Archetypes

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• Archetypes
• The Building Blocks
• Of Storytelling

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Definition of Archetype

• Archetype is a Greek word meaning original
  pattern, or model.
• In literature and art an archetype is a
  character, an event, a story or an image that
  recurs in different works, in different cultures
  and in different periods of time.
• An example of an archetype is the Biblical story
  of Noahs Ark. Many different cultures have
  similar stories about the reasons for and the
  results of a flood.
• Think of any stories or image patterns that have
  been repeated in movies, books, or even
  commercials. These are ALL archetypes.

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How many stories do you encounter daily?

• Think about the number of stories you encounter
  daily either reading, viewing, or listening. This
  would include all of the following categories
• books, short stories, newspaper stories,
  movies, sitcoms, tv shows, video games, news
  reports, magazine stories, etc.

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What are archetypes?

• They are the basic building blocks of stories
  that all writers use to create a world to which
  readers can escape.
• Before there was communication between cultures,
  people around the world used similar archetypes
  in their oral tradition. This is called the
  Collective Unconscious (term coined by Carl
  Jung).
• Over time, we have labeled various archetypes,
  for example the hero, the villain, the damsel in
  distress, and the battle between good and evil.

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Why do we need stories?

• To explain natural phenomenon such as great
  floods and the creation of the world
• To answer such questions such as why we are born
  and why we die
• To help us escape reality by entering a world
  where the good guy wins, the forces of evil are
  defeated, and love conquers all
• To help define the roles of good and evil such as
  the hero and the villain so that we might
  recognize them in reality

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There are several different types of archetypes

• Situational
• Symbolic
• Setting
• Character

Youll often find several of these archetypes
within one work. Here are specific examples of
each type of archetype.
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The movie opens. the young, beautiful actress
is on a tirade about how much she hates, and she
means hates, detests, loathes and every other
adjective in between, the new guy she works with
(who happens to be drop dead good looking and
single). He continually pokes fun at her and
frequently stops by her desk to bother her. She
fumes silently. She yells about how she cant
stand the sight of him. He laughs and says he
cant stand her either. Whats going to happen?
How do you know this? What other plot lines come
to mind right now?
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Situational Archetypes

• These are common situations, or plots, seen in
  literature, movies, television, etc. over and
  over throughout history and cultures. Chances
  are, if youre watching a movie that follows one
  of these situational archetypes, you know whats
  going to happen in the end when the movie is in
  the opening five minutes.
• Examples include

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THE JOURNEY the hero goes in search of some
truth or information to restore life to the
kingdom he must descend into a real or
psychological hell and is forced to discover the
blackest truths quite often concerning his
faults once the hero is at his lowest point, he
must accept personal responsibility to return to
the world of the living this could also appear
as a group of isolated people (trapped on a boat,
bus, island) to represent society. The quest
involves proving himself, defending or saving
someone or something, or finding something.
There are several types of journeys the hero can
take it could be for his identity, for
knowledge, for vengeance, the epic journey to
find the promised land, the journey for the grail
(human perfection). The type of journey
determines the type of hero.
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• The Fall
• Describes a descent from a higher to a lower
  state of being. The experience involves a
  defilement and/or a loss of innocence and bliss.
  The fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a
  kind of paradise as a penalty for disobedience
  and moral transgression.
• Battle between Good and Evil
• Obviously the battle between two primal
  forces. Mankind shows eternal optimism in the
  continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil
  despite great odds. These manifest themselves in
  the classic conflicts of menacing enemies,
  natural dangers, moral dilemmas, problems with
  society, and difficulty with fate or decisions

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• The Task
• Nearly superhuman feats the hero must perform in
  order to accomplish his quest
• The Initiation
• The adolescent comes into his maturity with new
  awareness and problems.
• The Ritual
• The actual ceremonies the Initiate experiences
  that will mark his rite of passage into another
  state. A clear sign of the character's role in
  his society

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Symbolic Archetypes

• These are symbols (something which represents
  something else) that have occurred over and over
  again throughout time and in various different
  cultures. These symbols have always represented
  the same things that is what makes them an
  archetype and what makes us recognize them as
  symbols when we see them.
• Examples Include

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LIGHT VS. DARKNESS light suggests hope, renewal,
or intellectual illumination darkness suggests
the unknown, ignorance, or despair. HEAVEN VS.
HELL gods live in the skies or mountaintops
evil forces live in the bowels of the earth WATER
FOR CLEANSING- a water source offers the
character an opportunity to purify himself from a
wrong NUMBERS- a particular number holds a sacred
value for the culture (such as 3 for the
Christian faith) ANIMALS- animals such as snakes
or cows hold special value in the culture or
religion
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Setting Archetypes

• These are settings that are seen over and over
  throughout literature. Although the settings may
  vary a little over time or as cultures change,
  the basic premise of the setting is the same.
• Examples Include

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• universe of opposites this can be anything from
  light and dark or day and night to good and evil
  or man verse beast
• Can you think of examples?
• an underworld for the afterlife any form of
  going under to achieve some kind of
  enlightenment or to be tested.
• Can you think of examples?
• a paradise setting or a lost paradise setting-
• this would resemble the garden of Eden where
  nature is untouched by man
• Can you think of examples?

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• landscape that emerges from chaos - begins with
  some kind of void or confusion and something
  whole is brought forth such as the light and the
  darkness emerging from the watery chaos
• examples?
• A river or water source - emphasis would be on
  its life giving or cleansing properties
• examples?
• A communal hall a place of brotherhood and
  loyalty. Major decisions would be made and
  celebrations held here.
• examples?

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Character Archetypes

• These are the stereotype characters that you
  see over and over again. Youve seen these
  characters throughout different cultures and over
  different eras in history.
• Examples of these popular archetypes are

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• THE HERO mother is sometimes a virgin,
  circumstances of birth are unusual, some attempt
  is made at birth to kill him raised by foster
  parents, returns to his kingdom to right wrongs,
  marries a princess, becomes king, meets a
  mysterious death, body is burned rather than
  buried
• ANTI-HERO - A non-hero, given the job of failure,
  frequently humorous (think Homer Simpson)
• THE SCAPEGOAT animal or human who is unjustly
  held responsible for others sins sacrificed but
  they often become more powerful force dead than
  alive

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• DEVIL FIGUREevil incarnate offers worldly
  goods, fame, or knowledge to the hero in exchange
  for possession of the soul
• THE INITIATEyoung heroes or heroines who go
  through training usually innocent and often wear
  white clothing.
• THE MOTHER FIGURE-often a goddess who brings the
  life source to the story either by actually
  birthing things into being or nurturing them for
  survival

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• THE HELPER-can be a god, blind prophet, teacher,
  sorcerer or magician, or mythical being or
  animal. These characters provide help to the hero
  in some form.
• OUTCASTfigure banished from a social group for
  some crime against his fellow man (could be
  falsely accused of a crime or could choose to
  banish himself from guilt)
• DAMSEL IN DISTRESS- A vulnerable woman who needs
  to be rescued by the hero. She is often used as a
  trap to ensnare the unsuspecting hero.
• THE DENIED HERO/THE OTHER - status or essential
  otherness makes heroism possible. In other words,
  a character no one would expect to be heroic who
  becomes a hero in an unusual way.

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• Now, take what you know about archetypes and
  apply them to everyones favorite Ogre.

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Hero
Quest
Task
Hunting Group of Companions
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Hero Shrek Literally doing superhuman deeds
Quest Find/Rescue Princess Fiona
Task Get his swamp back from the fairy creatures
Hunting Group of Companions Donkey makes Shreks personality come out proves hes not just an ogre
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Friendly Beast
Damsel in Distress
Heaven v Hell
Light v Darkness
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Friendly Beast Donkey
Damsel in Distress Princess Fiona in the highest tower
Heaven v Hell Glowing Embers and fire home of dragon DuLac parody of paradise
Light v Darkness The castle is dark to represent evil Fiona is first seen in a ray of light as soon as they escape, they emerge into daytime since they have escaped evil
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Death and Rebirth
Star Crossed Lovers
Evil Figure with a Good Heart
The Journey
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Death and Rebirth when they escape the dragon, morning is dawning suggesting hope and rebirth
Star Crossed Lovers Dragons and Donkeys arent supposed to be together, neither are ogres and princesses
Evil Figure with a Good Heart Dragon appears at first as an Evil Figure, especially with the remains of the knights, but her love for Donkey saves her and converts her to good
The Journey Shrek and Donkey face their fears and conquer the dragon, finding Fiona to accomplish their task
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As we move through this semester you will
encounter a number of archetypes that will be
familiar to you. Your challenge will be to
identify them and to discern what the authors
purpose is in choosing to include this archetype
in his or her text!