Title: Archetypes: The Building Blocks of Stories
1ArchetypesThe Building Blocks of Stories
2Definition 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?
3How 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.
4What 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.
5Why 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
6There 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.
7- 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?
8Situational 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
9- 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.
10- 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
11- The movie opens on a dark, stormy night. There is
no power in the house where the couple lives. - What does this suggest?
- Why?
12Symbolic 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
13- 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
14Setting 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
15- 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 -
16Character 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
17- 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
18- 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
19Now, take what you know about archetypes and
apply them to everyones favorite Ogre.
20Hero Shrek Literally doing superhuman deeds
Quest Find/Rescue Princess Fiona
Task Get his swamp back from the fairy creatures
21Light 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
22- 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.