Quest Story Structure The Compulsion Of The Hero

1) In a traditional “Quest” story structure the compulsion of the hero to action has two parts; first, though the hero would prefer to remain in their own environment, some terrible event prevents this from being the case.
“We begin with the reason why the hero and his companions set out on their journey in the first place. The Quest usually begins on a note of the most urgent compulsion. For the hero to remain quietly ‘at home’ (or wherever he happens to be) has become impossible. Some fearful threat has arisen. The ‘times are out of joint’. Something has gone seriously and terrifyingly wrong.”
With this, the hero is forced to take some action, else risk serious consequences. Indeed, the hero is now set up to go on some grand adventure (as
“In the midst of this fear and suffering comes the Call. Amid the smoking ruins of troy, the ghost of Aeneas’s lost wife Creusa looms up, ‘larger than life’, to tell him that across ‘a great waste of ocean’, in ‘the Western land’, he will find a new home. Christian meets Evangelist, who points out a distant ‘shining light’ and tells him that he must head for it. Fiver’s premonitions of some great disaster overshadowing Sandleford warren become so acute that a small band of rabbits meet in the field and decide to flee into the gathering dusk.” Above, the call is on clear display. With no life left to speak of, these heros are set on a quest to find a new home. With the combination of the first two parts, a strong motivation is established; with little left to be lost, the hero is willing to risk their life for a chance to achieve the goal, whether that be a “Western land”, a hamfisted metaphore, or a possible new
Plot complete.” Though this is a fine example of the first component of the call, it is important to note that this happens in a story told by Aeneas. Thus, the story begins in medias res, as the background would have been common knowledge, and the audience is reminded through flashback. However, more to the point, this illustrates the perfect destruction the provides the first component for The Aeneid’s call. Not only is the situation in Troy rapidly deteriorating, in very little time, Aeneus will have no home to speak of. This seems to be a “most urgent compulsion” as booker has said. The wife of Aeneas, Creusa, returns as a ghost to complete the call by giving Aeneas his quest.
“(...) A long exile is your fate . . ./ the vast plains of the sea are yours to plow/ until you reach Hesperian land, where Lydian Tiber/ flows with its smooth march through rich and loamy fields,/ a land of hardy people. There great joy and a kingdom/ are yours to claim, and a queen to make your wife.”