4. Ordinary World & Call to Adventure

I agree with Vogler that our heroes are rounded through their wounds. I like to think of characters through their emotional skeleton. I think all of us carry a myriad of experiences tied in with memories and the emotional imprints we’ve been given. I think our actions raise questions as to what happened in the past whether someone has seemingly unreal maturity, or unsettling emotional quirks during specific contexts.

Storytelling to me is unveiling the emotional skeleton to see what’s really there and what it desires to overcome. Some of the most important aspects about ourselves are the secrets that we carry, those defining moments that stick out in our minds more than the routine of the day, and how those moments influence us whether these experiences are as transparent for people to see or are so hidden that no one knows about the real tragedies or validations of one’s past.

Our ordinary world can only stay stable for so long. We grow as humans as well as the settings in which we interact are challenged by various factors. Sometimes people mean well to try to keep their ordinary world the same, but this refusal often leads to more hurts, a crippling lack of development, and even a critical state of falling apart. The ordinary world in itself is precious, and I think it’s human for us to want to keep it sacred; as Vogler said most heroes refuse the call to adventure and have to be cajoled into what is necessary for the character as well as other story world goals. 

We do also seek for how to escape our ordinary world. The problems of one’s setting along with not fitting in are enough to burden any character. Only staying in the nursery will obviously prevent growth. We go stir crazy when we haven’t left our houses; we also go crazy when we’ve been on the go for too long and can’t process what all has happened to us. Prolonged socialization can lead to stress and prolonged isolation can lead to loneliness (or even insanity). I think heroes constantly have to reach outside of the current status quo, because not only do they crave something more but variety keeps us healthy and sane.

However, sometimes this craving isn’t pure. A character may not want to acknowledge that they want something more (or need it) but eventually they’ll have to face it or the desire for change will step in and take over one’s life in a tangled, evil mess: example -- extreme midlife crisis. There’s many seeds in the minds of people that suddenly overtime become like a mandate in one’s midlife. Suddenly the hint of wanting to be on one’s own becomes an agenda and he or she ends up changing their job, leaving their family, and divorcing their spouse. Scary thought, right? 

What is unprocessed and pushed under the rug builds until it becomes the dominant voice of a character. This could also be referred to as the Shadow archetype -- therefore I think we have to consider our journeys and our desires and where that will guide our footsteps. If we’re not considering where are thoughts are guiding us or the consequences it can lead to total devastation. It would seem that some changes from the ordinary world are needed for development while other changes are not really the form of a hero, but a coward bent on their own selfish desires.

A coward is created from what should be a hero. There’s always the chance for a coward to turn back into a hero. Cowards essentially have lost their sense of direction and in turn make choices that not only hurt themselves, but those around them. In a sense this could be considered the tragic hero, yet I feel there’s a difference. Tragic heroes are doomed. They have little to no choice to escape the reality of their circumstances. Cowards take matters into their own hands by focusing on the wrong internal voice inside; they have options to change whereas a tragic hero does not. 

For a coward it is not really a refusal to the call that is perverting their nature, because a refusal to a call shows some awareness of their even being a call. A coward does not listen to all the points of plot, but rather sets out to rid themselves of any plot, any connection, or any compassion. They want to be done with these and to do their own thing in their own sanctuary. Peter Pettigrew from the Harry Potter series is a great coward. He hands over Lily and James to Voldemort so he can be safe. He stays a rat so that none of the death eaters will come after him. He only was a friend to James Potter so that he could ride of James‘ glory. Peter constantly could have made better choices, but his selfish needs consistently come first. He would make a terrible protagonist to follow. Even Voldemort had some empathetic moments we could follow and understand, but the real coward of the series never grew but in fact, went smaller in size from being human to rat.