By Mrs. Janet Vickers
History
Carl Jung, a psychologist, was the first to apply the term
“archetype” to literature. His ideas are based on works by
Plato. Besides literature, archetypes can be expressed in
myths, dreams, religions, fantasies, and folklore.
Jung’s archetypes are universal patterns
that appear in stories and mythologies
regardless of culture or
historical period.
Introduction to Archetypes
The term archetype can be applied to-An image
A plot pattern
A theme
A character type
An idea
A symbol
As you watch Tombstone, you will analyze
a few universal archetypes in each of three areas:
 Plot Patterns: Separation, Initiation, Return
 Character types: Lady/Goddess/Seductress,
Mentor/Guide/Sidekick, Contagonist (contrasted
with Protagonist and Antagonist)
 Symbols: woods, water, desert
Plot Patterns: The Journey
• Joseph Campbell, author of The Hero With
a Thousand Faces, applied Jung’s archetypes
to the world of mythology, inspiring
countless works we read, watch, and
experience today.
• One of most famous storytellers to follow
Campbell’s format: George Lucas in his Star
Wars film saga, and Luke Skywalker’s
Archetypal Journey.
Plot Patterns: The Journey
In literature--whether film story or print story--the
cycle of life is often categorized in stages, as with
this typical seven-part journey: birth, growth,
maturity, decline, death, resurrection, rebirth,
and the repetition of the cycle.
An archetypal journey may be categorized with various
labels.
In Tombstone, you will label events that
demonstrate a three-part journey:
1. Separation--a Departure
2. Initiation--Crossing the Threshold (with a
Road of Trials and an Innermost Cave)
3. Return--Reintegration into Society
The Journey: Separation
Separation: The hero breaks away from the
local social order; often he leaves behind his
identity, his connection to the community, but
he is reluctant to accept the Call to Adventure.
• Where does Wyatt encounter conflict
between what he wants to do in Tombstone,
and what he has to do?
• What event do you think marks Wyatt’s
actual Departure? At what point does
his path separate from his brothers’ path?
Character Archetypes
In the late 1990s, Melanie Anne Phillips and Chris
Huntley, authors of Dramatica: a New Theory of Story,
presented archetypes in pairs: the typical
Protagonist/Antagonist, and also Reason/Emotion,
Sidekick/Skeptic, and Guardian/Contagonist-coining a new archetype.
• Their work reminds us that archetypal labels
can overlap, and just like a person in real life,
a Complex Character may even
represent conflicting archetypes.
Character Archetypes
In Tombstone, you will label
three character categories:
• Mentor/Guide/Guardian/
Sidekick
• Lady/Goddess/Seductress
• Contagonist
Character Archetypes
These archetype terms, like any synonyms, have both
commonalities and unique qualities:
• Mentor/Guide—Named after Odysseus’ friend Mentor in
Homer’s great epic, The Odyssey, the bond between a
character and the Mentor is rich with symbolic value. The
Mentor may give gifts or teach lessons.
• Guardian—teacher, helper, protector, eliminates obstacles
and illuminates the path; conscience for the Protagonist; its
opposite is the Contagonist
• Sidekick—faithful supporter, loyal (whether for good or evil),
points out success indicators, gives the partner confidence;
its opposite is the Skeptic, who causes the partner to feel
doubt and disbelief
The same agent for a Protagonist’s happiness may
cause the Antagonist’s demise, and vice-versa.
Character Archetypes
• Lady—the hero yearns for a beautiful lady who
sometime guides or inspires him
• Goddess—This beautiful but formidable figure may
challenge or love the Protagonist, confirming his
worth as a contender. She may be temptress, or
image of a mother figure. She may even be help in
the form of an idea or gift.
• Seductress—A woman who holds enormous power
over others, hypnotizing them with her charm and
desirability, she is often mysterious, manipulative,
and bewitching.
Character Archetypes
Contagonist—This recently coined word (circa 1996) forms
a triangle with the Protagonist and Antagonist
• Neither inherently good nor evil, guide nor opponent,
but serves a role between the two extremes
• The Contagonist is a tempter, an enticer, who deflects,
delays, diverts for a time, placing obstacles in the
Protagonist’s (or Antagonist’s) path, but the intent is
not to stop, just to delay the success.
• When allied with the Protagonist, the Contagonist
functions as a bad influence or a thorn in the side.
• When allied with the Antagonist, the Contagonist
functions as a henchman or second-in-command.
Symbolism
Northrup Frye, a college mythology professor, saw
archetypes as symbols, images which recur often enough
in literature to be recognizable as elements of the whole
literary experience. He refers to archetypal images that
are re-occurring symbols as motifs.
Symbols might be a bird (vulture, crow), place (cave, mountain,
village), flower (rose)--Anything may serve a symbolic purpose when it
communicates an idea about both itself and a greater meaning.
* Each image’s meaning depends on context, as when a forest
provides shelter in one story, but becomes the source of terror in
another tale.
• Frye’s work reminds us of the importance of context in our own
decision making. Depending on individual perspective, one
comment or action perceived by two different people may be
complimentary or bullying, reassuring or terrifying.
Symbolism: Woods
Woods—may take the form of thick forest,
timberland, closely-packed high-rise
buildings, or even a single tree in a
vast landscape
• Mystery, secrets, primitive instinct
• Fertility, growth
• The place with no protections,
where one is dependent on one’s own skills
• Entering woods may indicate beginning to grow
• Leaving woods may indicate readiness to unite
with one of the opposite gender; proliferation
Symbolism: Water
Water—may take the form of oceans, seas,
rivers, fish, or even a full, refreshing beverage.
• Cleansing, purification, redemption
• Transitional phases of the life cycle; rebirth, a
strong life force
• Spiritual mystery; death
• A living, reasoning force
• Timelessness & eternity
Symbolism: Desert
• Desert—may take the form of open, arid
landscape, a barren house, an empty street,
or even an empty beverage container.
• Hopelessness
• Spiritual aridity
• Death
• The path from the old life
to the new adventure
Archetypes
When you watch
Tombstone, think about the
archetypal possibilities, and
how the story’s texture
changes when it is “read” or
viewed as an archetypal
journey.