Annotated Bibliography Vogler (83-105)

Elena Weinberg

Kelly

Analytic and Persuasive Writing

30 September 2008

Annotated Bibliography #4

Vogler, Christopher, and Michele Montez. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Boston: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 83-105.

 

Summary

 

            The Ordinary World is essential to the affective portrayal of the hero’s journey.  Without the depiction of the Ordinary World, the audience has no way of recognizing their hero’s transformation, which makes it, in actuality, difficult to determine which character is the hero.  There are several crucial elements that result in the delineation of The Ordinary World.  The first is the title.  The title is the first thing an audience will see and can be a powerful metaphor in terms of the grand scheme of the story.  The next is the opening image, an important tool that sets the mood and familiarizes the audience with its characters.  Prologues serve many purposes and are useful devices for setting the scene in the Ordinary World

            The Call To Adventure is the force that sets the plot in motion.  Up until this point we are introduced to our hero in his or her daily routine, and feel an acute desire for something out-of-the-ordinary or a change to occur.  This step to the hero’s journey is the trigger for that change.  This Call may appear as synchronicity, temptation, heralds of change, reconnaissance, disorientation and discomfort, lack or need, no more options, warnings for tragic heroes, and more than one call:  call waiting.

 

Reaction

 

            The Ordinary World and The Call To Adventure are the very initial aspects of the Hero’s Journey.  Without these two steps, the plot would not have the same development or affect on the audience.

 

Questions

 

1.     Does the way in which the Hero is Called To Adventure have a large affect on the initial tone set in the film?

 

2.     Can different combinations of Ordinary Worlds and Calls To Adventure cause the same plot to take on many different facets?

 

3.     Is a more concrete Call To Adventure more affective than one that is more abstract?