Emily Wiemken
Analytical and Persuasive Writing
Prof. Robinson
Annotation

Annotation for Vogler’s “Resurrection/Return with the Elixir”

The resurrection as Vogler explains it, is the villain’s last ditch attempt to return and foil the hero. This is when all that the Hero has learned comes in to play to finally vanquish the villain once and for all. Vogler related this to a smoker trying to quit. The smoker does good for a while, he has resisted all the initial temptations, but there has to be a final closing of the time when he smoked for good. One last final temptation that the smoker has to get through to where he can finally feel rid of the desire to smoke ever again. For the hero, this is like going through a final purging and purification before they reenter the ordinary world. Writers have to show a change in the Hero before and after this stage. Vogler also relates this stage as the final exam in a class. The Ordeal in the case is considered as the midterm. After the hero gets through the Resurrection, there should be a sense of closure, of starting a new life. Sometimes the hero will actually return with an elixir that they bring back for the ordinary world. This is in a sense the “unknotting” of a story, where all the loose ends are tied together and all the questions are answered. There are two common endings present in a story. In the Circular story form, the story tends to go full circle back to the beginning where it might restate a line of dialogue or show and image to show how much the hero has grown and provide a contrast which helps the story feel complete. The other type of story is the Open-ended story form which some story tellers prefer because it tends to leave some of the unanswered moral questions up to the audience. They end by posing new questions that resonate with the audience long after the movie and often tends to turn up in arguments over coffee or in the office.

I enjoyed this section of Vogler and thought it was interesting how he said that the closed endings were more preferred in our western culture, and open ended endings where more preferred in European cinema. He said that Hollywood films are often criticized for their unrealistic fairy tale endings leaving the audience undisturbed so they don’t have to think about it after. Europeans tend to enjoy the sophisticated, realistic, and ambiguous edge that open ended stories often bring to the table.

1. Are there any stories that you feel end too abruptly and if so, why do you think that is?
2. What type of ending do you prefer in a story and why?
3. Do you feel there is a need for an epilogue? Why or why not?