‘embodies the energy for mischief and the desire for change’. Vogler defines their main purpose as ‘comic relief’ where they are used to pull the audience back into the storyline by reviving their interest. The example given compares Bugs Bunny as a trickster hero as he hilariously competes for survival from the hunters. The Trickster is also defined as a ‘catalyst character’ because he or she affects the lives of the hero or other characters without changing themselves. Vogler concludes this discussion of the archetypes by re-stating that archetypes are used to make characters that can be ‘unique individuals and universal symbols of the qualities that form a complete human being’.

Reaction

The reading consisted of Vogler explaining a lot about the important character types, in the hero’s journey, in detail. The explanation provided by Vogler for each archetype was really informative and allowed me to associate characters, from some of my favorite novels, to these different archetypes. I completely agreed with the idea of these archetypes being ‘masks’ since a lot of complex characters, especially in Shakespeare’s plays, often go through some sort of a personality cycle. The idea of characters wearing these so called ‘masks’ reminded me of a Greek amphitheater, where actors often wore masks depicting their current state of emotion or personality. At least all of these archetypes can be seen in mainstream cinema, where a complete actor is one who portrays as many different characters (or archetypes as possible).

I do however think that the role of the femme fatale has generally increased over the years, where most of the shape-shifting roles are stereotypically done by women and portray a strong sense of sensuality in movies nowadays. Given the complexity, I believe, of the female mind it is not surprising that most of these roles are offered to women because they can handle them with ease and excellence. However the emergence of certain male actors, who can perform such complex roles, can be observed recently with Heath Ledger’s amazing performance as a very complicated villain, who consisted of many different archetypes. After reading about the different archetypes, I do feel that the need for them in stories is an important way for the writer to involve the reader and make them feel like they are experiencing a human being’s story.

Disney Character

  My first ever Disney movie, The Jungle Book, was a birthday gift to me from my grandparents. Once I began watching, I was filled with excitement and fun at every twist and turn in the story. Even though I have watched several different Disney movies, the characters that represent me come from this movie. King Louie, the king of the apes and Bagheera, the panther who is temporarily in charge of Mowgli, are the two characters who related most to my personality. 

  Bagheera and King Louie represent my different personality traits in their own way. Bagheera represents my seriousness with my work and life because he is entrusted with the care of Mowgli, who is constantly hunted by Sher Khan the tiger. He has the ability to carry out tasks with the uttermost sincerity, which relates to my work ethic. However, he also represents my wired and stressed out personality. He gets very worked up over small events and is also stressed out most of the time, especially when he needs to be calm.

  King Louie on the other hand portrays a different side of me. His hilarious but unending quest for 'man-fire' represents my insatiable desire for knowledge. I have always been driven to learn more and more about everything that interests me. His carefree and fun lifestyle represents me enjoying my free time, away from work, with some of my best friends and having a blast.

  The above two disney characters have been with me for as far as I can remember and it is only fair to say that they represent some important traits of my personality. So, at the end of this, I am just a giant orange ape coupled with a really stressed out cat.

       

WelcoMe

Hi, my name is Raj and this is one of my first ever blogging experiences for the Analytical and Persuasive Writing course at Eckerd College. Watch out for a few weird posts in future!!