EXTRA CREDIT WEEKS 1-11

To keep track of your extra credit, please post on your blog the following: What you did? What you learned? Why others should do the activity?

Week 1: Free Rice

By going to www.freerice.com, it was extremely easy to donate way more than 1000 grains of rice. It's as simple as pie. All you do is read the word and click on its closest synonym, and if you get it right, rice gets donated! After I got 1000 grains of rice by flipping through English words, I went on to do simple math problems and Spanish words. I learned several meanings of words that I didn't know the definition of before. Others need to do this activity because it takes so little effort and it has such a great benefit. It helps hungry people get rice, and it also helps our vocabulary and math skills!

Week 2: Six-word Memoir

My six word memoir was "Relax, take it easy, don't fret". I only wish I could take my own advise. All too often I find my self stressing out for no reason. I think others should do this activity to better understand themselves. In my case this helped show me what I wish I could do, areas I need improvement on. However, for other people I think it may show them how they picture themselves or what they like to do most in their lives.
"Always the last in from recess" That is a six-work memoir someone else published, I think it is awesome

Week 3: StoryCorps

A Summer Job, A Lifelong Romance

This was really easy, I went to npr.com and searched StoryCorps. Walter and Babette met in 1940. Her family owned a summer resort in NY and Walter worked there, that is how they met. They watched the sunset everyday, and walked to the village and had an ice cream sundae. One night he decided to propose to her. She is now 88 and he is 96. They have been married for 67 years. This is amazing to me because they were really young when they met and got engaged, and they are still in love over 67 years later. Others should do this because it is interesting to learn about other's life stories and experiences.

Week 4: The Web of Language

What to name the baby? Forget grandma, hire a consultant

“Nameologists”. Corporations use them, why shouldn't parents? These “nameologists” help parents think of a name to "capture the essence of their latest product" AKA name their baby. I think this is a load of crap. If two people can't even think of a name for a child there is no way they are ready to have one. Coming up with a name can some times be a long grueling process, that I believe takes a high level of maturity. If you aren't mature enough to name your own child no way are you ready to have one. It is amazing to me what people now a days will waste their money on. Buy "the big book of babies names". Others should go to this web site because there are many other interesting articles on it that they can explore.

Week 5: You Tube
Rhetoric For Kids

The purpose of this YouTube video is to alert children of the rhetoric that they already use, as well as to teach them new tactics. I think Greg is really creepy (I think he's on drugs..not good) if I was a kid he would scare me. Quackers and Panda are also pretty creepy, if my puppets talked like that when I was a kid I would cry. Rhetoric is something that makes you want to do something else- AKA change your mind. Ethos, Pathos, and Logos are the different ways we can change peoples minds. This is a funny video that I would tell other people to watch because it does teach us something.. in a really dumb-downed sort of way.

Ethos, Pathos, & Logos in Film

What kind of persuasion is used in these film examples?

MIB: Logos- Will Smith uses logic to say why the little girl is dangerous
The Breakfast Club: Pathos- The teacher makes us feel bad for the student
Monty Python: Logos- They attempt to used logic to determine if she is a witch or not
Monsters Inc: Pathos- The scene of the cute little girl makes us well up inside because we know she isn't dangerous
I liked this video much better than the little kids one. I would recommend people to watch this because it is humorous and makes you think at the same time.

Week 6: Do a Good Deed

I volunteer every Monday at the St. Petersburg free clinic. Local grocery stores (Publix for example) donate all of their fresh meat and produce that is about to expire, because the free clinic also has a food bank type thing. On Monday, one of the grocery stores donated a ton of flowers so we could hand them out to the free clinic go-ers in order to brighten their day. As I was leaving, my boss said I could take some of the flowers with me. They were roses which are one of my favorite types of flowers, and I was very excited to have them to brighten up my dorm room! As I was leaving the clinic walking to my car, an elderly woman inside the clinic commented on how beautiful my roses were. I knew that her problems were most likely much worse then mine and she would probably appreciate and enjoy them much more than I would so I said she could have my flowers. At first she seemed confused, and asked if she really could have them. I felt bad because it seemed like she was not nice to someone doing something nice for her. I said of coarse she could have them and left after receiving many thanks from her.

Week 7: Locate three youtube links that deal with your project two area for inquiry. Post these links on your blog.

This activity helped me better understand different topics with in my issue. I was happy to learn several other countries have banned tobacco use in public places. I was sad to learn they are having trouble enforcing the new policies. I am also very glad that many people in the country feel like a smoking ban is a good idea!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl81Pq4aOOo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYo5SgrzKuo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzGU4hpONJw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qNMBSwoIGw

Week 8: Contact the Author of the Book You Used for Research for Your Paper

The Book I used was Cigarettes, Nicotine, and Health. The book was written by Lynn T. Kozlowski, Jack E. Henningfield, and Janet Brigham. I emailed Jack E. Henningfield at "innovatorsawards@jhmi.edu ". I was able to find this email address online by discovering he is the director of the National Program of the Office of Innovators Combating Substance Abuse Awards Program. In the email I told him how much I enjoyed reading the book and that it helped me greatly with the research for my paper.

Week 9: Halloween

I dressed up as a cow girl for Halloween. This represents the Misfit in the fiction reading we did earlier in the semester. In my mind the misfit was a cowboy.

Week 10: Vote!!

I am from Michigan and I was originally going to get an absentee ballot but I registered in Pinellas County and tomorrow I will be taking the Eckerd bus to the polls!

Week 11: Submit a piece of your writing to the Eckerd Review. www.eckerd.edu/ecreview.

I submitted my nonfiction, college entry essay, titled "The Struggle". This essay tells a shortened version of my life, dealing especially with the hardships i faced in high school.

Project Three Volunteer Log

Project Three Volunteer Log

Name of Organization:

St. Petersburg Free Clinic

Location of Organization:

863 3^rd Avenue N. St. Petersburg Florida 33701

Volunteer Opportunity:

I was given the opportunity to work with different types of people and feel good about helping people who need it.

Review of Volunteering:

I have volunteered over 30 hours during the duration of the semester. I was given many different opportunities and I learned a lot of myself, and that I should be very thankful for what I have.

What did you do?

I packed orders, interviewed people for Thanksgiving baskets, entered information into the computer, and directed questions at the front desk.

When did you do it?

I have been volunteering at the free clinic all semester for a service learning project for my management and leadership class.

What did you learn?

I learned how to deal with different types of people. I also learned a lot about organization skills.

What are your future plans?

I plan on continuing to help out at the clinic until I move home next semester.

Annotative Bibliography #11

Vogler, Christopher. “The Writer’s Journey and Stories are Alive.” The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

Now that all twelve stages of the hero’s journey are complete, and Vogler has “looked back” on the story, he has a short three page section explaining different ways to apply the hero’s journey. The hero’s journey and the writer’s journey are in many ways, the same thing. The same steps a hero takes through his journey are the same a writer takes while writing a story. All writers encounter several archetypes. To take it a step further, the heroes journey are the same steps any one takes to become a human being. Vogler also introduces a new type of person, called a “shaman”. This is someone, who sometime during their life, has gone through some life threatening experience, survives this experience, and continues on to write about their experience. The next section of the book is called Stories Are Alive. In this section he is trying to prove that “Stories are alive and conscious and respond to human emotion”. He starts by saying that stories have healing power. He believes this because what a story does is give us an example of human behavior, so we can relate it to our own problems and our own situations. In a sense, it helps us cope with our problems. He also believes that “stories have survival value” for humans. I interpret this as meaning, stories passed down from generation to generation have passed down survival knowledge through the generations. He uses the story of Rumpelstiltskin as an example the power a person wishing has.

While writing many college essays I often feel that I come into contact with many shape shifters. The “mentor” figure is usually the teacher who assigns the essay. The teacher is someone I feel helps you along the way, and guides you when you need it. A librarian or a tutor at the writing center can also be a mentor to me, because they will also give me guidance and assistance when I need it. I believe my roommate, or people my roommate has over in our dorm, are often times threshold guardians. My roommate will watch TV, talk on the phone, or play her music loud which makes it very hard for me to focus. When she has friends over I find my self getting caught up in their conversations and hanging out with them, rather than working. This is when I hopefully gain the courage to cross the first threshold, which is leaving my dorm, and heading to the library. When Vogler says stories have healing power, I believe this is very true. If I am having a relationship problem, I will often watch a romance movie, like the notebook, and it reminds me how lucky I am to have someone that loves and cares about me. When I get into an argument with my mom, I like to watch the movie Step Mom, or Practical Magic, because this reminds me of how lucky I am to have a mom who is alive and well and who cares about me as much as my mom does. Even a story as simple as Cinderella makes me feel grateful to have such a happy life.

1. Can you think of an example, besides Rumpelstiltskin, where the power of wishing is proven?
2. Give an example of a time when you have used a story to heal yourself.
3. Do you see the heroes journey play out in your everyday life?

Reflection of Project 3 (to this point)

Rhetorical Analysis

The 4 modes were very helpful to further my understanding and development of my thoughts for project three. I especially enjoyed the "song" mode, which was a song from thetruth.com. It directly related to my topic and I will enjoy presenting about it, and the other modes, on December 5th.

Interview

I thought of two different people I would want to interview and have them tell me their story. The person I first thought of, lives in my dorm and has had a very traumatic experience relating to cigarettes. Her father died of smoking related disease and she herself smokes. I approached her and asked if she would be comfortable talking about her experience and being recorded, and she said she is really not comfortable with that. It is very understandable because as I can imagine, it is a very sensitive topic for her. The other person I thought of interviewing is my friend Steph. Her grandmother died of lung cancer and her sister and mother smoke. I asked her if she would be comfortable with the interview and she said that she would. Now I just have to think of what questions to ask her to get her to talk about her story.

Volunteer

Since I have been at Eckerd College I have been volunteering at the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. I know this doesn't have a direct connection with cigarette smoke, but in a way I make people healthy and my topic of not smoking has a lot to do with health.

Reflect on What You Have Done

I feel very ready for my presentation on project 3. I spent a lot of time working on my 4 modes, many hours volunteering in the free clinic, and thinking of the person I will be interviewing. This is a topic that is very close to me and has always been. I am, in a way, excited to present and share my knowledge on a topic that I feel so passionate about. The only thing that is left for me to prepare is the questions I will ask during my interview.

Annotative Bibliography #10

Vogler, Christopher. “Epilogue: Looking Back on the Journey” The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

The next section of the writer’s journey is “Epilogue: Looking Back on the Journey”. In this section, or chapter of the book, Vogler pretty much reviews everything we were taught in the book. He uses five movies to help further explain the hero’s stages. He uses The Titanic, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, The Full Monty, and Star Wars. He first stresses that his book is NOT to be used as an outline for someone who is writing a story. Rather, it is supposed to be used as a guideline, to help a writer with their creative process. On the first page of this book, he challenges us to analyze a book or movie using the writer’s journey. I am going to do a short analysis on the movie Man on Fire, starring Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning. This is an excellent example of a story line that doesn’t follow the hero’s journey perfectly. There are several ordinary worlds and conflicts in the story. We are introduced to Creasy’s ordinary world, of an ex-assassin, drunk, who is looking for work. Then we are introduced to Pita’s ordinary world, a very intelligent child who was born into what we presume is a wealthy family. Both characters gain rewards and face their demos in this story. I find it very interesting because I think both of the main characters, who at first have different goals to accomplish. When Pita gets kidnapped, the true hero is show as Creasy and he won’t stop until he revenges Pita. The Titanic is another example of a story that doesn’t follow the Hero’s stages perfectly.

This book has really helped me understand story writing at a whole new level. Before I read this book, I really did not understand that stories, plays, movies, etc. are all mostly written the same way. They all have the same basic type of plot lines, with the same archetypes, and the same stages to the story. The hero always must face some basic type of fear before leave on the journey. Every hero also must have some sort of “villain”. I think it is interesting that people from all around the world, who have a totally different type of culture, all enjoy the same basic type of story structure. In this last section we read, I enjoyed how Vogler touched upon five different movies: The Titanic, Pulp Fiction, The Lion King, The Full Monty, and Star Wars. The only two movies out of those five I have seen are Titanic and The Lion King.

1. Name the 12 stages in the hero’s journey (page 8).

2. Give an example of each of the 8 most common archetypes (page 26).

3. Pick a story or a movie yourself and analyze it using Vogler’s stages of the hero’s journey.

Four Fictional Elements "Four Modes"

Four Fictional Elements

Frey, James. A Million Little Pieces. New York: Anchor, 2005.


By using the book A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, and comparing it to issues concerning second hand smoke, I am making somewhat of a stretch. In A Million Little Pieces the main character is addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, crack, as well as other illicit drugs. Throughout the story we see him recover and become a better person along the way.

James has a way of making his audience feel his pain and suffering. He is very graphic and descriptive of his recovery process, one that always involves smoking cigarettes. In my mind smoking a cigarette while trying to recover from drug addiction does not make sense. A cigarette itself is a drug that must be overcome.

Thank You For Smoking. James Reitman. Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Cameron Bright. Fox Searchlight. 2005.


The movie Thank You For Smoking is a satirical comedy basically about the dangers of cigarettes. Nick, the main character in the movie, is a lobbyist for a big tobacco company. Nick himself smokes, and yet tells his son never to smoke. This is proving that he believes what he does is wrong and that his profession is wrong. There are several moving scenes in this movie. We are shown the Marlboro man, several years down the road, who is now struck with lung cancer. We are shown Nick being attacked by anit-smokers with nicotine patches so harmfully that he almost died.

The thing that struck me the most in this movie is that Nick would smoke around his son. This was obviously dangerous to his son's health, but he chose to do it anyways. Even after telling his son never to smoke, and seeing first hand all the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, he chose to smoke around his son anyways.


"Stork". thetruth.com. 2008. Retrieved thetruth.com 11/5/08.

http://www.thetruth.com/videos/

The "stork" song/video, which was once a commercial on TV, has very strong emotional appeal. It shows many cartoon, underweight babies jumping out of incubators. The babies are underweight due to the mom being exposed to second hand smoke, or the mom herself smoking. The tobacco industry claimed that it is a good thing the babies are underweight because some mothers would actually prefer lighter babies. I think this would make any one who smokes around a child or a pregnant woman feel very bad and hopefully stop.

I believe this applies directly to the topic of my paper: that second hand smoke, and cigarettes in general, are harmful. By showing the babies that are sick and in incubators, this shows cigarettes are detrimental to the health of babies. I hope people take this a step further and realize that it is not just new born children that are affected by cigarettes, it is children of all ages who are around second hand smoke.

Anonymous. "Licensed to Kill". Virginia. April 23 & 24 2003. Licensed to Kill Inc. Retrieved www.takingontobacco.org on November 1st 2008.


This piece of "art" pretty much speaks for itself. It clearly states that tobacco companies, by becoming licensed, are killing people. There product has been proven time and time again to till smokers and non-smokers alike. I think this is a very blunt message. It is easy to understand and needs to be remembered.

I think the deaths of millions should be on the hands of the tobacco companies. They are fully aware of what their product does to their customers. If I was them, I would not be able to sleep at night.

Annotative Bibliography #9

Vogler, Christopher. “The Resurrection and Return with the Elixir” The Writer's
Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

The next two stages of Vogler’s hero’s journey are the Resurrection and the Return with the Elixir. The eleventh stage of the hero’s journey, the resurrection, is where the climax frequently occurs. The climax, different from the crisis that occurred earlier, is when the hero is faced with the last and the most dangerous meeting with death. This is when the author will show how the hero has changed throughout the story. This is the stage when the hero “sheds the personality of the journey” and develops a new personality that will be suitable for their return to the old world. This stage helps enforce the lesson of the ordeal, as well as to cleanse the hero of death. This is often the scene in a western where a showdown takes place. The resurrection could also be a choice or a romantic choice. If the story consists of a rolling climax, the resurrection will be included in this. The word catharsis has come to mean an emotional breakthrough; this often happens in the resurrection. The last chance for the hero to make a major change, or the hero having to surrender something, is also things that may occur during the resurrection. The twelfth stage is the return with the elixir. This is when the hero returns to the ordinary world with something to share with others. This can be a lesson, an object, or something to “heal a wounded land”. There are two ways a story can be concluded, they are circular or open ended. The circular, or closed form, of ending a story is the most popular way of ending a story because it gives the audience closure and more of a “so what” to the story. On the other hand, the open-ended story form is one that doesn’t have a set conclusion and in a way can be continued in the minds of the audience.

The stage of resurrection is not a stage that I always like. For a brief moment in the story you think the hero has found peace and that the hero is safe. Then just a moment later the author throws another near death experience in the face of the audience and disturbs the peace they have found. I also do not like open-ended story forms. I am a typical westerner and prefer closure at the end of a story. I hate when the author leaves me with a sense of wondering or worrying. The only time I like to be left not knowing is when the author plans on coming out with a sequel to the story.

1. Which do you prefer, a circular story form or a open-ended story form?

2. In your memoir what was your resurrection?

3. In your memoir what was the elixir that you returned with?

The Bell Jar- Chapters 19 & 20- One Good Paragraph

In chapters 19 and 20 of The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath, several interesting things take place. The audience is first introduced to a character, Esther, who has a friend named Joan. We learn that Joan and Esther are in some type of institution. The audience is never told what they did to get themselves in the institution, but we learn they both once in the past dated the same guy, who thinks he may be at blame for whatever reason they are in the institution. There are two main events in these chapters. First Esther looses her virginity. Afterwards, she asks the man Irwin who she was with to take her to Joan's house because something went wrong and she would not stop bleeding. Joan had no choice but to take Esther to the hospital. The second main event in these two chapters is when Joan kills herself. She had permission to leave the institution and go to the movies. Joan never returns and is found by an elderly worker out back by the frozen ponds, she had hung herself. I found these two chapters very interesting and am considering checking the book out from the library and reading it.

Annotative Bibliography #8

Vogler, Christopher. “Reward and The Road Back” The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

The ninth stage of the hero’s journey is the reward. The reward occurs after the main crisis and the ordeal have passed. The reward is usually given as a pleasurable consequence for surviving death. The hero is often acknowledged in a positive light for surviving the ordeal, this being their reward. This is often a scene with a campfire or a love scene. Vogler says heroes do not deserve to be loved until the crisis has passed. The hero takes possession or “seizes the sword” at this time. Elixir means “medium or vehicle for medicine”, the elixir can be earned, bought, or stolen. After the ordeal and in the reward section, the hero is often left with a new perception or self realization. Other characters in the story now have an “epiphany” and see the hero in a new light or sometimes in a distorted light. Stage ten of the hero’s journey is the road back. The road back is the stage when the hero finally gets to return to the ordinary world. This is when the hero returns to the starting point, after gaining as much knowledge as possible from the new world. The hero must some how become motivated to begin the journey home, in fact a few select hero’s just choose to stay in the special world and not return home. This can be a time where a villain from previous is the story re-appears; the hero must “finish them off”. Chase scenes or “magic flight” scenes often occur in this stage. A magic flight scene is when the hero amazingly and barely gets a way on luck or chance. The worst thing that can happen during this stage is a dramatic set back. This is when a reversal of the good fortune happens and the hero once again has to put up a fight or go through another series of adventures.

The reward stage is my favorite stage. The audience gets to see all the hard work the hero has done finally getting paid off. Most times this is a very happy and uplifting part of the story. I love when the hero gets the glory of having survived the ordeal or defeated the “bad guy”. To me it seems like the story is “all down hill from here”, but not in a bad way. I just feel after all the build up to the ordeal, and once the reward is received the story begins to wrap up. The story usually ends not too long after the hero receives the reward. When I am reading a good book, I hate when the road back begins. I know this really means that the story is coming to a close and the hero will soon be done with their journey. Another thing I hate is when on the road back a setback occurs. Just when you think the hero is safe from danger the villain or some other conflict comes up, I prefer stories with happy endings!

1. Which stage do you like better, The Reward or the Road Back?

2. Which do you enjoy more, the “ordinary world” or the “special world”?

3. What are some things that can motivate a hero to get back on track and head for home?

Overview of Strengths & Weaknesses

From peer review I found out my main weakness is using the first and second person
Everyone that reviewed my blog said I have a very strong argument

Annotative Bibliography #7

Vogler, Christopher. “Approach to the Inmost Cave, and The Ordeal” The Writer's

Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese

Productions, 2007.

Stage seven of the hero’s journey is the approach to the inmost cave. This occurs after heroes have already become acquainted with the new world. During the time of the Approach heroes often times will make plans, study the enemy, and “have the last cigarette”. Time and again, the approach to the inmost cave is a common time for a romance or “courtship” to take place. There are several different ways the hero can go about the approach. The hero can boldly stride up to the castle or the hero can not be 100% confident in the approach. The hero may have to go through a series of obstacles before being able to approach in inmost cave, such as an impossible test. What you want is never as easy as you would like more times than not what the hero desires must be earned. Reorganization can also take place during the approach. The hero might change their mind or change their game plan. Also, no matter how many times one escapes their fate, the issue must be faced sooner or later. The eighth stage of the hero’s journey is the ordeal. This is the absolute darkest and most terrifying place the hero will reach in the story. In every story the hero faces death in someway or another, and often time it occurs during the ordeal. This stage is not to be confused with the climax; rather it is considered the crisis. The stage usually occurs near the middle of the story; this is called a central crisis. There also can be a delayed crisis. This is when the crisis occurs at the end of act two. A crisis that involves death often makes the audience realize how lucky they are to be alive. The hero doesn’t have to die in order for this to happen; the hero could witness or cause a death, sometimes this could be the death of the villain, or the hero’s ego could die.

I think the approach to the inmost cave is a critical time in stories for romance to become involved. Frequently the hero will be having doubts about entering the inmost cave and look to a friend or a lover to comfort them. Many a time, the hero will get all “dolled up” during the approach. As in the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and all of her friends get ready for the inmost cave. They go to the beauty parlor in order to look their best for their meeting with the wizard. I think it’s a very good point that the ordeal should be considered the crisis, not the climax. This is because it doesn’t have to be the most interesting point of the story, but the most dangerous for sure. I think it is very interesting that when a hero appears to die it makes the audience appreciate life that much more.

1. Can you think of an example of when the hero faces the approach to the inmost cave and decides to turn around rather than continue and face the ordeal?

2. What is the difference between the climax and the crisis?

3. What do you think the ordeal is in the book “The Memory Keepers Daughter”

Annotative Bibliography #6

I'm going to use my get out of jail free card for this one!!!!!!

Annotative Bibliography #5

Vogler, Christopher. “Refusal of the Call and Meeting with the Mentor” The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: MichaelWiese Productions, 2007.

Stage three of the writer’s journey is refusal of the call to adventure. There are several different ways in which the hero can refuse the call. The hero can avoid the call all together, or give excuses for why they should not have to deal with the situation. Refusing the call does not always have to be viewed as a negative thing. If the call is to do harm or destruction, and the hero refuses, that would considered be a positive refusal of the call. Persistent refusal of the call can lead to tragedy. If the hero refuses to accept the call there often are harmful consequences. A hero can also receive two or more calls at once, called conflicting calls. People such as artists or poets some times have to refuse outer calls and deal with inner ones. However, sometimes the hero will not refuse the call at all. They are called a willing hero. They have already accepted the call to adventure, or sometimes they were the one that went looking for the journey. Threshold guardians appear after the heroes accept the challenge. They prevent the hero from continuing on the beginning of their journey. The next stage, stage four, is meeting with the mentor. The mentor is a wise protective figure toward the hero. The mentor is an archetype that serves to protect, guide, teach, test, and train the hero. The name Mentor came form The Odyssey. Athena, disguised as an old man, gave her name as Mentor. Athena guides and helps both Odysseus and his son all through the story.

I think the refusal of the call is a very important stage. The audience learns a lot about the hero’s values and morals. It shows us that the hero is a person that will question things and not always simply go along with what is asked of him or her. It also shows the audience that the hero weighs out benefits and consequences, and thoroughly thinks things through, before making a decision. I also think it is important for the audience to understand that when the hero refuses the call, not to look down on them. They may have turned it down for reasons that they have not yet reveled to us. It may be a good thing they turned it down. It is very interesting to me that the name Mentor derived from The Odyssey. When I was reading the Odyssey for my Western Heritage class I know right away what “Mentor’s” role would be. Athena, being the goddess of wisdom, thought of a way to help Odysseus return home, and kick the suitors out of his house, with the help of his son. Athena guided Telemachus, and helped Odysseus on his journey; this is exactly what a mentor is supposed to do.

1. What is a willing hero and can you think of an example of a willing hero?

2. Why can positive refusals sometimes be a good thing?

3. Why do you think heroes are so enchanted by “the secret door”, and always end breaking limits set by guardians or mentors?

Revision Plan for Project One

EDIT
1. I will change / add information to my introduction to better capture my audiences attention and
2. I will create better paragraph transitions to guide my reader so they can "see" my journey
3. My second to last paragraph contains mucho "unpacking", I will work on that, throwing too much information at the reader at once is a bad thing, I will spread it out more / draw out the paragraph.

REVISE
1. I will cut out the use of vague words, such as "this, it, like.. etc" from my sentences
2. I will add more of a d"so what" to my last paragraph
3. In the end I will touch back on my ordinary world

Annotative Bibliography #4

Vogler, Christopher. “The Ordinary World and The Call to Adventure.” The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

Book two is titled “Stages of the Journey”. The first stage is called “The Ordinary World”. The second stage is called “The Call to Adventure”. In the ordinary world, we as the readers are introduced to “the world of the common day”. This is often the setting at the beginning of the story and often is required to hook the audience’s attention. Before the story even begins to be written, there are several very important decisions a writer must make: such as beginning lines, the title, and the dialogue. The title gives the audience a clue to the nature of the story as well as a hint of the writer’s attitude. The first thing the audience see’s, or the opening image, most suggests where the story will go. A prologue is something that happens before the introduction of the ordinary world, and often before the introduction of the main character. The ordinary world is a base line for what the special world, where the story often takes place, will be compared. They often differ greatly form one another. When the audience is first introduced to the Hero is called the entrance. Things that are going on around him, his attitudes, and even what he is wearing can dramatically affect our first opinion of the character, and our relationship to him. Identification between the audience and the hero are very important. We need to feel like we can connect with the hero in some way. Heroes often are lacking something. The next stage of the journey is the call to adventure. This is when the hero is presented with something they need to help change, or something they need to do. This is when they are forced with a decision that often leads to them leaving their ordinary world. This is what “gets the story rolling”. Sometimes the call to adventure happens when the hero simply runs out of other choices, and is forced to change.

Vogler says that the title greatly affects the audience’s opinion on the story from the get go. I don’t agree with this. I think a title is simply a title. To me it isn’t a multi-level metaphor. In my mind a title is simply what the author decided to name his or her work. I think a good example is the movie Grease. When I think of Grease I think of someone’s hand’s who has been working on cars. I don’t think the writer of Grease intended the title to be interpreted, it was simply the name of the movie because it was catchy and it was what they used to style their hair.

1. In the movie Grease, the opening scene is comic figures waking up and getting ready for their first day of school, what kind of first impression does this give you?

2. What do you think the call to adventure in the movie 27 dresses is?

3. Why is it necessary for the hero to be lacking something in order for the audience to identify with him or her?

Annotative Bib. #3

Vogler, Christopher. “Threshold Guardian, Herald, Shapeshifter, Shadow, Ally, and Trickster, .” The Writer's Journey : Mythic Structure for Writers. 3rd ed. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

In the next chapter, Vogler talks all about threshold guardians. Threshold guardians are usually not the main villain of the story line. Threshold guardians can be one of several things, a villain’s assistant, a neutral figure, or a lesser thug. Threshold guardians can represent the Hero’s inner demon, and often are used to test the hero. One of the ways to defeat the threshold guardian is to “get into the skin” of them. After that, Vogler goes on to talk about Heralds. Herald figures can either announce the coming of a significant change, or issue challenges. Herald’s call for change and often times motivate the hero. Heralds can themselves be the villain; they can be good, or simply a neutral figure. Next, we read about shapeshifters. Most of the time, a shapeshifter is a romantic partner or in love with the hero. Shapeshifters are capable of changing the hero’s moods, as well as they are very misleading to the audience and the hero. Shapeshifters often are the ones who bring doubt and suspense into a story. The femme fatale is a female shapeshifter that is related to adultery. Following that, Vogler talks about the archetype of shadow. Shadow is anything representing dark energy. Our dark inner emotions often times are portrayed in shadow. Villains and enemies usually have many characteristics of a dark, gloomy shadow. Next Vogler teaches us about Ally’s. An ally is always a good thing to have. Allys always help the hero and lighten the mood. In many stories there are several allys. Lastly in book one Vogler talks about Tricksters. They add comic relief, they are very mischievous, and often times they help heroes come down to earth.

I agree with Vogler, I think threshold guardians can be either a positive or a negative thing. Sometimes they are there to help the villain, and other times they become a great help to the hero. I think a good example of a Herald would be Glenda, the good witch in The Wizard of Oz, she tells Dorthy that things will be different than she is used to in Oz on her quest to find the Wizard. Another example would be in Wayne’s World 2, when John Morrison tells Wayne “if you book them, they will come”. A good example of a shapeshifter in the Epic of Gilgamesh is Gilgamesh’s best buddy Enkidu. Enkidu helps Gilgamesh make some not so wise decisions.

1. In the movie The Wizard of Oz, who could be considered a threshold guardian?

2. In your opinion do you think a Herald is usually helpful, or hurtful?

3. Do villains and enemies that represent the shadow archetype always have to be considered such a negative thing, or can they sometimes be very helpful to the hero.

What Disney character am I?

I believe that out of all the Disney movies I have seen, I am most similar to the character Dory. Dory is the blue fish from Finding Nemo. Dory and I share many characteristics. Dory is scatterbrained, forgetful, and a little kooky. At the same time however, Dory is easy going, persistent, and she is everybody’s friend.

Dory is introduced into the movie by crossing paths with Marlin (Nemo’s Dad), and about thirty seconds later she forgets they ever met. I am not as bad as her when it comes to my memory, but I do have an extreme problem with remembering people’s names. Dory is very kooky throughout the whole movie. I think she is kooky in a good way though. For example, when she tries to become friends with sharks. This is not something an average fish would do, but it is something Dory would do.

The first adventure Marlin and Dory get sucked into is an “AA” meeting with a group of sharks. The shark’s motto is “fish are friends, not food”, most fish are expected to be terrified of sharks, but Dory just wants to be their friend. Marlin keeps coming up with different excuses to get away, but Dory is having a good time. This shows that she is willing to be friends with everyone. Dory’s “just keep swimming” approach to life, is basically the same theory I have about life. In my mind it means just do what you can to get by, and do not focus on what you can not control.