Week Five Vogler Annotation...

10.07.08

Zoah Alvarado

Vogler Annotation

Vogler, Christopher. "Book Two: Stages of the Journey." Stage Three: Refusal of the Call, and Stage Four: Meeting with the Mentor . 

Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 107-125

Summary.

In Stage three, Vogler explains how even the best of heros can refuse the call. Said heros may even list the various reasons why he or she is inept at performing the task at hand "Heros most commonl Refuse the Call by statinga laundry list of weak excuses" (108). He mentions the fact that a continuous Refusal of the Call can lead to tragedy or disaster: some one close or aqcuainted to the hero may come to hard times, or perhaps die; something percious or valuable is lost. "Persistant Refusal of the Call can be disaterous. In the Bible, Lot's wife is turned to a pilare of salt for denying God's Call to leave her home in Sodom and never look back" (109). This tragedy can essentially provide the motivation need to get the hero to answer the call, and the heros towards which this happens are called "tragic heros" (109).

It is interesting how Vogler mentions that story of "The Three Little Pigs" who did not answer the call to open the door to the wolf. This is interpreted as the Refusal of the Call, or "Positive Refusals"(109), that can, on the other hand, prove beneficial to the hero and/or those around him or her.

Sometimes it is best not to answer the call, especially if th hero is not prepared to face the dangers of the unknown. Vogler writes, "...it's not a bad idea to refuse the a Call untill you've had time to prepare for the 'zone of unknown' that lies ahead"(117). Here is where the Meeting with the Mentor  becomes a crucial part. The Mentor now steps in and provides guidence and/or protection to the hero until he or she is able to walk on their own and answer the call. Vogler states, " ...that preparation might be done with the help of the wise, protective figure of the Mentor..." (117).

Even with the importance of the Mentor figure and The Meeting with the Mentor, Vogler makes an intriging suggestion. He suggests the removal of the Mentor figure altogether in order to create "special and interesting conditions for the hero"(121).

The mentioning of the Greek Mentor/Hero called Chiron, sets an excellent example for the possible effectiveness of  Mentor and/or Hero characters who posses unorthodox mannerisms. As all centaurs, Chiron expressed his wild and savage nature. However, he was also said to be "usually kind and peaceful" (119) for a centaur. Chiron is thus categorized as a Mentor prototype.

Reactions.

Vogler's suggestion of completely removing the Mentor figure falls as a unique surprise to me. As a few of my fellow classmates stated, it is next to impossible to fully remove the Mentor archetype due to its complexity and its undeniable potential to be omnipresent. In one way or another, the hero will always encounter some sort of element which provides a type of assitance in the form of guidence and/or protection. I also view in high regards Vogler's choice in pointing out Chiron for the purpose of explaining the many forms of Mentor archetypes.

Questions.

1. What is your opinion on Chiron as a "Prototype Mentor" archetype?

2. What do you think of Vogler's suggestion on altogether removing the Mentor figure in order to create a more "special and interesting condition for the hero" and perhaps the story itself?

3. Is it possible to actually eliminate the Mentor figure given its nature and purpose within a story?

Words.

Enthused (120): actual word found: enthuse; to kindle with enthusiasm, to grow enthusiastic; to go into ecstasies.

Sentence: I could not find the word "enthused" in the Oxford English Dictionary, but the word "enthuse" instead.