What Are the Twelve Stages of the Hero's Journey in Burning America?
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Stage 1: The Ordinary World The first stage — The Ordinary World — happens to be one of the most essential elements of any story, even ones that don’t follow the twelve-stage structure to a tee.
Here I offer three reasons why writers need to show protagonists in their Ordinary World.
1. To Set Up How the Conflict Disrupts the Character’s Ordinary Life
When you open the story within the character’s Ordinary World, you’re establishing their comfort zone — a world that they’re complacent with or used to living.
Paul, our protagonist, is viewed feeding an infant. How many men or fathers have that opportunity? But, this is Paul's world, an ordinary world of him as primary caregiver to Paul and Anne's, his wife, daughter.
Don’t Leave Home Without It, Chapter 1 in the novel, introduces us to Paul, the peaceful world he enjoyed as primary caregiver, the beautiful and colorful child’s room Kaitrin, the daughter, enjoyed.
2. To Foreshadow the Story to Come
The Ordinary World at the beginning of a story offers the writer a chance to foreshadow events to come, plant plot and character devices that pay off later within the story, and even allows for the opportunity to present themes and metaphors that will be explored within the narrative.
Will the Court, the custody industry, and the village of neighbors award Paul custody? Do the Courts act in the best interest of the children? These are themes to be explored as we are introduced to them.
Since the daughter is torn, some would say kidnapped, will the Courts, village neighbors, and the system advocate for the child? Will Paul be able to restore their daughter to her home and school? Will Kaitrin be able to enjoy her First Holy Communion?
3. To Create Catharsis and Empathy
Today’s cinematic interpretation of catharsis can be translated as the feeling we feel after the resolution of the story and the protagonist’s overall journey.
We will view Paul experiencing the trauma of separation and ultimate resolution as the audience identifies with him and empathizes with his plight.
We will have a long way to go but the conflict and trauma will tear Paul from his happy home and he will have to fight to restore and reconcile their child with home and school.
Don’t leave home without it originates from a commercial.
"Don't Leave Home Without It" American Express Co. (AXP) first advised consumers that they shouldn't leave home without them in 1975. The slogan was originally used to promote American Express Traveler's Checks and the commercials featured the Academy Award-winning actor Karl Malden. Roger Daltrey also taped a version of the ad.
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://www.amazon.com/G-Mick-Smith/e/B0B59X5R79
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Stage Two of the Hero's Journey in Burning America The Doctor of Digita...
Stage 2: The Call to Adventure
The next stage is the Call to Adventure. The hero is faced with an event, conflict, problem, or challenge that makes them begin their adventure.
Here we offer three reasons why that Call to Adventure means everything when you’re trying to tell a great story.
1. Introduces the Core Concept of the Story
Concept is very crucial to the success of any story that you write. It will be the sole reason why anyone reads your story, novel, or watches your movie or television pilot. It represents the core of your story and affects each and every character that you create to live and breathe within that plot and narrative.
Conflict is everything to a great story. And the Call to Adventure represents that conflict and is what pushes that core conflict onto your protagonist.
Paul is faced with a problem, kidnapping, and parental alienation that rocks his ordinary world, and he has to decide whether or not to answer that call.
2. Defines the Genre of Your Story
The Call to Adventure can come in many forms — and it will usually define the genre that you’re writing in, which is another vital aspect of your story.
Knowing your genre is important. That knowledge will allow you to use or avoid any given genre’s cliches and tropes. It will help you develop the perfect context and narrative. The tone and atmosphere will be better defined when you know your genre as well. And the reader or audience will know what to expect when they know and understand what the central conflict (concept) of your story is.
And lastly, when you market your story for possible acquisition, the Call to Adventure for your protagonist will be the center of your logline that you pitch. And that pitch has to give the potential buyer a quick cue to what genre the story is.
Paul will be the center of the drama logline to pitch. The pitch has to give the potential buyer a quick cue that this dramatic genre tells us what kind of conflict will ensue.
3. Begins the Process of Character Development.
Your protagonist’s reaction to the Call of Adventure will offer you the chance to begin to showcase the character development within your story.
Their initial reaction will easily dictate the type of character that they are at the beginning of the story.
Paul is a homebody, quiet, and introverted but he must be more decisive and determined to take on the custody industry and the village trying to alienate his daughter from him.
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://www.amazon.com/G-Mick-Smith/e/B0B59X5R79
What is Stage Three of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 3: Refusal of the Call
What stage can come next in your story? The Refusal of the Call. The hero initially refuses the adventure because of hesitation, fears, insecurity, or any other number of issues.
Here I offer three reasons why your protagonist should refuse the Call to Adventure — and how your script can benefit from that refusal.
1. To Create Instant Tension and Conflict Within the Story
The Refusal of the Call to Adventure can work within any type of cinematic story structure and narrative — even one that doesn’t hit all of the marks of the Campbell or Vogler Hero’s Journey stages.
Will Paul have the resources to get his daughter, Kaitrin, returned home? Anne, his wife, took the family assets by emptying the bank accounts and taking the furniture. Now what? Can Paul navigate the Court maze, have enough funds to continue? Can he fight the good fight for the long haul?
2. To Showcase the Risks & the Stakes Involved.
The best screenplays showcase big risks and big stakes that characters must overcome. The Refusal of the Call to Adventure offers you the opportunity to introduce those risks and stakes.
Paul is out of his element but at stake is his daughter's health and safety. He is forced to risk it all and transform his lifestyle to focus on getting their daughter restored to her family home.
3. To Create Empathy & Character Depth
Any character can take on an adventure or handle a conflict that is thrown at them. We’ve seen that time and time again in any action flick.
Paul is not a dynamic, extroverted, and social person but a homebody and primary caregiver. Now, we see if he is up to the challenge and react quickly and explosively to the trauma.
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://www.amazon.com/G-Mick-Smith/e/B0B59X5R79
What is Stage 4 of the Hero's Journey in Burning America?
Stage 4: Meeting the Mentor
Along the way, your protagonist — and screenplay, novel, or creative story — may need a mentor. The hero encounters a mentor that can give them advice, wisdom, information, or items that ready them for the journey ahead.
Here I offer three things a mentor character can do for your protagonist and your screenplay.
1. Create an Emotional Empathetic Bond Between Characters
The best stories have heart — and that applies to any genre. And for a story to have heart, the writer needs to create empathy for the characters.
Paul has several mentors throughout Burning America. He realizes that he can not go it alone. Paul looks for support from both of his attorneys, his sister, and his mom.
2. Guide the Protagonist Through the Central Conflict
When the protagonist is first introduced within their Ordinary World, they are in a place of comfort or complacency. The best stories then take that character out of their comfort zone by throwing them into the metaphorical fire of an extreme conflict that rocks their world.
Kicked out of his Ordinary World, Paul is thrown into his central conflict and seeks guidance in the wisdom of his family and attorneys. Sometimes the mentor isn't a character at all but, for Paul, his faith is a guide.
3. Help You Introduce Story Elements, Themes, and Exposition Within the Screenplay
Paul does not know how to navigate the legal system nor, alone, is he able to combat the custody industry. His faith, family, and attorneys reveal possibilities and hope that he can survive.
Mick, The Doctor of Digital, Smith mick.smith@wsiworld.com
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children? https://burning-america.com
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What is Stage Five of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 5 Crossing the Threshold
At some point at the end of the first act, your story may showcase a moment where your protagonist needs to Cross the Threshold between their Ordinary World and the Special World they will be experiencing as their inner or outer journey begins.
The hero leaves their ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into adventure.
Here I offer three ways Crossing the Threshold affects your story.
1. Shifts Your Story Into Gear
If we've been introduced to your protagonist through their Ordinary World, and have watched them finally accept the call to adventure — whether it be an inner or outer emotional or physical journey — it's always nice to offer a moment within the story that shifts everything to the next gear.
Initially, Paul engages with a father’s rights attorney to get their child returned to Pennsylvania. All is right with the world, correct? Wrong! Paul gets in gear when the Judge simply returns their child back to mom; Paul has to increase his efforts; the road to recovery is more precarious than he suspected.
2. Introduces the Differences Between the Ordinary World and the Special World to Come
The Special World is the world that the protagonist is about to come across as they deal with the conflict they've been forced to — or have chosen to — take on.
And it's vital to the story to present a world that is very different from what the protagonist is used to. Yes, some great stories simply showcase a window of time within a character's world. But if you want to truly engage a reader and audience, you need to inject as much tension and conflict that you can. And you do that by taking them out of their element.
Paul’s Ordinary World as primary caregiver to their child is over; the Special World is the custody industry and parental alienation. Paul is out of his element.
3. Begins Your Protagonist's Character Arc
Character arcs are a must. Most people want to see a character change throughout a story — a transformation that they undergo as they take on the conflict at hand.
When your protagonist physically or emotionally crosses a threshold, you're letting the reader or audience know that they're character arc has begun.
Paul runs into a corrupt cop, a slanderous neighbor, lying and incompetent psychs and counselors, and a Kafkaesque Court system. How will Paul survive? Participants should be invested in his plight.
What is Stage Six of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 6: Tests, Allies, and Enemies
And it’s within this unknown that the protagonist faces many tests and meets their allies and enemies.
1. Tests
Within the Hero’s Journey structure, this stage is a vital part of your protagonist’s journey. Conflict is everything. Without conflict, there’s no story, no story arc, and no character exploration. So while this is a stage represented in every Hero’s Journey structure application, it’s also a necessary component to any story that you tell — using the Hero’s Journey structure or not. Your story doesn’t merely entail a character dealing with a single conflict.
Paul has an obvious test. How does he get his daughter returned to the family home? But is that it? No. Paul has to navigate the custody court, the machinations of the legal system, and the ongoing tests to endure dealing with each one of these barriers.
2. Allies
Along with the tests that your protagonist faces, they’re going to need some help along the way. That’s where introducing allies comes into play.
Initially, both of Paul’s attorney’s seem likely allies, how reliable they are and how long they last though will be questionable. However, Paul’s family, mom, dad, and sister will prove to be reliable allies. Perhaps even Kaitrin can be viewed as an ally despite her tender age.
3. Enemies
With the mention of enemies, we come full circle within this Hero’s Journey stage. Enemies are there to test the protagonist. They offer the necessary conflict that should be present within all stories. While allies give us — and the protagonist — hope, enemies challenge that hope and create a more enthralling plot.
It might seem obvious that Anne, Paul's wife, is an enemy. But is that it? What about the intriguing Silena character? What antagonistic role does she play? Many stories feature an antagonist but Paul has at least two: Anne and Silena, not to mention additional enemies in the village Court system and hostility that he has to face head on.
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://www.amazon.com/G-Mick-Smith/e/B0B59X5R79
What is Stage 7 of the Hero's Journey in Burning America?
The Approach
1. Allows the Audience and Protagonist to Catch Their Breath
The “cave” represents the core element of your story’s conflict.
It can be a physical place like a tower holding the princess, a dungeon holding a captive, a vault containing the Ark of the Covenant, or a weak point in a world- destroying Death Star.
Once you’ve put your protagonist through those tests and once they’ve met their allies and enemies, they’re going to need to Approach the Inmost Cave of the story — preparing to face their greatest fears and conflicts.
Here we feature three ways how the Approach the Inmost Cave stage can better any story, even those that don’t follow each and every stage of the Hero’s Journey.
Paul seems to catch his breath with a feminist attorney. Deborah, Paul's attorney, has a plan of attack and "Deborah's Boy,” her paid-off psychiatrist. Paul has it made.
2. Offers Time to Reflect, Review, and Plan Ahead
By this point, a lot has happened since your story first started.
You’ve introduced your protagonist in their Ordinary World. That world has been rocked by a conflict that they are forced to face. They may have had reservations about facing the conflict, but they’ve decided to take the necessary path to cross that threshold away from the comforts of their world, and into the world of the conflict they’re destined to face.
And when they have, they’ve faced many tests — emotional, physical, or both — and have met many characters that have either helped or hindered their journey to the first initial cave of their conflict.
The Approach allows them to catch their breath, and, more importantly, prepare for the conflict that they are about to face.
Paul did not do well with his first attorney, a Father's Rights attorney, nor the first psychiatrist, but now we can regroup, reflect, review, and plan for success. Paul has it made; it is in the bag; the psychiatrist is on board, and the best attorney in the region works for Paul.
3. Escalates Tension and Build Anticipation
Tension and anticipation is the writer’s ultimate tool to keep readers and audiences invested. You play with their emotions. You tease them. You offer possibilities of failure or success and try to sell the reader and audience on the notion that each of them is possible.
The Approach the Inmost Cave stage allows you to build that anticipation and tension to its highest levels before you open the floodgates and let the raging waters of their actions and reactions crash into the conflict they’re facing.
What you’re really doing is escalating the tension by showcasing the many conflicts they’ll be facing and building anticipation by introducing their approach, forcing the reader and audience to wonder if it’s all going to work.
The Approach the Inmost Cave stage within any story — following all steps of The Hero’s Journey or not — is an essential element of your narrative, allowing the reader, audience, and characters to catch their breath, reflect, review, and plan ahead for the conflict just over the horizon. And it allows you, the writer, to build the necessary tension and anticipation that you need going into the midpoint your story.
At this point in Burning America, Paul seems to have wrestled the tiger to the ground. He appears to have events well in hand and the reader should feel tension, expecting a positive resolution, and anticipation should build towards a successful conclusion. But, of course, with increasing tension, will it?
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children? https://www.amazon.com/G-Mick-Smith/e...
What is Stage Eight of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage Eight The Ordeal
Everything within the first act — and beginning of the second — builds up to The
Ordeal, which is the first real conflict that the protagonist must face. What Is The Ordeal?
It's the midpoint of your story where your protagonist faces their greatest conflict yet.
The protagonist has gone through the necessary trials and tribulations that prepare them for what they believe to be the ultimate test they've faced within their journey thus far — The Ordeal.
As they Approach the Inmost Cave of their story, we've learned everything we need to know about how they plan to handle the situation. But once they begin their approach, everything goes haywire. Unexpected setbacks occur. What they thought they knew was either wrong, misinterpreted, or has evolved into a far more difficult conflict than they could have ever imagined.
This is the point of the story where the protagonist and their allies (if any) face their greatest challenge thus far — usually amid great consequences. Sometimes it's life or death. Other times it's a metaphorical version of those stakes.
This is when the protagonist hits rock bottom, making them — as well as the reader and audience — feel as if they are at the dark end of their days.
Here are three ways that you can create the best Ordeal within your story.
1. Write the Ordeal as If It Was the Climax of the Story
Just because The Ordeal is the midpoint of your story doesn't mean that it can't pack a punch.
In essence, The Ordeal is a false climax.
Paul's Ordeal appears to be at an end. He has the best attorney in town, a feminist, and the psychiatrist is in his attorney's pocket. Surely Kaitrin, his daughter, will be home to stay soon.
2. Kill the Protagonist's Darlings
Allies and Mentors are the rock for most protagonists. They offer emotional and physical support. Mentors offer the hero the knowledge and perspective that they need to take on whatever conflict they're forced to face.
The Ordeal is all about taking your protagonist to their lowest of lows so that they can rise up and be resurrected in such a way that they can truly handle the major conflict once and for all.
And what greater way to take them as low as they can go than killing their allies and mentors.
It turns out that Dr. Kitchen, "Deborah's Boy," and her paid psych, does not react realistically to Kaitrin's love of her dad. The child's illustration on the cover of Burning America show us what she drew. Dad, as primary caregiver, cradling her in his arms while mom stands off to the side. Paul loses, again, and his darlings, Deborah and the psych are of no help.
3. Give Opportunities Within the Ordeal for the Protagonist to be Resurrected
Two Hero's Journey stages away from The Ordeal is The Resurrection — The climax where the hero faces their final test, using everything they have learned to take on the conflict once and for all.
Within that Resurrection, your protagonist needs to have a moment of transformation. But before that transformation can occur, something has to push them to the brink — to their lowest point.
While losing an ally or mentor can help set the stage for the need for them to transform so that they can handle the final test, we need more. They need to lose hope, courage, or strength to carry on. The reader and audience need to feel as if there's no returning to the Ordinary World because that is how bad things are.
Deborah is about to bail out just when Paul sees light as the custody trial is about to begin. He documented all he could, struggled for over three years, but now Deborah, his attorney is leaving town and abandoning him? Moreover, Paul demurs walking into Court with Deborah's successor, a man! Paul will get railroaded if he walks into Court with a man representing him!
What is Stage Nine of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 9: The Reward
And after your hero has gone through all of the Ordeal, you may want or need to reward them with something that they can use to take on the final threat they face during the climax of your story.
Here are the five types of rewards that your protagonist may need to prevail at the end of their journey.
Special Weapon
If you're writing in the action, science fiction, thriller, or fantasy genres, your character may need a special weapon — which Joseph Campbell referred to as "The Sword" — to defeat their greatest conflict.This physical manifestation of The Reward can also be used in other genres, but it's far more prevalent in ones that involve action and adventure.
2. An Elixir
An elixir is a magical or medicinal potion that can heal a wounded ally or land. During the peak of a story, the hero and their allies usually find themselves in peril — their lowest of lows. An elixir can be something that heals them enough to prevail in the end.
Consider Paul’s elixir, participating in Mass, and imbibing in the blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Paul is fighting for Kaitrin before her First Holy Communion and when she would be strengthened by the Elixir for the initial time. This raises the stakes for his conflict.
3. Knowledge
Knowledge is often mightier than any sword. It can be a fantastic tool to acquire to defeat a foe. It can drive a protagonist's internal need to succeed. It can inform them of the information they require to solve a final riddle or devise a certain plan of attack.
In Burning America, Paul obtains knowledge from two attorneys, his family, in particular, his mother and sister; and, perhaps more arguably, from Kaitrin. Knowledge allows him to proceed as he needs to succeed and carry on the fight toward the reward, Kaitrin returning home.
4. Experience
Sometimes protagonists have to experience an event or moment that opens their eyes and gives them the confidence that they need to prevail. To a lesser extent, but still relevant in Burning America, is the experience that Paul enjoys to encourage him from time to time throughout his Ordeal.
5. Reconciliation
When a protagonist reconciles with a love interest — as we see so often in romantic comedies and love stories — that reward can help them to conquer any emotional conflict that they've been facing. This reward is yet another outstanding option for dramatic stories, but it can also work within genre flicks as well.
The Reward offers the protagonist the added boost they need to propel themselves through the conflict they face during the climax of the story where they are facing their toughest challenge — be it physical or emotional. A special weapon, an elixir, some knowledge, an experience, or reconciliation are the five types of rewards that heroes need to prevail.
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?https://www.amazon.com/G-Mick-Smith/e/B0B59X5R79
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What is Stage Ten of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 10: The Road Back Once they've attained the Reward, it's time for the hero to get on The Road Back to their Ordinary World.
But what is The Road Back and how can this stage develop your third act?
More Conflict, Higher Stakes
The Road Back is the moment of your screenplay that leads your character towards the final climax. They've survived The Ordeal, which is the midpoint of your story. They've gained a special weapon, elixir, piece of knowledge, eye-opening experience, or some form of reconciliation that they know will help them face the final conflict to come before they can go back to their Ordinary World.
This is the launching point of your third act, where you transition from the second and venture into the final stretch of your protagonist's journey. The Ordeal is the first major conflict they face, usually written as a false climax where things change and the conflict evolves. The Road Back is where the protagonist sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but faces yet another challenge — this time with higher stakes.
In Burning America, the Ordeal and false climax is when Paul thinks the second psychiatrist and feminist attorney will get Kaitrin home. But, they do not. Now Paul faces a custody trial knowing that mothers win 92% of contested custody cases. What chance does he have? The Ordeal is not over.
Paul loses his favored feminist attorney, and the second antagonist, Silena, emerges as a countervailing force against Paul; morever, Anne reveals serious health issues which will complicate procedings.
Showing the Light at the End of the Tunnel
There's sometimes a slight lull in the action or conflict between The Ordeal and The Road Back. A moment or sequence where the protagonist regroups with their allies or collects their thoughts leading into the continued hurdles and obstacles they face before the final climax.
This offers the reader and audience a chance to regroup and breathe after the action or drama of The Ordeal. You want to give the characters some form of accomplishment and hope. And then, as any good writer should, you want to then throw even more conflict at them — just as they are about to believe that their journey is almost complete. For example, when you watch most films, you'll feel this shift within the story — to the point where it feels as if we've turned a page from the second act to the third.
Facing a custody trial, Paul has a bit of light in the character of Clarissa, Deborah's assistant, and a female attorney to keep him on a level playing field during the custody proceedings.
Setting Up the Third Act
If there's a specific purpose that writers are looking for when considering using this stage of the Hero's Journey, it's all about setting up the third act. When the hero has faced The Ordeal, they've experienced the biggest conflict of their journey thus far. But now they've managed to survive it.
We need to now flip that page to the third act by introducing more conflict and upping the stakes. And even more important, we need to understand what's at risk going into the third act and eventual climax (The Resurrection).
The Road Back stage of story structure offers you the opportunity to reset and show us what has changed, how it affects the protagonist and their allies (if any), and what they have to overcome to prevail at the end.
Paul has to overcome Silena, have proper representation for the custody trial, and grasp that the Judge declares the war is over, and Paul will face more serious consequences.
Mick, The Doctor of Digital, Smith mick.smith@wsiworld.com
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://burning-america.com
What is Stage Eleven of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 11: The Resurrection
The climax of your hero’s journey encompasses The Resurrection stage.
But what does that stage entail, and what does it have to do with your hero’s resurrection?
It Begins with the Highest of Stakes
If you’ve employed The Road Back stage of the Hero’s Journey within your story, you’ve done the necessary work to set up the high stakes. And make no mistake, the climax of your story has to have your protagonist dealing with the highest stakes they’ve ever experienced.It’s the big fight, the final showdown, the emotional confrontation — everything that your protagonist has been preparing for throughout their entire journey has led up to this final moment or sequence.
How about Paul's resurrection? Deborah, his attorney, is called to an emergency meeting. What could this be about? Paul has no idea but Silena, a neighbor and antagonist, along with Anne, Paul's wife, is awarded custody. How could this be? For three and a half years Paul has been battling Anne, the custody industry of Judges, attorneys, and psychs, but now, with no examinaiton of her background, neither Paul nor Anne, but the neighbor, walks off with their child?
Hero Resurrected
The best type of stories showcases a character arc that culminates to a real transformation. If you follow the stages of the Hero’s Journey within your story, there’s a reason that we show the protagonist in their Ordinary World to start — we need to see the beginning of their arc.
Paul is transformed from a confused father to a battling machine. He will get his child, Kaitrin, restored whole and home.
Catharsis Is Key
Cinematic catharsis is the feeling we feel after the resolution of the story and the protagonist’s overall journey.
You’ve experienced it when you’ve watched a movie or read a screenplay that stayed with you afterward — when you walked out of the theater or closed that script and felt truly changed or affected somehow. That’s the magic of a fantastic story, leaving the reader and audience truly touched, affected, and sometimes changed — catharsis.
The import of Burning America is catharsis. We traveled the road that Paul tred from his Ordinary world as primary caregiver to triumphant father. Paul inherits the prized family relic, a 1957 Buick Special, and Paul's arc is complete. Two generations, Paul and Kaitrin's, are whole.
Mick, The Doctor of Digital, Smith mick.smith@wsiworld.com
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://www.amazon.com/Burning-America-Best-Interest-Children/dp/1956353259/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
What is Stage Twelve of the Hero’s Journey in Burning America?
Stage 12: The Return
The climax of your hero’s journey encompasses The Resurrection stage.
And once they accomplish that, you can have your protagonist Return to their Ordinary World.
Here are three reasons why your hero should make that return.
1. To Have the Story Come Full Circle
The reader and audience are on this ride with your protagonist. They empathize with them. The story creates a cathartic reaction. We want to see the story resolved. We want to witness some closure so that we know the character’s journey has ended.
So what better way to accomplish that than letting them go back to their Ordinary World to either flaunt their success or show people that they’ve changed for the better?
At the beginning of Burning, Paul was primary caregiver to their child, Kaitrin. In the Return Stage Paul is reunited to Kaitrin and she is made whole by returning to the loving arms of her father but only after Paul faced, and overcame, the Ordeal Stage.
2. To Complete the Character Arc
When we follow a character for a long period of time, we want to see their character grow, change, or better themselves. It offers the reader and audience a sense of closure and catharsis.
When we put the protagonist back into their Ordinary World, it makes the reader and audience wonder how they’ll react.
Have they changed?
Will they fall into the same pattern that they were in when they were introduced within their Ordinary World?
Paul is wiser to the ways of the world after The Ordeal. The last line of the story concludes with how Paul is ready to parent Kaitrin in single parenting freedom. He is no longer subject to the restrictions of the Court, deceased wife, Serena the neighbor, or legal system. Paul is free.
3. To Allow the Reader and Audience to Live Vicariously
Because catharsis is so vital to the cinematic or reading experience — that’s why people go to the movies, and read good stories — is having the hero return to their Ordinary World triumphant. The recompense offers the reader and audience a chance to feel the glory of that return. And if it’s not glory, it’s a sense of calm, knowing that everything is going to be okay for the character they’ve lived vicariously through.
The last song closing out the novel summarizes the journey Paul has been on. The Ian Hunter song intones we’ve been living in purgatory and anything’s better than this. Paul and Kaitrin united home are going to be fine. The Ordeal has been overcome, there is a tragic death but Paul will return Kaitrin to her Ordinary world of stability and love. Kaitrin enjoys the Elixir of Life during her First Holy Communion. Their lives are now characterized by peace and calm.
Burning America: In the Best Interest of the Children?
https://www.amazon.com/Burning-America-Best-Interest-Children/dp/1956353259/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=