Annotated Bibliography

Vogler, Christopher. "Crossing the First Threshold and Tests, Allies and Enemies." The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. By Christopher Vogler. Vol. 3. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 127-141.

Summary 

Vogler begins this section by telling us that when a Hero crosses the first hreshold, it is an act of will in which the hero commits wholeheartedly to the adventure. In essence there is no turning back now. The approach to the threshold is critical, and there are several ways to actually trigger a threshold crossing. However, heros don’t typically accept the advice from their mentor and blindly rush into an adventure. Often something like internal events or a combination of external events and inner choices are what triggers the actual threshold crossing. At the actual Threshold Crossing, the audience will experience a noticeable shift. This shift may be in the actual world, but other times it is just a noticeable shift in energy. 

Now that the hero has crossed the first threshold and has entered fully into the Special World, they can begin to undergo tests and make allies and enemies. The most important function of this period of adjustment to the special world is testing. Heros may walk into this test stage looking for adventure but often walk out with allies. Close allies of the hero may provide comic relief as well as assistance. The friends a hero makes during this stage, can help him to learn the rules of the special world which are very important. Learning these rules and adjusting is just another test of the hero. This stage is also helpful because it allows the audience to learn more about the hero. 

Reflection 

I liked this section of Vogler, much more then the last section. I feel that it wasn’t as repetitive and that I learned new things. The idea of how through making allies, the audience learns more about a hero was helpful for me. Because often times when I’ve written anything, for school or otherwise I always struggle to inform the audience about my character without making them sound fake. When Vogler used the example of John Dunbar from Dances with Wolves, it really helped me to understand what he meant by walking into the test stage looking for information and walking out with friends. I love that movie, and have seen it a million times to that example helped me to understand it. 

However, I wish that a little more time had been spend talking about the dynamics between the hero and his allies or sidekicks. I felt like though Vogler touched on that, he could have explained it a little better. The dynamics between the hero and his companions is often my favorite part of the story and I wish that it had been explained a little better. Every time I read Vogler though, I relate it back to movies I’ve seen and that makes the text so much easier to understand.  

3 Questions

Do you see more stories with a “team” of allies or just a single ally?

Do you think that sometimes adding a rival is one of the best ways to ensure that the hero experiences some character growth?

How important do you think the “comic relief sidekick” is important to a story?