In the first section of this weeks reading, Vogler wraps up the chapter on the "Refusal of the Call" during the hero's journey. The refusal usually comes after the hero has been summoned to action by a herald. By initially hesitating to accept the challenge, the hero heightens the drama of the narrative. Meanwhile, the audience is presented with a more detailed description of what is at stake, what obstacles the hero will be faced with, and a further exploration of the hero's fears, weaknesses, and wounds from the past, as they follow his rational for why he doesn't wish to embark on the quest before him. According to Vogler, some hero's firmly refuse, and a significant portion of the narrative is dedicated to their process of deliberation, while others acknowledge the potential danger, but accept their duty right away, creating the sub-categories of "reluctant" and "willing" heroes. Vogler reminds us that the Threshold Guardian archetype typically appears during the refusal stage, to heighten the suspense surrounding the hero's entry into the new world. Also, the "Law of the Secret Door" is introduced. This is a fairly common element used by story tellers to introduce a forbidden temptation that the hero is warned against, but inevitably falls into later in the narrative, causing great peril.
In the second part of the reading, Vogler details the "Meeting with the Mentor". The meeting occurs after the hero has accepted the call to action, during his preparation for the journey. Mentors are usually wise, experienced, and genuinely want to help the hero. They prepare him for his journey through advice or gifting him with tools that will help along the way. Gift giving is typical to mythology and folklore, while stories (also including mythology) depict the mentor as an individual deeply in touch with spiritual wisdom, in one form or another, which he shares with the hero. Volger stresses the importance of the mentor-hero relationship within a narrative, and describes the different forms in which it can appear in, and guide a story. Traditionally, mentor reflects the reality that we all must learn life lessons from somebody, not on our own. However, in some stories, the mentor can shape shift, becoming an antagonist of sorts by intentionally gaining the hero's trust, then leading him astray. Or, great deal of drama can be drawn from a mentor-hero conflict, which can lead to betrayal or creation of a stronger bond between the two archetypes. Some stories feature one character as the hero, but are actually mentor driven.
I thought the first part, about refusal of the call was a little scattered in its organization of ideas. The description of reluctant and willing heroes, as well as the role of threshold guardians as a repetition of previous chapters, and there wasn't as much thought provoking analysis of the psychological significance of the refusal to the narrative, as I have come to expect from Vogler, aside from the pretty epic reference to . The various ways through which the refusal manifests itself are well organized, however I didn't understand the "positive refusal", and if it actually pertains to "the refusal of the call" as a literary device. Also, Voglers choice of film and literature to call upon in order to illustrate the various elements he describes, has been very hit or miss, throughout the entire book so far. In this chapter his illustrations were, in my opinion, obscure and dated, with the exception of the epic reference to Jesus' initial refusal of the call, brought at the beginning of the chapter.
I found the next section, about meeting the mentor, to be more practical. In it, Vogler wisely defined the origin of the word "mentor", as it stems from Greek mythology, when the goddess, Athena, used it as the name of her alias when helping Odysseus. For me, this created a significant connection with the purpose of the mentor archetype. I also appreciated the fact that Vogler advises you, as a writer, to avoid mentor cliches, such as the wise, old man or woman, who may or may not possess supernatural abilities. Vogler suggests how the mentor can be used in less conventional ways, such as shape shifting, or conflict with the hero. The mentor driven story is also an interesting twist on the archetype. Though I wasn't familiar with Vogler's references of such narratives, the book "Tuesdays with Morrie" came to mind, and to a lesser extent the relationship between Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins in "The Mask of Zorro".
Questions for Discussion:
1)If the refusal of the call manifests itself as the "positive refusal" described by Vogler, is it really then a catalyst for the rest of the journey, or does it bring the narrative to a halt, thereby not fulfilling the function of "the refusal" as a storytelling element?
2) What was the point of including "The Artist as the Hero"? Is this really a commonality in storytelling or a tangent Vogler goes off on?
3) What are some of the most prominent mentor's in film or literature? What qualities make them so memorable?
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