ARCHETYPES

1. ARCHETYPES Adapted from a presentation by Cicily Coney

2. What is a Myth? • Traditional story or legend • Of unknown origin • Tells of historical events that often explain • a natural phenomenon OR • a cultural practice, belief, or institution

3. How do Myths work? • Myths rely on things called archetypes to tell a story. • Archetypal patterns and images exist in every culture and in every time period of human history.

4. Archetypes • The original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies. It is the prototype or perfect example. • In the case of literature, an archetype is a recurring symbol, character type, plot, setting, or theme universally repeated throughout time period and culture.

5. History of Archetypes • Developed by Karl Jung (Swedish) and Joseph Campbell (American). • Psychologists who began examining the mythology of different time periods and cultures. • Discovered repetitive elements throughout time and culture. • Contended that archetypes are not premeditated, but an inherent part of the human psyche. • They can be seen as a metaphor for the human journey to self-knowledge.

6. COLOR Western literature relies on color imagery to project certain ideas.

7. WHITE • Positive: purity, innocence, light, bright • Often brides wear it to signify purity • Light of knowledge; enlightenment • Negative: sterility, emptiness, mourning • Storm troopers wear white; blind followers of evil

8. BLACK • Positive: elegance, maturity, wisdom • Formal occasions men/women often wear black • Negative: evil, death, night, chaos • Darth Vader • Ringwraiths in Lord of the Rings • Dementors in Harry Potter • Many fear mystery of the darkness

9. BLUE • Positive: loyalty, peace, coolness, calm, truth • A “true blue” friend is one who stands by you • Psychological tests show blue to be very calming • Negative: discouragement, doubt, depression • Feeling “blue”

10. YELLOW/GOLD • Positive: sunshine, wealth, illumination • Precious metal • Sunshine is the giver of life • Golden harvest • Negative: deceit, cowardice, treason • “yellow-belly” = coward • Cowardly lion

11. GREEN • Positive: youth, renewal, hope • Jolly Green Giant • Beauty of Spring • Negative: jealousy, envy, inexperience • “Oh, beware, my lord, of jealousy! It is the green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.” —Othello Act III Sc.3 • Greenhorn=naive and inexperienced

12. PURPLE • Positive: royalty, wisdom, valor • Most difficult color of dye to process; only the wealthiest could afford it • Negative: bruising, injury

13. RED • Positive: love, life, passion, sacrifice • Valentine’s Day • Life’s blood • Negative: anger, lust, violence, ambition • “seeing red” • The Siren often wears red

14. SHAPE Thanks for the heavenly message brought by thee, Child of the wandering sea, Cast from her lap, forlorn! Oliver Wendell Holmes “The Chambered Nautilus”

15. Angular Shapes • Triangle – Communication between heaven and earth, fire, trinity, aspiration, movement upward, return to origin, sight, light • Square – Pluralism, earth, firmness, stability, construction, material solidity • Cross – The Tree of Life, axis of the world, struggle, martyrdom

16. Curved Shapes • Circle – Heaven, intellect, thought, the sun, unity perfection, eternity, oneness, completeness, hearing, sound • Oval – Woman, passivity, life (think egg), forces of time • Spiral – Evolution of the universe, orbit, growth, deepening, cosmic motion, breath, spirit, water

17. NUMBERS Number symbolism pervades all cultures.

18. 0 - 3 • 0=potential and possibility • 1=creation, life, wholeness, unity, the sun • 2=duality, opposites (i.e. black/white, male, female, good/bad) • 3= light, spiritual awareness (Holy Trinity)

19. 4 - 6 • 4= power, associated w/cube, four seasons, cardinal directions (north, south, east, west) elements (earth, air, water, fire) the cross • 5=natural man (2 arms, 2 legs, head) and five natural senses; five Chinese elements (earth, metal, fire, wood, water) • 6=love, beauty, romance and harmony between the male and female principles (six days of creation in Genesis)

20. 7 • 7= most potent because it combines 3 (light) +4 (power), perfect order; luck, days of the week, Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Holy Virtues

21. 8 - 10 • 8= infinity symbol; representation of the loop between the conscious and the unconscious • 9=gestation and birth/rebirth, Dante’s Nine Circles of Hell/Nine Circles of Heaven; nine Greek muses • 10=solidarity of creatures or resistance to spirit; beginning of new cycle at higher level of awareness; Ten Commandments

22. 11 - 13 • 11= ambiguity; can represent invention and the pioneering spirit • 12=signs of the zodiac, months of the year, tribes of Israel, gods on Olympus • 13=traditionally an unlucky number because of association with Judas Iscariot; 13th card in Tarot deck is Death

23. THE HERO’S JOURNEY Based on the work of Joseph Campbell Steps delineated by Christopher Vogler

24. Physically impressive hero of national/historical importance Vast setting Quest/journey for something of value Supernatural forces Glorification of hero in the end Rooted in specific culture/society THE EPIC

25. Archetypal Hero • Common characteristics • Unusual birth • Leaving of family or land to reside elsewhere • An event or “call to adventure” that leads him on a quest • Has a special weapon (talisman) or power only he can wield • Often has supernatural help • Must prove himself many times, often narrowly escaping death • Experiences atonement or revenge for father • Upon death, the hero receives spiritual reward

26. Types of Heroes • Innocent:is thrust into the question; doesn’t want to do it, but does because there is nobody else who will • Orphan: typically on a quest for a family • Warrior: fights vehemently for the success of the quest • Fool: bumbling, silly, succeeds by accident • Caregiver: quest is to give comfort to others • Wanderer: moves from town to town in attempt to find internal goal • Martyr: makes a conscious decision to die for the success of the quest • Tragic: experiences an inner struggle because of a character flaw; that struggle ends in the defeat of the hero • Anti-hero: protagonist who is lacking all heroic qualities

27. Archetypal Villain • Purpose is to foil the quest of our hero • Often dressed in black or dark colors • Typically operates in darkness, at night, or under shroud of mystery

28. Sidekick • Aids our hero in his quest • Often adds humor

29. Fair Maiden • Sought after by both hero and villain • Usually the focus of any romance

30. Shaman • Wise person • Offers help to our hero • Often teaches hero the skills he needs to succeed on the quest

31. Siren • Tries to lure our hero away from his quest • Often female who uses “womanly wiles” to distract hero • Often wears red • Sometimes disguised as a witch, animal, or serpent

32. Hero’s Journey The archetypal hero will always embark on an inner or outer quest that will test his character and provide him and his world with a special “elixir” of enlightenment and truth.

33. Ordinary World • Something in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress Call to Adventure • External or internal pressures force the hero to face the beginnings of change Refusal of the Call • Hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure OrdinaryWorld

34. Meeting with the Mentor • The hero meets with a traveler of the worlds who equips him with training, equipment, or advice Crossing the Threshold • The hero commits to leave the ordinary world and enter the unknown Tests, Allies, and Enemies • The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the special world SpecialWorld

35. Approach • The hero and allies prepare for the major challenge in the special world Ordeal • The hero confronts death or his greatest fear. Out of this moment of death comes new life. Reward • The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death, but there is the danger of loss.

36. The Road Back • The hero completes the challenge and leaves the Special World to return home. Resurrection • The hero is severely tested on the threshold of home and is purified by a last moment of sacrifice or death and rebirth. Return with the Elixir • The hero returns home bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed. OrdinaryWorld

37. Recognizing the Journey With a small group, explain how the steps of the hero’s journey are revealed in a well-known film of your choice. • The Wizard of Oz • Star Wars • Harry Potter • The Lord of the Rings • Finding Nemo • Toy Story • The Lion King • Shrek

38. Archetypal Settings

39. Garden • The Perfect Society • Abundance of water • Most important ingredient • Life-giving; baptism • Cleanses and renews • Eternal Springtime • Green and gold • Simplicity and innocence of life • Marked by love and harmony • Think Garden of Eden

40. Wasteland • Gray, brown, black • Either way too much water or way too little • Marked by antagonism, hatred, war • Nature is destructive • Loss of innocence; scarcity of food, shelter, love despite constant toil

41. Our hero’s quest ultimately focuses on reaching his garden setting, whatever that may be Can be a physical or symbolic setting We’re all trying to move toward our own personal garden setting Ironically, sometimes in our efforts to create our garden we’re actually creating a wasteland Environmentally Emotionally Spiritually Physically

42. Archetypal Themes Hero (good overcoming evil) Obstacle (struggle with self, struggle with nature) Quest Death and Rebirth Initiation (coming of age, loss of innocence) Outcast (alienation, isolation, acceptance of atypical)