annotation 4 reward and resurrection and the road back

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 175-212.

Summary

Stage nine is the reward section of this structured journey. This is the part where the hero must now deal with the consequences of surviving the ordeal, and claim their reward. This can be a time of celebration where the hero replenishes his energy. in many stories here is where there is a campfire scene for jokes and boasting about the winning of the ordeal. it allows the audience as well as the hero to "catch their breath" before moving on in the story. Vogler goes on to point out that this is where love scenes can occur. Seizing the sword or taking possession of whatever is sought is then talked about in this chapter. Elixir theft is also an idea that some authors may use, where the hero must steal the reward, having a usual consequence later. sometimes the hero must be initiated into the hero name to be recognized for winning the ordeal. he may even create new perceptions due to the experience of surviving death. on the other hand, it is also the time where others may start to see the hero under a different light. Epiphany is the word Vogler uses to describe an abrupt realization of divinity. The last part of this section is distortions where the hero may "suffer from and inflation of the ego"(182). its also a denial of what has happened after facing death because of a lack of justification for doing so.
Stage ten, the road back, is the heroes decision on whether to remain in the special world or head back to the ordinary world (which most heroes do). This is the starting point to a new destination. Many struggle with the idea of going home because of the fear of losing what they have achieved in the special world by going back to common day life. this stage usually happened at the end of act II or beginning of act III. This may act has motivation to close the story by using external forces. This motivation may be shown through retaliation. a crisis can rise up stronger than before during this stage. it usually has to be stronger to keep the audience interested. Expendable friends are great for this part, according to Vogler, so that they may die when the shadow returns again. This stage may cause setbacks, pursuit of an escaped villian or a chase scene of the hero being followed by an admirer.
Stage eleven, the resurrection, is on of the trickiest and most challenging for the author to write. they writer must show not tell that the hero has been through a resurrection. This is the climax part of the story meaning ladder, not the crisis. a new personality must be clearly seen by the audience to show change. also, many stories must have a cleansing, so not to bring the death on the heroes hands into the ordinary world. the hero must bring the knowledge obtained in the special world to the ordinary world and apply it in some way to show that he or she has learned. this resurrection may also just be a last time facing death, as long as the stakes are higher than they have been throughout the story. In westerns, the resurrection is the final showdown or shootout. If the hero dies, he must live on in the memory of the survivors. This is also the place for a great opportunity to show whether or not the hero really has learned something by giving him a right and wrong choice, romantic or dual. Vogler shows that a quiet climax is possible by being a "gentle cresting of a wave of emotion"(202). The character arc is the stages that the hero went through to show the true big change that has occurred within him. Proof is sometimes needed to show others not only that you were the one to slay the dragon but also to be believed that you did slay the dragon that needed to be killed. Also, something must be surrendered by the hero in some cases known as the sacrifice. basically, it must show an outward sign that the hero has truly changed.


Reaction
I thought that this reading really takes the biggest chunk of what your suppose to be writing. it seems as though he wants to imply that this is the most important part of your writing, and we should pay real close attention. i believe this because i feel like in these three sections, he repeats himself more than ever before. in the resurrection, i thought the section would never end. i feel as though he showed every possible scenario that any author could work into the story, leaving no rock unturned. im not sure if this is a good thing or not, but it definitely showed the importance of this section.

Questions

Does there always have to be a reward?

Why is it so hard to make a story feel complete?

Is there a western that doesn't fut the vogler mold perfectly?