Christopher Vogler The Writers Journey
Propp calls them "seekers" as opposed to "victimized
heroes." However, the fear and doubt represented by the Refusal of the Call will find
expression even in the stories of willing heroes. Other characters will express the fear,
warning the hero and the audience of what may happen on the road ahead.
A willing hero like John Dunbar from Dances with Wolves may be past the fear
of personal death. H e has already sought out death in the first sequence of the
movie as he rides suicidally in front of Rebel rifles and is miraculously spared. He
seeks out the adventure of the West willingly, without refusal or reluctance. But the
danger and harshness o f the prairie is made clear to the audience through the fate
o f other characters who represent Refusal of the Call. One is the mad, pathetic
A r m y officer who gives D u n b a r his scribbled "orders." H e shows a possible fate for
Dunbar. T h e frontier is so strange and challenging that it can drive some people
annaabi.ee 
