Archetypes in Literature

1. Archetypes in Literature English I S. Serrano

2. The Quest • Describes the search for someone or something which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land

3. The Task • Nearly superhuman deed the hero must perform in order to save the kingdom, win the fair lady, identify himself so that he may reassume his rightful position, etc. • NOT the same as the Quest • A function of the ultimate goal

4. The Journey • The hero must go in search for some truth or information necessary to restore fertility to the kingdom • Usually, the hero descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths, often concerning his faults

5. The Journey • Once the hero is at this lowest point, he must accept personal responsibility to return to his normal world • A second use of this pattern is the depiction of a limited number of travelers on a sea voyage, bus ride, or any other trip for the purpose of isolating them and using them as a microcosm of society

6. The Initiation • This ritual usually takes the form of a rite of passage into adult life, or a coming of age • The hero comes into his/her maturity with new awareness, along with new hope for the community • Often the climax of the story

7. The Fall • Describes a descent (drop) from a higher state of being to a lower state of being • Involves a defilement or loss of innocence and bliss • Often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as a penalty for disobedience and moral transgression

8. Death and Rebirth • The most common of all situational archetypes, this motif grows out of the parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life • Morning and springtime represent birth, youth or rebirth, while evening and winter suggest old age or death

9. Nature vs. Mechanistic World • Nature is good • Technology and society are often evil

10. Good vs. Evil • The battle between two primal forces • Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds

11. Light vs. Darkness • Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination • Darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, despair, or evil

12. Water vs. Desert • Necessary to life and growth, water commonly appears as a birth or rebirth symbol • Water is used in baptismal services, which solemnizes spiritual birth • Similarly, the appearance of rain can suggest a character’s spiritual birth

13. Water vs. Desert • Desert, in turn, implies the death of a soul and spirituality, or a spiritual test or trial

14. Heaven vs. Hell • Man has traditionally associated parts of the universe beyond his reach with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern his world • The skies and mountaintops house his gods; the bowels of the earth contain the diabolic forces that inhabit the universe

15. Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity • Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding of situations instinctively, as opposed to those who are supposedly in charge. • Loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom when they accompany the hero on the journey. • Sam in Lord of the Rings

16. Haven vs. Wilderness • Places of safety contrast sharply with the dangerous wilderness • Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources • Wilderness is often a symbol of evil in early American literature; town is a place of goodness and safety

17. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESThe Hero • Circumstances of birth often unusual • Attempt sometimes made to kill him at birth • Spirited away and reared by foster parents • Upon reaching manhood, returns to lost kingdom

18. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESThe Hero • After a victory over a usurper or evil beast, he reclaims his kingdom, marries a princess, and rules as king • Sometimes later loses favor of the gods and meets a mysterious death

19. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESThe Hero-- unhealable wound -- • Either physical or psychological and cannot be healed fully • Indicates a loss of innocence • Wound always aches and often drives the hero to desperate measures • Lancelot’s madness; Scar’s envy; Harry Potter’s scar

20. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESThe Hero-- magic weapon -- • No one else can wield the weapon or use it to its full potential • Demonstrates the extraordinary quality of the hero • Excalibur; Odysseus’ bow

21. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESMentor • Serves as teacher or counselor to the young hero • Sometimes is a role model and often serves as mother or father figure

22. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESHunting Group of Companions • Loyal companions willing to face any number of perils in order to be together • Robin Hood and his Merry Men • Knights of the Round Table • Timon and Pumba

23. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESLoyal Retainer • Somewhat like servants who are heroic themselves • Duty is to protect the hero and reflect his/her nobility • Zazu to Simba • Alfred to Batman • Watson to Sherlock Holmes

24. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESDevil Figure • Evil incarnate, this character offers worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the hero in exchange for possession of his/her soul. • Voldemort to Harry Potter

25. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESEvil Figure with Ultimate Good Heart • A redeemable devil figure saved by the nobility or love of the hero • Scrooge • Darth Vader

26. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESScapegoat • An animal or human whose death in a public ceremony expiates some taint or sin that has been visited upon the community • Their death often makes them a more powerful force in the community than when they lived

27. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESWoman Figure-- earth mother -- • Symbolic of fruition, abundance, and fertility, this character traditionally offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those with whom she comes in contact • Often depicted in earth colors

28. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESWoman Figure-- temptress -- • Characterized by her beauty, she is one to whom the hero is physically attracted • Ultimately brings hero’s downfall

29. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESWoman Figure-- platonic ideal -- • A source of inspiration and spiritual ideal • Hero’s attraction to her is intellectual rather than physical

30. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESWoman Figure-- damsel in distress -- • Vulnerable woman who must be rescued by the hero • Often used as a trap to ensnare the unsuspecting hero

31. CHARACTER ARCHETYPESWoman Figure-- star-crossed lovers -- • These two characters are engaged in a love affair that is doomed to end tragically for one or both of them • Disapproved of by society, family, friends, or some tragic situation

32. ARCHITYPAL NUMBERS3 • Trinity • Completeness

33. ARCHITYPAL NUMBERS6 • Imperfection • Ambivalence • Evil

34. ARCHITYPAL NUMBERS7 • Perfection • 7 colors of rainbow • 7 days of the week

35. ARCHITYPAL COLORSRed • Passion • Excitement • Blood • Flame • Danger

36. ARCHITYPAL COLORSBlack • Darkness • Evil • Sin • Mystery • Ignorance

37. ARCHITYPAL COLORSWhite • Purity • Enlightenment • Knowledge • Truth • Light

38. ARCHITYPAL COLORSBlue • Peace • Religion • Positive

39. ARCHITYPAL COLORSGreen • Jealousy • New life

40. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESBridge • Passage from one state of being to another • Often present as part of the journey

41. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESRiver • Journey • Travel • Movement and growth • Fertility

42. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESRain • Cleansing • Renewal • Rebirth • Baptism/new beginning

43. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESForest • Dangerous • Refuge of evil (puritanical view) • Wild, uncivilized, out of control

44. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESSun • Male • Light • Hope • Rising sun = birth • Setting sun = death

45. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESMoon • Female • Cycle • Change • Mystery

46. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESDesert • Barren • Lifeless • Testing/Trial • Self-purification

47. ARCHITYPAL IMAGESTree • Life • Renewal • Seasonal • Self-perpetuating