Category: Articles and Essays
-
The Enemy at the Gates–Guardians of the Threshold
Guardians of the Threshold, which Christopher Vogler discusses in The Writer’s Journey, Mythic Structure for Writers, may present as enemies. Yet instead they seek to test the protagonist or central character of a story, to ensure that she or he has integrated the wisdom and information provided by the Mentor. The best protagonists earn success…
-
Mentor and Story
Mentors are the wisdom-carriers in stories. They infect the protagonist or major character with knowledge and information needed to complete their quest. Mentors encourage the heroine or hero to believe, and have faith in her or his ability to meet the challenge standing before them. On a psycho-spiritual level mentors represent the Imago Dei, the…
-
The Heroine/Hero and Their Function in Story
The heroine or hero provides the reader with perspective and focus on the story, point of view. She or he also serves as the point of identification allowing the reader to invest her or his feelings towards care and concern for not simply the major character but also remaining with the story to see its…
-
Civility and Order
The word, hero, in Greek means, “to protect and to serve“. We often find these words on the side of police cars. Thus we think of law enforcement. And yet, from the etymological perspective rooted in Greek, what is to be protected? What or who needs and desires safety of survival? What is ultimately at…
-
Archetypes and Story
Much like the gods and goddesses of Hinduism and Yoruban spirituality reflect the forces of the human mind and heart, archetypes display aspects and dimensions of character and personality. They show the various degrees of evolution of the human soul from birth to death.
-
Fuel for Change
“Summoned or not, the god will come.” –motto on the door of Carl Jung’s home. Archetypes help writers clarify a character’s function and role in the way of plot development and the evolution of personality regarding the protagonist. Stories are about growth and change. And archetypes carry energies.
-
Archetypes and Human Needs
Characters viewed as archetypes can be seen as facets of the protagonist’s personality come to greet her or him in the journey towards achieving a goal.