Archetypes:%20The%20Building%20Blocks%20of%20Stories

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ArchetypesThe Building Blocks of Stories
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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.
• Can you think of any stories or image patterns
  that have been repeated in movies, books, or even
  commercials?

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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.
• Without communicating about archetypes, all
  cultures around the world use them to build their
  stories. This is called the Collective
  Unconscious (term coined by Carl Jung).
• Examples of archetypes are the hero, the damsel
  in distress, the battle between good and evil,
  etc.

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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 pokes fun at her and frequently stops
  by her desk. She fumes silently. She yells at him
  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?

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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. The
  quest involves proving himself, defending or
  saving someone or something, or finding
  something.
• There are several types of journeys the hero can
  take
• Identity
• Knowledge
• Vengeance
• to find the promised land
• 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 movie opens on a dark, stormy night. There is
  no power in the house where the couple lives.
• What does this suggest?
• Why?

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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
• an underworld for the afterlife any form of
  going under to achieve some kind of
  enlightenment or to be tested.
• a paradise setting or a lost paradise setting-
  this would resemble the garden of Eden where
  nature is untouched by man
• 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
• A river or water source - emphasis would be on
  its life giving or cleansing properties

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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 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
• TEMPTRESSsensuous beauty brings about the
  heros downfall because he is physically
  attracted to her
• 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

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Now, take what you know about archetypes and
apply them to everyones favorite Ogre.
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Hero Shrek Literally doing superhuman deeds
Quest Find/Rescue Princess Fiona
Task Get his swamp back from the fairy creatures
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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
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 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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• HOMEWORK
• Review your notes on archetypes.
• Use one text of your choice (movie, book, short
  story, childrens story, etc) and identify one
  archetype from each category (situational,
  symbolic, setting and character).
• For each archetype (4), write two sentences
  explaining why your choice demonstrates an
  example of each of these archetypes by using your
  definitions from your notes.