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?