Pick out 3 quotes from the text and write one paragraph of response for each quote. Pick out the things that do and do not make sense to you, things you do - or do not agree with. Find the main takeaway form the article for you personally.
QUOTE 1: "The Hero's Journey is a skeletal framework that should be fleshed out with the details and surprises of the individual story. The structure should not call attention to itself, nor should it be followed too precisely."
→ I chose this quote because I felt it summarized the entire section we read very clearly. As we took in a lot of information, a lot of structural framework examples and pieces of a story, this closing statement tied back to the beginning with the author stating how it's important to use this framework, but loosely and always be updating and challenging it. It's meant to be more of a guide of what's been successful, but the best stories are the ones that mix the old and trusted with the new and unexpected.
QUOTE 2: "We're crossing into act three now as the hero begins to deal with the consequences of confronting the dark forces of the Ordeal."
Is The Hero's Journey the combination of The Writer's Journey and The Hero with a Thousand Faces? I think this might be where I'm still processing a little bit and trying to understand. Their individual frameworks seem to be very similar to one another, and I really believe this article helped me to understand each stage of the Hero's Journey much better. Especially given the examples for each stage. Although another portion I'm trying to understand deeper is how Act 3 begins after the Hero get's their reward. This is something I'm still wrapping my head around just because in a film it almost feels like that should be part of Act versus still being a part of Act 2.
QUOTE 3: "Our emotions are temporarily depressed so that they can be revived by the hero's return from death. The result of this revival is a feeling of elation and exhilaration."
→ With this quote from the section "THE ORDEAL" in the reading, I'm thinking about movies with sad endings, or the shocking twist at the end. As I read through this chapter in the book, I was under the impression that the author is telling us that each piece of The Hero's Journey can be found within any story. Even if the order is displaced a bit. This lead me to just question movies or books that appear to maybe not have some of the revival or come-back stories. The stories that end a bit tragically, or leave the audience feeling conflicted. Where would these stories fit into the Hero's Journey? Do all stories need to contain each piece, or is it more pick and choose?
Main Takeaway: The article was so successful in helping me to understand The Hero's Journey to a deeper level. I believe the main takeaway was that although the author goes into specifics for each stage, the big idea is to not follow the framework step by step, and to use it more as a guiding tool. It's ok to combine the trusted framework with new ideals to create interesting stories relevant to today's storytelling.