Vogler, Christopher. “Reward and The Road Back” The Writer's Journey: Mythic
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!
- Which stage do you like better, The Reward or the Road Back?
- Which do you enjoy more, the “ordinary world” or the “special world”?
- What are some things that can motivate a hero to get back on track and head for home?
2 comments:
response to #3:
i think that there are many reasons or motives for a hero to get back on track. there could be a lover or a family that the hero needs to return home to, or maybe a great treasure at the end of the journey. whatever the reward at the end may be, i feel that the hero is always striving for something greater and that the greater something is the motive to keep the hero going or to get the hero back on track.
It is hard to say whether I like the Speical World or the Ordinary World better. I feel that the heros leave the Ordinary World for excitement and that they bring back the knowledge they have gained to better the Ordinary World. There can be no ordinary worl without the special world and vice versa. I like both worlds, but I like the excitement the Special World presents.
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