Brillianna D’Angelo - Ternent
Analytical & Persuasive Writing
Annotation # 3
9/22/08

MLA:
Vogler, Christopher . The Writer's Journey : Mythic structure for writers . 3. Studio City, CA: Michael Wiese Productions, 2007.

Summery:
The five archetypes discussed in this section are threshold guardians, herald, shapeshifter, shadow, ally, and a trickster. The threshold guardian is a secret helper in the heros journey who has a symbiotic relationship with the villain. They represent ordinary obstacles everyone faces in the world. The guardians main dramatic function is to test the hero. Threshold guardians should be viewed as a sign of new power in the story not as a negative energy.
The Herald is a character that appears in the story to show significant change is about to happen. The dramatic function is to provide motivation to the hero and to move the story along. There are positive, negative and neutral herald’s.
The shapeshifter is often a character of the opposite sex who changes roles throughout the story. There phycological role is to expose the energy of animus and anima. The dramatic function of the shapeshifter is to bring doubt and suspense to the story.
The shadow represents the energy of the dark side and repressed feelings. The dramatic function of the shadow is challenge the hero and to serve as a worthy opponent. Shadows are made vulnerable by having human qualities.
The Ally is a companion to the hero that serves as comic relief. They do not always have to be human. They can take many forms such as animals and angles. There dramatic function is to be funny in the story.
The trickster embodies the energies of mischief and desire for change. They have many phycological functions. The bring down the ego of the hero and make him/ her more down to earth. They provide a common bond between the reader and the hero and draw attention the the phycological imbalance.

Reaction:
The threshold guardian and the herald serve a very similar roles. They both appear at a point in the story where they foreshadow change in the story. While the guardian just is a sign the herald serves as a motivation. The shapeshifter is the most interesting of the archetypes. The shapeshifter persuades the hero through sexual persuasion but it is all done physiologically. Although the shapeshifter doses not have a big role in the story they are an important character in terms of defining what the hero learns at the end of the journey. The Shadow and the trickster are mysterious characters that leads the hero toward the dark side but never seems to win. The ally is most often the favorite character in stories. I immediately thought of Donkey from Shreak. He helps Shreak save the princess but is always making jokes and is my favorite character in the movie.

Questions:

1. What is the purpose of archetypes in the stories?
   
2. Why do almost every story have these characters and why is that significant in todays society?
   
3. What is an example of a shapeshifter and how do they effect the hero? Is it positive or negative? 
   

Terms:

1. Animus- male element in the female unconscious, the bundle of positive and negative images of masculinity in a women’s dreams and fantasies.
   
2. Anima- corresponding female element In the male unconscious. 
   
3. Catalyst characters- characters who affect the lives of others but remain unchanged themselves.