I've been blogging about how to make any piece of writing more literary. Most people have heard by now about the hero's journey. It's not hard to find the general order heroes' tales have taken throughout the history and even prehistory of literature. I've talked about how some of the best stories early on show the main character having their heart ripped out. The person/thing/goal/hope they care about most is ripped away from them, so the reader is tied to the protagonist by pain and loss. This can happen in the ordinary world or as the character crosses the threshold. We see them care, so we care about them. But one transformative moment I haven't addressed recently is the ordeal. This crucible moment, the trial-by-fire is a key moment that prepares the hero to face the antagonist during their supreme ordeal. This is often the moment when the main character must face a soul-crushing moment and become a true hero.
Many times, this is the moment the hero realizes they have been standing in their own way, that they need to sacrifice wants for needs, give up something significant for much more important. The moment prepares them for the imminent climax. Christopher Vogler writes, "Only through some form of 'death' can the Hero be reborn, experiencing a metaphorical resurrection that somehow grants him greater power or insight necessary in order to fulfill his destiny or reach his journey's end. This is the high-point of the Hero's story and where everything he holds dear is put on the line. If he fails, he will either die or life as he knows it will never be the same." This is when Harry Potter accepts he will have to die, to sacrifice all, to make the defeat of Voldemort. This is when Hamlet has embraced his own death in order to take down his father's killer.
Many modern shows feature this moment, the moment the hero allows his soul to be crushed as part of his preparation to defeat his antagonist. In the Netflix Daredevil season three, he has spent the entire series taking on himself all risk, all danger, in order to protect those about whom he cares. This is what he wanted the whole Daredevil: I can't do this alone. Has to let his friends sacrifice for him. This has been his most difficult sacrifice. He is standing in his own way by insisting he go it alone.
Meanwhile, Smallville is the opposite in some ways. Clark Kent realizes he has to give up his childhood, his life before, his place in hiding in order to become the great hero the world needs. He needs to embrace a future where he stands alone in the sunlight. In Spider-man: No Way Home, he, too, has to sacrifice his comforts, his childhood, his past in order to save the universe. In The Batman, the most recent reboot, he realizes he has to give up his goal and the meaning he has stood for in order to be the hero those around him need. In each of these cases, they realize they have to sacrifice and give up what they want for what the world needs.
This part of the ordeal, the crucible moment, is the moment the protagonist becomes a true hero. Heroes go a long time and do a lot of heroic things without sacrificing what they want most for what the world needs of them. Earlier, they still act heroically but can't become what the world needs them to be, a true hero and master of both worlds, until they pass through the crucible/trial fire moment. Does your protagonist have a soul-crushing crucible moment, when they become truly prepared to face their greatest challenge? If not, how can you reshape your protagonist's story arc to make it happen?
