Everyone can relate to an archetype character in a movie, book, or television show. An archetype meaning to me is when a character can resemblance a certain topic. Example of common archetypes would the following a hero, caregiver, damsel in distressed, lover, villain, or tragic hero. In the play, The Crucible, we learned that some of the characters had common archetypes. This was a tragic play which means it has a tragic hero. Tragic play is similar to tragedy means, “drama that deals with sad or terrible themes, as opposed to comedy.”(SD,332) A tragic hero normally has the characteristics of a person of noble stature, not an ordinary person, someone who is good but not too good, causes his own destruction for a greater cause, and the death will be seen as a waste of human potential. The tragic hero in this play would be John Proctor because he has a high social status, is good but not too good, and the audience shows pity for him.
Characters in stories sometimes follow a theme when it comes to their traits. These traits are called archetypes. Archetypes can be as simple as a villain or hero. They can also be used to portray unfathomable human characteristics that exists in everyone. Characteristics such as greed, lust, envy, pride, sloth, and gluttony are examples. In The Devil and Tom Walker the author portrays archetypes in the characters Tom Walker, Mrs. Walker, and the Devil.
When reading a novel, readers do not often realize that many authors use the same types of characters and symbols. Applying a literary lens to a novels can help readers better understand why a novel was written. A literary theory is, “A term for analyzing, classifying, defining, interpreting, and evaluating literature” (Davidson). When observing a piece of literature with an Archetypal lens analysts can identify these patterns. According to Literary Devices, “In literature, an archetype is a typical character, an action, or a situation that seems to represent universal patterns of human nature” (literarydevices). In the novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez, the Archetypal Theory can be applied to characters and symbols in the
In the princess bride, we find many archetypes, including situational character, and symbolic archetypes. They all play a very important role in the story's plot, setting, and characters. First, we encounter our hero, which is a character archetype; he is a very kindhearted Farmer boy named Westley. He sets the story of struggling against all the evil that approaches him to restore his beloved Buttercup and to free her from the Prince, Humperdinck. His quest is to restore his beloved back to him. This requires a task to be performed in a long journey in which he overcomes serious obstacles, including the giant, the prince, Inigo Montoya and his death and other hopeless moments to reach his quest. Through all these moments, he never gives up but
Superman, Gandalf, Jay Gatsby, and Harry Potter. All of these character have something in common, all of them are heroes. Heroes are common in many literary works. They help portray messages and feelings in ways the reader would understand. There are three main archetypes of heroes. “These heroic archetypes pop up all over Western Lit. They are: Stereotypical/Classical Heroes, Everyday/Everyman Heroes, and Anti/Un Heroes” (Bunting). Each type of hero is used for certain reasons; not all stories use the anti-hero and the classic hero is not always the way to go. There are many reasons why an author would choose to use a certain type hero in their work.
Can there be any good if there is no evil? No. Similarly enough, can there be a hero if there is no anti-hero? These anti-heroes, or villains, are one of the many examples used in almost any piece of fiction. These examples are also known as archetypes. Archetypes are a group of categories that are used to show a typical kind of character in a story. Each archetype has certain qualities a character must have in order to embody the archetype. The shadow, for instance, is the archetype of the typical villain. The shadow is a critical archetype for any story, especially in the myth of Demeter and Persephone, the story of Oiwa, as well as the movie Scream 4.
The first archetype that I have analyzed is a hero and I have identified Westley as the hero because he sacrifices many things in order to achieve his goal, a hero’s trademark. The first quote that proves this archetype is, “ I am going to America. To seek my fortune….. I love you,
For example, Curley 's wife represents all women in America during this time period. “If I catch any one man and he is alone, I get along fine with him.” Curley 's wife is a very nice person, but a lot of people especially Curly won’t give her a chance ever. Curley 's wife 's name is irrelevant to all the men, she doesn’t really have a voice in what goes in and is a possession to Curly more than a person. Another person that represents an archetype is Slime. He represents all the wise leaders in American who are able to take circumstances into his own hands and handle them with ease. Slim says, “He ain 't mean...I can tell a mean guy from a mile off.” Slim stuck up for a lot of the ranch hands on the farm and tried to make it an
In literature, an archetype can usually interpret as a normal, your everyday typical character. An archetype, also frequently identified as universal symbol. This informs that it may detect as a theme,
Around the world, there are very different myths and folklore, each suiting a specific culture’s beliefs. Nonetheless, amongst those different narratives, there are certain elements, such as themes, character types, and design, that keep manifesting. These recurrences are labelled as archetypes. One type of archetypes is character archetypes. Prevalent in myths from Sigurd the Volsung to The Epic of Gilgamesh, character archetypes are types of characters that are conventional amidst literature. In the Medieval British legend King Arthur three character archetypes are prominent; the Hero, the Mentor, and the Villain. These archetypes are universal, found in myths from around the world.
In the novel The Pillars of the Earth, many characters exist with malicious, corrupt intentions. Whether it be in the pursuit of self-gain, or the desire to destroy others, these antagonists constantly cause havoc and destruction. The only thing that comes in between these antagonists and the rest of the population is a few unique individuals. Multiple characters in the novel are characterized as the hero archetype, and although each one operates in their own unique way, they all contribute to the betterment of society, while protecting the people around them. The common trait that defines these individuals as hero archetypes is that they all undergo a quest at some point in the story, which involves a separation, transformation, and return. Throughout the novel, we see characters like this always present; without them, prosperity and greatness would never be achievable due to pernicious forces like William Hamleigh or Bishop Waleran reigning down on the innocent. The theme that hero archetypes are always necessary in order for society to function properly, is constantly developed in The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, and can be demonstrated through the actions of both Jack and Richard.
Mythology is a collection of myths and stories belonging to a particular belief system or cultural tradition. Even though there are a variety of different myths taught around the world, Greek mythologies are more famously known for their fruitful stories and complex relationships. Greek mythologies mostly concern their gods and heroes such as; Hercules, Achilles, Theseus, and Perseus. Of the many Greek heroes, Jason is the most heroic due to the fact that although he is abandoned at a very young age, he is still able to survive, also he proves to Hera the goddess who hated heroes that he is worthy to be favoured by her, and he completes the impossible quest of the Golden Fleece.
When watching movies or reading books, you may notice a pattern or similarity in the stories. This is called an archetype. The hero’s journey is one example. Authors have different ways of expressing their thoughts in their hero’s journey. The Hobbit is about the journey of Bilbo Baggins and 13 dwarves who journey to get their treasure back. I Am Malala is a nonfiction novel about a girl who fought for her beliefs and as a result, suffered through a big crisis. There are similarities and differences between the way the authors of these two novels portray the hero’s journey.
In the article, the author states that there are twelve steps to a hero 's journey. The first term is when the hero is in his Ordinary World. In this stage, the reader will learn background information about the main character and also other qualities about him. Secondly, there will be someone or something that will trigger the journey and that is called the call to adventure. The call for adventure is often delivered by the Herald archetype in many different forms such as a message or an announcement. An archetype describes the function or role of a character in the story. The seven roles of an archetype are the hero, the mentor, the threshold guardian, the herald, the shapeshifter, the shadow and the trickster. Moreover, the third phase is
The structure of the archetypal story has been used since the beginning of civilizations. Archetypes are stories that use characters that are repeated throughout many cultures (Rice). The oldest example of an archetype is The Epic of Gilgamesh. This epic gives the layout of the different stages of an archetype. The story in comparison with Gilgamesh is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Gilgamesh is the archetypal hero in the epic and Santiago is the archetypal hero in The Alchemist. These two heroes are both archetypal heroes because they experience a birth and departure, an initiation, and a return.