Approach and Ordeal

In this section Vogler explains the hero’s approach to the inmost cave and the ordeal. The approach to the inmost cave includes threshold guardians and tests which are used as final preparations for the ordeal ahead. Vogler uses the Wizard of Oz to describe obstacles, illusions and threshold guardians. He also includes more points of interest of the approach such as warnings, preparations, emotional appeal, impossible tests, complications, and raising the stakes. The ordeal is the main problem that the hero faces. Audiences tend to be infatuated with the cycle of death and rebirth whether it is in a literal or symbolic sense. Vogler introduces the crisis of the story and how it differs from the climax. He also outlines different ordeals such as facing the shadow, crisis of heart, going psychotic, facing fears, standing up for oneself, etc.

Obstacles bond the group of characters who are working together, eliminating differences. Heroes are warned to remain alert to the world around them and not to be swayed in the wrong direction. Threshold guardians prove that experiences from the journey strengthen the outcome. Dramatic complications can be heartbreaking setbacks to the hero while on their way to success. The hero changes as a result of the ordeal in either a positive or negative way. The crisis is the point when the action begins while the climax is an event occurring later which signifies the turning point or major change. Heroes approach different types of situations depending upon their journey, inner self, and experiences.

In our experiences we all can point out the obstacles and tests which we faced. Each person’s own experience has a totally different ordeal based on their own lives. In the Metamorphosis, after becoming a cock roach, Gregor faces many obstacles such as learning to survive, climbing walls, living in the packed room. He boldly approaches the situation by climbing out of his room and going to the living room. Every day we must approach our inmost cave, whether in the form of an exam or a decision within ourselves.

Vogler talks about the bold approach, but can you describe any other types of approaches?
Which type of ordeal described do you find the most entertaining? Why?
Describe some examples of the death and rebirth in popular movies, books, issues?

Six Word Memoir

My six-word memior on Smith Magazine was:

Sun shines even when it rains

I thought it was a really good way to sum up my positive attitude. Even when something goes wrong, you can't give up. You have to take the good with the bad and vice versa. I read some of the memiors others have posted ranging from touching personal life issues to crazy pet peeves. This is a really funny, interesting website. It is fun to see how six words can tell a complete story.

Opps, Three Websites

I guess this didn't upload, here it is.

It was difficult to find edited websites for my topic of Plant Growth Based on Structure and Function. I mostly found websites to college or high school review pages, such as posted study guides. I am unsure about how to use this information. It seems as though it is textbook information, but it does not signify on the page.

URL: http://www.umanitoba.ca/Biology/lab9/biolab9_4.html
Who wrote it: Michael Shaw
Audience: Botany students
When created: 1995
Updated regularly: no, 2005
Located:
Organization: College, Umanitoba, Ca
Argument: Primary and secondary root growth of dicots and monocots
Support/ Attack: Support thesis of root growth
Who supports/ attacks: Botanists, teachers

URL: http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/e04/04c.htm
Who wrote it: Martina Hoft
Audience: Students, botanist
When created: 2003
Updated regularly: no
Located: Nairobi
Organization: None
Argument: Types of meristems and growth
Support/ Attack: Plant growth
Who supports/ attacks: Botanist, students

URL: http://www.emc.maricopa.edu/faculty/farabee/BIOBK/BioBookPLANTANAT.html
Who wrote it: MJ Farabee
Audience: Students, botanist
When created: 1992
Updated regularly: yes, every 2 to 3 years
Located: Arizona
Organization:College, Maricopa Univ. Arizona
Argument: Plant structure

Five Article Citations

After researching Plant Growth Based on Structure and Function, I have located the following articles using Eckerd's library database which have great information on my topic and a lot of answers to my questions.

Behnke, Dietmar H. "Sieve-Element Plastids and Evolution of Monocotyledons, with Emphasis on Melanthiaceae sensu lato and Aristolochiaceae-Asaroideae, a Putative Dicotyledon Sister Group." Botanical Review 68 (2002): 524-44.

Donoghue, Michael J. "Key Innovations, Convergence and Success: Macroevolutionary Lessons from Plant Phylogeny." Paleobiology 5th ser. (2005): 77-93.

Howard, F. W., R. M. Giblin-Davis, and Michael Thomas. "Scientific Note." Coleopterists Bulletin 56 (2002): 471-72.

Schneider, Edward L., and Sherwin Carlquist. "Origin and Nature of Vessels in Monocotyledons." Pacific Science 59 (2005): 393-98.

Speck, Thomas . "Modeling Primary and Secondary Growth Processes in Plants". Philosophical Transaction of the Royal Society of London. 09/29/2003: 1473-1485.

Sticklen, Mariam, and Hesham F. Oraby. "Shoot Apical Meristem: A Sustainable Explant For Genetic Transformation of Cereal Crops." In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology 41 (2005): 187-200.

First Threshold, Tests, Allies and Enemies

In this section Vogler continues our journey by Crossing the First Threshold describing the tests given to the hero by allies or enemies. The force of the crossing can be external or internal. The archetype of the threshold guardians advance the story and character of the hero. Allies give aid to the hero through the crossing, while enemies may attempt to block the passage. These two archetypes are discovered in places such as the waterhole. An overlapping of archetypes is present in this step of the journey, as in many others.

External events and inner choices cause the hero to cross from the Ordinary World into the Special World through the First Threshold. Threshold Guardians are an archetype which train or test the hero by causing an obstacle or blocking the road. The hero's cross may happen immediately or it may be drawn out over a period of the story. Once in the New World, the hero faces tests and challenges by enemies preparing them for the journey ahead. With the help of a single sidekick or an entire team of allies, the hero relies on their aid. Different archetypes can fit the mold of the enemy such as the Trickster, Shadow, Threshold Guardian, and Herald. At the watering hole, such as a bar, the hero is able to make alliances and also encounter enemies.

A variety of threshold guardians can be found in the stories and clips we have experienced in class. In the Metamorphosis, the stakes are raised when Gregor realizes he is unable to go to work in his current state as a cockroach. The threshold guardian is the man who comes to call on Gregor, challenging him to come out of the room. It takes Gregor a while to cross the threshold as his awkward body (internal) disables him from opening the door with ease. He experienced tests, such as opening that door and movement of his body, which would later help him. His sister is his ally, giving him food and being couragous to enter the room.

Do allies ever turn against the hero?

Does the hero ever realize the ally is unhelpful such as they did with the mentor?

Using examples from class discussions and experiences, describe some thresholds.

Response and Mentor

In these sections, Vogler expands on the next two stages of our Hero’s Journey, the Refusal of the Call and the Meeting with the Mentor. Each hero’s response to the call varies, depending on the nature of the journey. One hero may accept the call right away or even seek it out, while others immediately refuse by avoiding it or providing excuses to delay their acceptance. The hero may be positively affected by deciding to refuse when the call ends up being a destructive journey. To aid the hero’s journey, a relationship is formed with a mentor or role model. Vogler includes the importance of the guiding mentors in Greek mythology. He also advises the writer to avoid the cliché mentor and encourages them to creatively reconstruct them.

The way the hero responds to the call determines the significance of the journey by pointing out risks and consequences of the hero. The hero may be forced to choose between two calls; internally and externally. The delay caused by the initial refusal may produce unfortunate circumstances to the tragic hero. Vogler gives the example of Chiron, who was the centaur mentor of many Greek heroes; the prototype of the Wise Elder. He also explains how like Athena, one character can be a mentor in more than one way. With the help of a mentor, the hero gains supplies, knowledge, and confidence which are essential to the outcome of their journey. Sometimes the audience is mislead by what they believed was a Mentor ending up being negative to the hero.

Once again Vogler points out connections between archetypes due to their purpose in advancing the story. In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, we see how the hero’s delay could potentially cost his family due to their debts. In the 1930s clip in class, we saw the women accepting the internal call to empowerment by bobbing their how and a variety of rebellious behavior while refusing the external call to conform to the degradation of women. The doctor, who helps deliver the Indian baby in Indian Camp, provides his son with knowledge, experience and an understanding of birth and death. In each of our own experiences we either initially accept or refuse the call to adventure until we are pushed by an internal or external force. We also experienced the willing hero in the news clip, after rescuing people from a sunken ship.


In the experiences that you wrote about, did your hero immediately accept or refuse the call? If they refused, what was their reason?

An audience can be misled to believe that a mentor is helpful until they realize that they may really be negatively affecting the hero. Can anyone describe a familiar mentor that misleads the audience?

He advises us to reconstruct the typical archetypes such as the mentor to avoid boring the reader with cliché characters. Are your mentors the cliché mentor? If not why not?