Brooke Green
9/29/08

CO 122: Analytic and Persuasive Writing
Annotated Bibliography # 4
Prof. Kathleen Robinson
Fall 2008


Vogler, Christopher. “Book Two: Stage One: The Ordinary World and Stage Two: The Call to Adventure. The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure For Writers. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007. 84-102.

Summary:

Stage One: The Ordinary World and Stage Two: The Call to Adventure:
The ordinary world is the beginning stage of the hero’s journey. This stage sets up the visual of the hero’s world before the challenges are presented to him. These opening scenes set the tone for the story and are very important. The beginning must set up an idea of where the story will head. The prologue of the story can give a back-story or give the audience hint of where the story is headed. The ordinary world must be shown in order to show contrast to the strange world the hero will be thrown into. In the ordinary world the “dramatic question” is presented and starts the plot. The hero is first presented in this ordinary world so these scenes are important for the audience to get an idea of who the hero is. This is the time where the audience makes a connection with the hero and we see what the hero is lacking; the whole theme is introduced in the beginning stage. The call to adventure, also known as “inciting or initiating incident, the catalyst, or the trigger, is the second stage after the ordinary world. An event or incident takes place and the hero is presented with a challenge. This is when the audience figures out the hero’s goals and what must be accomplished during the journey. The hero does not know exactly what lies ahead, but he knows that things will change forever and that the journey will be hard and difficult if he chooses to take it.


Reaction:

I believe thee ordinary world and the call to adventure to be the most important stages of the stories because they completely set up the story, explain what is going on, and present what the entire story is going to entail. These steps set the tone for the rest of the story.

Questions:

1. What do you think would happen to the story is the ordinary world was never presented?

2. Do you think it is necessary for the audience to connect with the hero in the first scenes of the ordinary world? Why? Why not?

3. Can a person decide whether they will like the rest of the story based off of these first two steps?