Monomyths [Tuesday, March 23, Period 3]

[steel-not-glass.livejournal.com]

Class started a little later than usual today. After her trek through the fog, Cindy had locked herself in her office for a few minutes, trying to get ahold of herself. She wasn't sure what exactly she'd seen in the fog on the way up to the school, but she did know that, whatever it was, it had been a little crazy.

Or the Adversary. Either way, Cindy was not Best Pleased.

"Sorry, class," she said as she came in, three minutes after the bell had rung. "I was unavoidably delayed." Partially by stocking up on some weaponry in her office, la. "But let's not waste any more time than I already have. First, I want to remind you that the end of the semester is approaching quickly. If you haven't already begun watching Wendy the Werewolf Stalker, I suggest you do so very soon. There are seven seasons to get through. Since none of you offered alternatives by the midterm, I'm expecting papers on the show from every one of you in class."

Did one of her students' face just change...? No, that was nonsensical. Back on track, Cindy.

"So, last week, we discussed Death, the sixth stage of the feminine journey. Today, we'll be discussing Trials, the sixth stage of the masculine journey. In this stage, the hero faces more obstacles to his goal. These obstacles, however, provide more than simple stumbling blocks between the hero and what he wants; these trials are the beginning of his transformation. If you want the hero to awaken and triumph in the next Act, he must gradually change his outlook and his behavior. This stage gives him reasons to make those changes and to push him towards those changes."

"While these ordeals can come in any shape or form, usually they are designed to test the hero's strengths and weaknesses. If he's a hero with a lot of mental prowess, his ordeals will probably be of a more physical nature. If he's been emotionally controlled or shut-off, he may witness horrible threats against innocents or people and things he cares for. If he has unthinking, unswerving loyalty to a particular faction, he may see them committing acts he finds morally reprehensible. If he's greedy, he'll be asked to sacrifice. The point of all these ordeals is to get him to question himself, his goals, and even his journey."

"If Act Three is going to be his awakening and his journey will be successful, in Stage Six, we'll see him gradually lowering or losing his defenses. His world begins to fall apart and he doesn't know who he is anymore or why he's doing the things he's doing. If Act Three is going to see the hero rebel and fail in his journey, nothing that happens in Stage Six will get through to him. His defenses will stay high, he'll shrug off advice or support from his friends, and he'll refuse to change his mind. He refuses to grow or learn. The hero will get one more chance to change his ways and awaken, but by this point, most directors and writers have decided whether the hero will succeed or fail, and use this stage to let the rebelling hero sow the seeds of his own destruction. Building on that, rebellious heroes often face warnings or prophecies during this stage that foreshadow their impending doom. In Gilgamesh, for example, Enkidu has several terrifying and ominous dreams. In meta for-Moby Dick, Fedallah prophesizes several deaths. Yet, with every other sign in this stage, the rebellious hero ignores or dismisses those, too."

[Please wait for OCD up!]