Ant 175-194

Leslie Navarrete Analytical and Persuasive Writing 10/31/08
Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 175-194
Summary:
The chapters: Reward and The Road back contains the optimistic and the pessimistic sides of these two stages. Reward pertains to physical and mental gifts a hero is given because he or she defeated death. The reward scene also allows the audience to rest and review the story. The chapter also spoke about the different types of rewards: the celebration, campfire scenes, and love scenes. Both the celebration and the campfire scenes are done to give thanks to the God(s) and the replenish their strength. Also both scenes enable the hero reflect about his journey. The reward a hero gets signifies their accomplishment in their search of their treasure. Also in obtaining their reward the hero can forcefully take it or willingly; either way the hero is applauded for his courage. In retrieving their reward the hero boasts about his victory over the ordeal and is awed because of his success. Yet, this same awe can turn the hero into a hubris character and a power hunger individual.
All is fun and memorable, but sometimes a hero has to go back home. The chapter The Road Back pertains the obstacles and the physiological thoughts of what a hero goes through during this stage. Volger states the physiological fear that a hero has when going back home; the fear to loose his new insight or power. This complies the hero to hesitate and sometimes needs motivation. Two types of motivations are internal and external factors. Either factor helps the hero start his journey back home. The road back is another threshold because obstacles are still in the hero’s journey and sometimes it is the same obstacles the hero confronted previously. In this stage the villain or shadow could arise again, which recaptures the audiences attention and spurts the climax in the script. The road back is also a situation that the hero could to his magical reward or gift given by his mentor. The road back can also be set backs that forces a hero return home and prepare again. Whatever situation the road back home is mandatory in a script because it helps set up the so what in a story and allows the audience to distinguish the hero’s world and new personality.
Reaction:
The chapter on the hero’s rewards was very interesting. I never considered a campfire and sultal places as a reward. I thought of these two places as approach to the inmost cave because the campfire and sutial places are where a hero rests and is able to place his next move. In the reward chapter I learned more about the definition of a sacred marriage and how it is part of a reward. This statement made me think about how in movies the love scene is done after the hero has confronted death. I loved how in the chapter states that the rewards are one of reasons why heroes go on the journeys. Towards the end of the chapter it touches how rewards also contribute to evilness and can make a hero power hunger. I believe that an individual can relate that to real life. Instead our rewards are titles and money; they are what transform us to amoral human beings.
The chapter: The Road Back can also be related to our lives. Some of escape our ordinary World because we feel as if we have been exiled from it or just want a new being. Either reason we have to go home sooner or later and that tends to be difficult. The ordinary World is scary because it knows our faults and we feel as if it oppresses us at times. The Special World enables to create a different persona and try out different roles because this world does not know us. Like Volger states there is nothing like home because it is comfort and it is what we know.
Overall, I really enjoyed these two chapters because they allowed me to explore my own life and what I consider entertainment. I gain a lot of knowledge when I read Volger at times, but it is more that I can relate it to my own journey.
Questions:
1.What is one reward that you remember receiving during your own journey?
2.In your opinion what is more difficult, the call to adventure or the road back home? And why?
3.In your hero’s journey do you seem to always have to fight the same villain or shadow again?
From all the types of rewards that a hero receives, which is common in your journey?