Approach to Inmost Cave and the Ordeal

Cameron Bradley

Annotated Bibliography

Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers. Studio

City:Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

 

Summary

The next two stages of the Writer’s Journey explain the hero as he or she Approaches the Inmost Cave and the Ordeal.  The Inmost Cave deals with the hero coming to the area of the Threshold guardian.  On the way to the hero’s goal, the hero must face a series of obstacles before they can rest.  For example, the book uses the Wizard of Oz and the glittering sight of Emerald City to show that Dorothy is about to reach her goal.  However, obstacles such as the witch casting a sleeping spell and the city guardian stop Dorothy from making her journey complete. 

            Once the hero has reached the area of the Inmost Cave, he or she must face the Ordeal.  The hero must face the main terror of the story in this stage and everything the hero has in at stake.  This is including the hero’s life.  Many times in this stage, the hero is killed off but then brought back to life.  The hero usually dies through an act of selflessness and he is brought back by a moral lesson.  If the hero’s life is not at stake, something else the hero owns is.  Facing phobia, defeating a villain and letting the enemy escape, or tearing down one’s ego are just a few instants that the hero will come across during the Ordeal. 

Reaction

These seem to be the most exciting parts of story.  While they are no the climax, they hold some of the most memorable scenes in a story.  One random emotion seems to be stretched at this point to make the viewer hang onto their seats for more.  Consequently, the hero seems to be doomed to fail in these two parts of the story.  The hero is only given a peak at what his final ordeal will hold and what skills he will need to face it.  

Questions

1.     What is the difference between the Ordeal and the Climax of the story?

2.     Is the hero always sure to fail in these stages?

3.     What factors usually trigger the events of the Approach to the Inmost Cave?

Terms

Quo: verb used with a noun: the state of existing or being

The doctor kept a lose watch on the status quo of the coma victim.

Ganglion: noun: a mass of nerve tissue existing outside the brain

The ganglion of the story is sensitive when the climax is in motion.