Christopher Vogler The Writers Journey
Gun duels are almost manda
tory in Westerns from Stagecoach to High Noon to My Darling Clementine. T h e so-called
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in 1 8 8 1 was a brutal shootout that has become part of
the myth of the American West and has spurred more film versions than any other.
Duels to the death form the climaxes of swashbucklers such as Robin Hood:
Prince of Thieves, The Seahawk, Scaramouche, and The Flame and the Arrow; knights batde to
the death in Ivanhoe, Fxcalibur, and Knights of the Round Table. Duels or shootouts are
not fully satisfying unless the hero is taken right to the edge of death. T h e hero must
clearly be fighting for his life. T h e playful quality of earlier skirmishes is probably
gone now. H e may be wounded or he may slip and lose his balance. H e may actually
seem to die, just as in the Supreme Ordeal.
D E A T H A N D REBIRTH OF T R A G I C HEROES
Conventionally heroes survive this brush with death and are Resurrected
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