The Bell Jar

In chapters nineteen and twenty of The Bell Jar the reader follows Esther Greenwood, a college student, during part of her stay in a Boston asylum for the mentally ill. Esther seems like a fairly normal girl, except that she has a strong desire for sex, indicating that something is not quite right. Chapter nineteen details her search for the perfect man to lose her virginity to. She finds Irwin, a twenty-six year old mathematics professor, and proceeds to seduce him. Unfortunately, she begins to bleed profusely afterwards and insists upon leaving. Irwin drives her to her friend Joan's house, another patient at Esther's asylum. Joan drives her friend to the hospital to get checked out. Not long afterwards Joan is found in the woods dead by means of suicide and Esther receives the news that she will soon have her exit interviews. The story ends with Esther being called in to talk to the doctors. The reader does not find out whether Esther is granted permission to leave or not, but it it seems hopeful.

Vogler The Reward and The Road Back

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City,

CA: Micheal Wiese Productions, 2007. 175-194.

Summary

In this section Vogler discusses the Reward and The Road Back stages of his hero’s journey. The reward is the “aftermath of the Ordeal” and it comes in many different varieties. Usually, there is a celebration of some sort or the hero get something in exchange for the risks they’ve taken and their hard work. The most typical celebration is something like a campfire, where the hero and his allies and friends gather around and retell the story of their ordeal. This is also an opportune moment for a love scene as a form of celebration. The hero and their lover may finally connect and they will enter into what Vogler calls a “sacred marriage”. Sometimes, if the reward is an object, the hero will “seize the sword” or steal the object. The hero may also receive some kind of recognition, like being initiated into a group. Finally, one of the biggest rewards is the hero’s new “clairvoyant” abilities. After the Ordeal, a hero may gain new perceptions on life or realize their true purpose in the world. However, sometimes this may manifest itself into a big ego.
Vogler describes The Road Back as “the resolve of the hero to return to the Ordinary World and implement the lessons learned in the Special Word”. After all this work in the Special World, the hero wants to get back to the Ordinary World. Often, this is where the hero will have his or her final battle. The villain may return and continue the chase or another villain all together may appear. Vogler also describes Joseph Campbell’s “magic flight” theory. This is where the hero may try to stall the villain using various tactics. A lot of stories also have the villain escaping or some other sort of setback at this point as well.

Reaction

Again, Vogler goes into more depth with these two stages. He also continues to use many examples to back up his theories, including the Wizard of Oz. I also noticed that a lot of what Vogler says can be related to our real lives. When we overcome something or get through a challenge, we celebrate, like graduating from high school or college. Our reward is a diploma and we are “initiated” into the real adult world. We may realize things about ourselves and some of us may get big egos. Finally, The Road Back is our venture into the real world where we may encounter setbacks, like paying back those student loans, or challenges like finding a job.

Questions

1.Can you relate your own life to this part of the journey? How?
2.Can you give examples?
3.Do you think some people consider some things an Ordeal and not others?

Research Paper Strength's and Weaknesses

Strengths: Area of discussion, lots to say
Weaknesses: Need more facts to back up opinions

Annotation pgs 143-173

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 143-173.
Summary
In this section Vogler goes into more depth with the Approach to the Inmost Cave and the Ordeal stages of his hero’s journey. In the Approach the hero is entering a new “zone with its own Threshold Guardians, agendas, and tests”. There are many sub stages here and Vogler again uses the Wizard of Oz to illustrate his points. First, the heroes will regroup and make plans. Sometimes a romance will develop before the bold approach wherein the hero will attempt to just barge into the sitchuation. Typically, a hero will face at least one sort of obstacle. This is where they may come in contact with a threshold guardian, like Dorothy’s first encounter with Marvel in the Wizard of Oz. Finally, after a series of more “complications” and obstacles the hero will finally breakthrough and encounter their enemy during the Ordeal.
The Ordeal is the main event in hero’s story. Vogler states that the main point of the Ordeal is that the hero will die so that he can be reborn. Something will happen and they come back changed. Oftentimes, the Ordeal is related to the hero’s innermost fears and personal challenges. After being reborn, they realize these challenges and are ready to fight. Vogler also makes sure the reader realizes that the Ordeal is a crisis and not the climax of the story. There are many points of tension during the Ordeal and often the hero brushes with death. The audience has a connection with the hero at this point and that connection becomes jeopardized.
Reflection
Again, Vogler uses metaphors and the Wizard of Oz to make his points. There is a huge amount of detail involved with these stages. The two stages almost have a hero’s journey in themselves. I noticed each element in stories I have read and movies I have seen. There is no way each element could possibly fit in one story, but I could see how they all worked. I also think the Ordeal is really just the hero’s own personal fears come to life. They need to beat these fears within to physically beat their opponents outside.
Questions
1. What do you think about the parent aspect? Do you feel you need to please your parents?
2. Do you think that the Ordeal really just mirrors our inner fears?
3. Can a villain really have their own journey?

Vogler 5

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 127-141.

Summary
In this section, Vogler discusses the Crossing the First Threshold and the Tests, Allies and Enemies portions of the hero's journey. In Crossing the First Threshold, the hero has gotten over their doubts and fears and has committed to their adventure. Vogler breaks this down into several parts. Approaching the first threshold is like the turning point in the story where the hero may take a risk and just throw themselves into their adventure. It is at this point a threshold guardian may show up. They are here to challenge the hero and train them. The hero must find a way to get past them to continue their journey. When the hero does finally cross, there is usuallya shift in the "energy"; things may get dramtically different. Sometimes this crossing takes a certain amount of courage from the hero, like a leap of faith. The landing may be "rough" or smooth.
Soon, the hero will begin to encounter their Tests, Allies, and Enemies. At this point there isa huge contrast between the hero's ordianary world and their new world. It is here too that the hero begins to be tested. These first tests are often diffcult, but they may not be as difficult as the ones ahead, which makes them tests. Allies and sidekicks are typically gained; allies are often helpful people who may not have been helpful in the beginning, but are a great assest to the hero now. Sidekicks are a little bit closer to the hero than the ally and often have a comical side to them. Allies may come in teams too. The enemies usually take the role of the Shadow or Trickster. The hero may also have a rival, which is like an enemy, but doesn't really wish to do the hero any specific harm. Finally, Vogler mentions that the change from the Ordinary World to the new World may involve new rules. Vogler also describes the watering hole as a place for change.

Reaction
Again, Vogler goes into great detail while describing his stages. There is not much difference with this section and the rest. His examples, again, helped to make his points. However, this time he also used metaphors, like "the Test stage of Act Two would be a series of pop quizzes, meant to sharpen the hero's skill in specific areas".

1. What tests or trails have you had in your life?
2. Do you find they closely relate to Vogler's stage?
3. Do you know of any hero's that have NO allies?

Vogler Annotation pg 107-125

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City,

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

Summary

In the first part of the section, Vogler discusses the Refusal of the Call stage of his journey. This is where the hero hesitates and the audience is shown that there is a risk in taking this call. There are several different characteristics of a refusal. Sometimes the hero will avoid the call as a first reaction. Usually, this is because of a past experience and the hero remembers the trial of that experience. Or the hero will come up with some sort of excuse; they would do it, but they have more pressing matters to attend too. Eventually, the hero is worn down in both circumstances.

Vogler also talks about “looking backward, dwelling in the past, and denying reality” as forms of refusal. If the hero continues to refusal the call, this can sometimes lead to tragedy, like when Lot’s wife refuses God’s call and she is turned into a pillar of salt. The hero may also have more than one call to choose from or a negative call may appear and the hero has to make the right choice. While most heroes refuse the call, some are willing and may even seek it. The Threshold Guardians may also come into play here, as they may enforce fear and doubt in the hero about their call. The hero may also violate any limits that the Guardians enforce.

Next, Vogler talks about the Meeting with the Mentor stage. A hero will typically meet with a person or guide for advice before they take their call. Usually, the mentor is an actually person, but sometimes it may just be a source of wisdom that the hero encounters. Or even multiple people. Vogler tells the writer to make sure their Mentor type isn’t the norm. Too make the audience more interested they need to turn the character “upside-down”. He also mentions that audiences don’t like to be misled. Sometimes the Mentor may turn on the hero or may even be a hero themselves.

Reaction

Vogler continues to get more in-depth while describing his stages. He talks about how the hero may refuse the call, and I think that this mirrors reality quite a bit. We are all afraid to take risks at one point or another. We are all also very good at making excuses! We all sometimes are lost in the past and need to be pulled out by a call. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. I think these elements defiantly help the audience connect with the hero and get them pulled into the story. If the audience can easily relate, then the writer has created a good story.

Questions:

1. When have you avoided a call to adventure in your life?

2. Why are some people more hesitant than others?

3. Is a character still a mentor if they trick the hero?

Quiz

1. Gregor wakes up his bedroom like any other day. He needs to get up for work and his parents are making breakfast. This is his ordinary world, but it is made not so ordinary when we discovers that he has changed. Everything is normal at first, but I would say his Call to Adventure is discovering that he is a bug. He has to figure out a way to get out of bed and figure out what's going on.
2. It seems like both the story and the "Red Scare" happened in the same time period. Communists were viewed in a negative light and the whole nation was scared of them. Perhaps Gregor's changing into a bug portrays that he may have communistic views. His parents and boss are repulsed by and scared of him, much like the nation was of communists. They are not understanding of his situation.
3."a monstrous verminous bug"

Revising/Editing

Edit:
1. My use of FANBOYS
2. My use of commas
3. Check spelling and basic grammar

Revise:
1. I need to elaborate more on a lot of things
2. Capture my audiences attention, especially at the beginning
3. Use some trasitions paragraph to paragraph