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?