Vogler Annotation p.143-173

Vogler, Christopher. “The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers." Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 1998 p. 143-173.

Summary:
Inside the special world is another smaller world with its own threshold guardians. This is the Approach to the Innermost Cave. In this world there may be courtship such as with a romance. Much of the time this section is used for more information or as training for a larger ordeal. Series of obstacles may be met in this stage since allies and teams have already been made in the previous stages. Allusions and threshold guardians may cause more problems in this world. Preparation is key to the hero, as well as warning. Sometimes a human appeal may be used to get by obstacles with the threshold guardian in this stage. Complications and “higher stakes” may create more drama in this stage with heightened suspense. Breakthrough may occur towards the end of the stage with force used to get through the “final veil” in the innermost cave.
The Ordeal is the stage where there is a crisis that comes after the approach to the innermost cave. There is a strong sense of the need for drama and with extreme emotions in one direction like depression; there can thereafter be extreme emotions in the opposite, like happiness. This is the elasticity of emotion. Much of the Ordeal is the sense that the hero will die, and then when moving beyond that a rebirth. With the rebirth there is a greater wisdom and understanding within the hero. The ordeal can also relate to romance or relationships between parent and child. The challenge may be that of the fatal attraction or the youth vs. age. The face of death or fatal relationships and heightened emotions are the basis for the Ordeal.


Reaction
This section I see as the climax of a story. The innermost cave is used to be the ultimate test with harsher obstacles. The hero must breakthrough and use what is learned with allies. I feel like this is less relatable to real life than most of the other chapters. However, one could possibly see this section as the entire journey of a person’s life. If the story was in real life, this section would be the longest, as it is the final test and obstacles. I found the ideas about projecting to be specifically interesting. It is something I learned about in Psychology and found it interesting then as well. With projections, it is the person putting what they don’t like subconsciously on another person. I find it amazing that the brain could do this without the person noticing.

Questions
1. If there is not rollercoaster-heightened elevation changing in a story but one climax then does that cause the story to be less interesting or repetitive or necessary to shorten?
2. What kind of internal threshold guardians may be used in the innermost cave? Can you think of an example?
3. How do you think you yourself projects onto others? Do you think when you don’t like a certain person it is you projecting qualities about yourself onto them? Or is it possible to just feel negatively about them?