A young child grows up surrounded by shadowy figures who suppress and ridicule her, but through great testing she slowly blossoms into a mature figure fully worthy of her happy ending. The basic tale behind such gems as Aladdin and Cinderella (that one's technically riches to rags to royalty and riches), this shows the character arc, from an impoverished beginning to a complete, Happily Ever After end. At the end the character should have status, riches, and a mate, and often a kingdom as well. Key to this basic plot is the false ending, in which the hero appears to have gained her heart's desire - but it is too early, and she is too immature, so she loses it all, usually through some fault of her own (though not necessarily matched to the enormity of the loss). This loss is the most devastating blow to the hero, prior to the story's climax. In Aladdin it's the moment when the evil wizard uses the genie to steal the princess (note that the genie was lost because Aladdin failed to either keep it with him or inform his wife of the importance of the lamp). In another example (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens), the false ending is marriage to an immature wife, who soon dies - so the hero may actually lose the thing he wanted completely, only to get a better thing (a mature wife) by the end. Anyway, here are the stages: George was tired of living a boring life so he goes on a little adventure. George meets a mysterious man and the man gives George a magical ring and tricks George into a booby-trapped magical cave. The man tricks him because George’s family has a rare lamb. George tries to get out but the man throws George back in the cave. Soon George gets out of the cave and saves his family and the lamb. George becomes a new man.
Initial Wretchedness at Home and the Call
Far more than any other story, this is a story whose backbone is the Hero's growth arc. We start with a very young Hero in a "lowly and unhappy state, usually at home." Antagonists of various sorts "scorn or maltreat" the Hero - though that is merely "the most obvious reason" for her unhappiness. This lasts until she receives The Call and either heads out, or is sent out, into the world. George is a low life kind of guy who doesn’t really have any friends. George is tired of living that life and seeks for a new life and does find one in the end. He goes through a whole lot of drama and in the end becomes a whole new mature man.
Out into the World, Initial Success
After a few minor ordeals, the Hero gets a quick but limited success, "some prevision of their eventual glorious destiny." She may even meet her Prince, may outshine her rivals - but she's not ready for this yet. It is pretty clear that she's got a long way to go toward maturity before she can truly succeed. When George seeks for a new life he does find one but has to work for his new life if he wants to keep it. When he meets the man he give him the magical ring and George is trapped and has to find his way out.
The Central Crisis
"Everything suddenly goes wrong." Some of the dark figures from her past might reappear. The initial win is stripped away and the Hero is separated from that which she values most - especially her Prince. (Note: The separation may be physical, or it may be, for example, due to slander or other misinformation.) The Hero is "overwhelmed with despair" and this is clearly "their worst moment in the story." When George gets trapped he finds a lap or vase type of object and start touching it all over. What he doesn’t know is that there is a Djinni in it. The Djinni brings George back home and George saves his family from being slain.
Independence and the Final Ordeal
In Aladdin, the poor boy has lost his Princess and his palace, and on top of that his father-in-law has sentenced him to death if he can't bring them all back. More important to the story: He's lost his genie, the magical power that was letting him do all the cool stuff for the first half of the story. Now he's got to rely on his wits and his natural skills - no more easy outs. But in doing this on his own, he's developing his independence and proving that he is worthy of achieving his goal. After the ordeals that show off the Hero's newfound strength, the Hero must undergo one final test, one climactic battle against the Big Bad "who stands between them and their goal." When he gets out of the magic trap he manages to get back to his home and save everything and everyone. George becomes a new man and gets the love of his life. Now he was the life he wanted.
Final Union, Completion, and Fulfillment
At last the Hero emerges victorious, and lays claim to the treasure, the kingdom, and the Prince.
Angel Boutwell
Rags To Riches
A young child grows up surrounded by shadowy figures who suppress and ridicule her, but through great testing she slowly blossoms into a mature figure fully worthy of her happy ending.The basic tale behind such gems as Aladdin and Cinderella (that one's technically riches to rags to royalty and riches), this shows the character arc, from an impoverished beginning to a complete, Happily Ever After end. At the end the character should have status, riches, and a mate, and often a kingdom as well.
Key to this basic plot is the false ending, in which the hero appears to have gained her heart's desire - but it is too early, and she is too immature, so she loses it all, usually through some fault of her own (though not necessarily matched to the enormity of the loss). This loss is the most devastating blow to the hero, prior to the story's climax. In Aladdin it's the moment when the evil wizard uses the genie to steal the princess (note that the genie was lost because Aladdin failed to either keep it with him or inform his wife of the importance of the lamp).
In another example (David Copperfield by Charles Dickens), the false ending is marriage to an immature wife, who soon dies - so the hero may actually lose the thing he wanted completely, only to get a better thing (a mature wife) by the end.
Anyway, here are the stages:
George was tired of living a boring life so he goes on a little adventure. George meets a mysterious man and the man gives George a magical ring and tricks George into a booby-trapped magical cave. The man tricks him because George’s family has a rare lamb. George tries to get out but the man throws George back in the cave. Soon George gets out of the cave and saves his family and the lamb. George becomes a new man.
Initial Wretchedness at Home and the Call
Far more than any other story, this is a story whose backbone is the Hero's growth arc. We start with a very young Hero in a "lowly and unhappy state, usually at home." Antagonists of various sorts "scorn or maltreat" the Hero - though that is merely "the most obvious reason" for her unhappiness.This lasts until she receives The Call and either heads out, or is sent out, into the world.
George is a low life kind of guy who doesn’t really have any friends. George is tired of living that life and seeks for a new life and does find one in the end. He goes through a whole lot of drama and in the end becomes a whole new mature man.
Out into the World, Initial Success
After a few minor ordeals, the Hero gets a quick but limited success, "some prevision of their eventual glorious destiny." She may even meet her Prince, may outshine her rivals - but she's not ready for this yet. It is pretty clear that she's got a long way to go toward maturity before she can truly succeed.When George seeks for a new life he does find one but has to work for his new life if he wants to keep it. When he meets the man he give him the magical ring and George is trapped and has to find his way out.
The Central Crisis
"Everything suddenly goes wrong." Some of the dark figures from her past might reappear. The initial win is stripped away and the Hero is separated from that which she values most - especially her Prince. (Note: The separation may be physical, or it may be, for example, due to slander or other misinformation.) The Hero is "overwhelmed with despair" and this is clearly "their worst moment in the story."When George gets trapped he finds a lap or vase type of object and start touching it all over. What he doesn’t know is that there is a Djinni in it. The Djinni brings George back home and George saves his family from being slain.
Independence and the Final Ordeal
In Aladdin, the poor boy has lost his Princess and his palace, and on top of that his father-in-law has sentenced him to death if he can't bring them all back. More important to the story: He's lost his genie, the magical power that was letting him do all the cool stuff for the first half of the story. Now he's got to rely on his wits and his natural skills - no more easy outs. But in doing this on his own, he's developing his independence and proving that he is worthy of achieving his goal.After the ordeals that show off the Hero's newfound strength, the Hero must undergo one final test, one climactic battle against the Big Bad "who stands between them and their goal."
When he gets out of the magic trap he manages to get back to his home and save everything and everyone. George becomes a new man and gets the love of his life. Now he was the life he wanted.
Final Union, Completion, and Fulfillment
At last the Hero emerges victorious, and lays claim to the treasure, the kingdom, and the Prince.