Archetype Notes

transcript

ARCHETYPE

QUICK WRITEWhat is your definition of a hero? Be sure

to explain yourself and give at least two examples of heroes that fit your definition.

WHAT IS AN ARCHETYPE?noun

1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype.

2. (in Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.

WHAT IS AN ARCHETYPE?Think of an archetype as being the first

model or prototype of something. The Model T was the first prototype of the modern automobile.

In literature, the same type of characters, situations, and symbols have been modeled for many years in many different types of stories.

• Carl Jung sought to explain the reason behind these patterns in literature.

• He discovered that humans have that humans have a “preconscious PSYCHIC disposition.” In other words, humans all share certain unconscious, INSTINCTUAL ideas, dreams and notions. When these ideas come out in images or in literature, we call them ARCHETYPES.

CARL JUNG

CARL JUNG• According to Jung,

archetypes are a result of a Universal Unconsciousness, and because of this, Universal Patterns begin to surface in art.

SO, WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

• We all share a “collective unconscious” or a subconscious mental record of all common human experiences.

• Archetypes are universal themes that express our “collective unconscious.”

This shared collective unconscious is why so many stories, tales, epics and parables share SIMILAR characters, symbols, themes and stages of plot development; even literature written in different parts of the world, in different CULTURES and at different times in HISTORY!

ARCHETYPE REDEFINEDIt is a recurring pattern of characters, situations, or symbols existing universally and instinctively in man’s unconscious.

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CHARACTER

ARCHETYPES

The hero/heroine is the character who must fulfill a necessary task and who will restore, fertility, harmony, and/or justice to a community.

HERO/HEROINE

http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-makes-a-hero-matthew-winkler

• Mysterious birth• Leaves family• Experiences a traumatic

event• Loses favor• Wields a special weapon• Has supernatural help• Proves himself• Is often reborn in some

way• Realizes that they “have

the power all along”

CHARACTERISTICS OF A HERO/HEROINE

A hero does not need to have all of these characteristics to be considered an archetypical hero!!

Wizard of Oz Hero's Journey

The Ordinary WorldMost stories take the hero out of the ordinary, mundane world into a Special World, new and alien.

STAGES OF THE HERO’S JOURNEY

The Call to AdventureThe hero is presented with a problem, challenge, or adventure to undertake. Once presented with a call to adventure, he/she can no longer remain indefinitely in the comfort of the ordinary world.

THE CALL TO ADVENTURE

Refusal of the Call (The Reluctant Hero)

This one is about fear.

The hero balks or hesitates at the threshold of adventure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJaxd1BQr9g

REFUSAL OF THE CALL

Mentor (Wise Old Man or Woman)The relationship between the hero and Mentor is one of the most common themes in mythology. It stands for the bond between parent and child, teacher and student, god and man.

Crossing the First ThresholdThe hero finally commits to the adventure and fully enters the Special World of the story for the first time.

CROSSING THE FIRST THRESHOLD

Tests, Allies, and EnemiesThe hero naturally encounters new challenges and tests, makes allies and enemies, and begins to learn the rules of the Special World.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eFubQuK0dg

MEETING OF THE ENEMY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2itQkiQUOE

MEETING OF AN ALLY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RG2keYgBiZc

EXAMPLE OF A TEST

Approach to the Inmost CaveThe hero comes at last to the edge of a dangerous place, sometimes deep underground, where the object of the quest is hidden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SESI19h4wDo

APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtie6r27JeU

APPROACH TO THE INMOST CAVE

The Supreme Ordeal

Here the fortunes of the hero hit bottom in a direct confrontation with his greatest fear.

Reward (Seizing the Sword)The hero now takes possession of the treasure (reward) he/she has come seeking. Sometimes the “sword” is knowledge that leads to greater understanding or reconciliation with hostile forces.

In many stories the loved one is the treasure the hero has come to win or recuse.

THE ORDEAL/THE REWARD

The Road Back

This stage marks the return into the Ordinary World.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky7DMCHQJZY

THE ROAD BACK

ResurrectionDeath and darkness get in one last, desperate shot before being finally defeated. It’s the final exam for the hero, who must be tested once more to see if he has really learned the lessons of the Supreme Ordeal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooM-RGUTe2E

THE RESURRECTION

Return with the ElixirThe hero returns to the Ordinary World, but the journey is meaningless unless he/she brings back some Elixir, treasure, or lesson from the Special World.

RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR

In groups of 3, think of a book or movie that follows the hero’s journey.

You must complete all 7 steps on the back on your notes.

Once your group is finished brainstorming, you must draw your hero’s cycle and write your explanations on the chart paper provided.

WRITER’S NOTEBOOK REFLECTION

Think of an experience in your life that following the hero’s journey. Explain how the experience fit into the seven basic stages of the Hero’s Cycle.

MORE CHARACTER

ARCHETYPES

These individuals serve as teachers and counselors to the hero.They can work as role model or serve as a father or mother figure.

MENTORS

FATHER-SON CONFLICT• Separation• Disagreement between father and son• Resentment of father by his son

• A group of hunting companions will become lost in the woods and unwillingly discover adventure and danger there.

HUNTING GROUP COMPANIONS

• Noble sidekicks to the hero• Their duty is to protect the hero• Stand beside the main character

through everything

LOYAL RETAINERS

• Appears to be a horrible monster, but has a heart of gold and helps our hero.

FRIENDLY BEAST

• Redeemable devil figure (or servant to the devil figure) is saved by the hero’s nobility or good heart.

EVIL FIGURE WITH A GOOD HEART

• Banished from a society or social group

• Usually destined to become a wanderer

• Disagrees with societal norms

OUTCAST

• Blamed for other’s actions or wrongdoings

• Death (often in a public ceremony) excuses some sin of the community

• Death makes him or her a more powerful force than when they lived

SCAPEGOAT

• Represents evil incarnate

• May offer worldly goods, fame, or knowledge to the protagonist in exchange for the protagonists soul

• Main aim is to oppose the hero

DEVIL FIGURE

• A monster that is summoned from the deepest, darkest parts of the human psyche

• Threatens the life of the hero

CREATURE OF NIGHTMARE

• Two characters engaged in a love affair

• Fated to end tragically for one for both due to disapproval of society, friends, family, or the gods

STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

Click icon to add pictureTH

E WOMAN

FIGURE

• Symbolic of fulfillment, abundance, and fertility

• Offers spiritual and emotional nourishment

THE EARTH MOTHER

Mother Earth

Mrs. Potts

• Characterized by sensuous beauty

• Her physical attraction may bring about the hero’s downfall

• Tempts our hero to abandon his quest, often with promises of riches, beauty, love or lust.

THE TEMPTRESS

• A physical and spiritual ideal for whom the hero has an intellectual rather than physical attraction

THE PLATONIC IDEAL

• Married to a man she sees as dull or distant

• Attracted to a more handsome or interesting man

• Commits an act of infidelity

• Through her adultery, an entire kingdom, quest, or world may be destroyed.

THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE

• Vulnerable woman who must be rescued by the hero

• May also be used by the evil figure, as a trap, to ensnare the hero

THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

• A relatively modern archetype where a female warrior battles evil with brute force, strength, and cunning.

WARRIOR

Click icon to add pictureSITU

ATIONAL

ARCHETYPES

• The search for someone or some talisman which, when found and brought back, will restore fertility to a wasted land or bring peace

• The desolate state of the land is mirrored by a leader's illness and disability.

• The hero must perform some super human deed to save the kingdom, to win the fair lady, or to assume his rightful position

• Sends hero in search of some truth or information which is necessary to restore the kingdom

• The hero usually descends into a real or psychological hell and is forced to discover many unpleasant truths

• These unpleasant truths can involve the hero’s own faults

JOURNEY

• An initiation symbolizes a right of passage into adulthood

• Very much connected with growing up and maturity

• Generally initiates the hero into adult life

• After an initiation, the adolescent will come with new awareness, maturity, skills, and hope for the community.

INITIATION

• This is the actual ceremony that will mark the initiate’s rite of passage into another state of being.

• The ritual marks a right of passage

THE RITUAL

• Describes a descent from a higher to a lower state of being.

• The experience involves a loss of innocence and bliss

• Often accompanied by expulsion from a kind of paradise as penalty for disobedience

THE FALL

• The hero goes through some form of metamorphosis (usually physical, psychological AND spiritual) which, in some way, symbolizes, or is symbolized by, his/ her death and rebirth.

DEATH AND REBIRTH

• Nature = good

• Technology & Society = bad

NATURE VS. MECHANISTIC WORLD

• Mankind often shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil in spite of great odds.

BATTLE BETWEENGOOD AND EVIL

• The wound is either physical or psychological damage and cannot be fully healed.

• Indicates a loss of innocence

• These wounds often ache and can drive the sufferer to desperate measures

UNHEALABLE WOUND

• A symbol of the hero’s extraordinary quality

• No other can wield the weapon or use it to its full potential

• Traditionally given by a mentor

THE MAGIC WEAPON

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SYMBOLIC

ARCHETYPES

Light= enlightenment, wisdom, good, hope, renewal, intellectual illumination

Darkness= the unknown, ignorance, evil

LIGHT AND DARKNESS

• Water= birth, rebirth, creation, purification, growth

• Desert= spiritual aridity, death, hopelessness, loss of faith

• Water may symbolize a spiritual birth

WATER AND DESERT

• Supreme beings and mythological gods live in the skies

• Evil forces, including Satan, come from the underworld

HEAVEN AND HELL

INNATE WISDOM VS. EDUCATED STUPIDITY

• Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding of situations instinctively as opposed to those supposedly in charge. A hero often needs the guidance of innate wisdom.

• Loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom as they accompany the hero on the journey.

• Havens are places of comfort and safety.

• The wilderness is portrayed as a place of danger.

• Heroes may seek havens for time to regain health and resources

HAVEN VS. WILDERNESS

• Sun= creative energy, thinking, enlightenment, wisdom, spiritual vision

• Rising Sun= birth, creation, the beginning of something

• Setting Sun= death, the end of something

THE SUN

COLORSRed: blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder, violenceGreen: growth, hope, fertility, natureBlue: tranquility, security, truthWhite: light, purity, innocence (negative:

nothingness, terror, death)Yellow: enlightenment, wisdomBlack: evil, darkness, chaos, mystery, the

unknown, death

• Symbol of energy and pure force (libido), corruption, sensuality, destruction, evil

SERPENT/SNAKE/WORM

NUMBERS3= light, spiritual awareness, unity, the trinity4= mankind (four limbs), four seasons, four elements, life cycle6= evil, sin, man7= divinity (3) + mankind (4) = religious component of unity, completion of a cycle, perfect order13= evil, unlucky

Note: Many things come in sets of 7• Seven deadly sins• Seven days of the week• Seven colors of the rainbow

• Paradise, innocence, unspoiled beauty

GARDEN

• Growth, proliferation, immortality, phallic symbol, denotes life of the cosmos

• Where we learn, tree of life, tree of knowledge

SEASONS• Spring= rebirth, genre= comedy • Summer= life, genre= romance• Fall= dying, descent, genre= tragedy• Winter= death, nothingness, genre= irony

Archetype Notes

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