Archetypes
What are they and how do they apply to
literature & life?
What Is An Archetype?
•  Universal paerns in all stories regardless of culture or historical
time period.
•  Part of the human mind contains ideas (which are unconscious) that
are shared by all members of the human species.
•  Term was coined by a psychologist named Carl Jung.
•  Joseph Campbell, an American professor of mythology, applied
Jung s idea to literature to show how all cultures have the same idea
of what a hero is and what kind of journey these heroes experience.
Application
•  The term archetype can be referred to
–  An image
–  A theme
–  A symbol
–  An idea
–  A character type
–  A plot paern
Expression
•  Archetypes can be expressed in:
–  Literature
–  Myths
–  Dreams
–  Religion
–  Fantasy
–  Folklore
Heroic Archetypes
•  Hero as a Warrior
–  A near god-like hero faces physical challenges and external
enemies
•  Example: Beowulf
•  Hero as a lover
–  A pure love motivates hero to complete his quest
•  Example: Prince Charming
More Heroic Archetypes
•  Hero as Scapegoat
–  Hero suffers for the sake of others
•  Example: Jesus
•  Transcendent Hero
–  Hero of tragedy whose fatal flaw brings about his
downfall but not before some kind of transforming
realization or wisdom
•  Example: Oedipus
More Heroic Archetypes
•  Romantic/Gothic Hero
–  Hero with a dark side
•  Examples: Batman, Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed
•  Proto-Feminist Hero
–  Most female heroes (but can also be in other
categories)
•  Examples: Mulan, GI Jane, etc.
More Herioc Archetypes
•  Apocalyptic Hero
–  Hero who faces the destruction of society
•  Examples: Will Smith in I Am Legend
•  Anti-hero
–  Non-hero, given the vocation of failure; often humorous
•  Example: Homer Simpson
More Heroic Archetypes
•  Defiant Anti-hero
–  Hero who opposes society s definition of a hero
•  Example: Will Smith in Hancock
•  Unbalanced Hero
–  Protagonist who has (or must pretend to have) a mental or
emotional deficiency
•  Example: Sam from I Am Sam
More Heroic Archetypes
•  The Other/The Denied Hero
–  The protagonist whose status or essential otherness makes heroism
possible
•  Example: Po from Kung Fu Panda
•  The Superhero
–  Exaggerates the normal proportions of humanity; frequently has
divine or supernatural origins. In some sense, the superhero is one
apart, someone who does not quite belong, but who is nonetheless
needed by society.
•  Example: Superman, mythological heroes
Archetypal Journeys
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The Quest for identity
Epic journey to find the promised land/to found the good city
Quest for vengeance
Warrior s journey to save his people
Search for love (rescue damsel in distress)
Journey in search of knowledge
The tragic quest: penance or self-denial
Quest to rid the land of danger
Grail quest (quest for human perfection)
Characteristics of the Journey
•  Not all of these will be present:
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hero is naive and inexperienced
The hero meets monsters or monstrous men
Hero has a strange, wise being as a mentor
Hero yearns for the beautiful lady who is sometimes his guide or mentor
Hero must go on a journey, learn a lesson, change in some way, and return home
Hero often crosses a body of water or travels on a bridge
Hero is born and raised in a rural seing away from cities
Origin of the hero is mysterious or hero looses his parents at a young age, being raised
by animals or a wise guardian
•  Hero returns to the land of his birth in disguise or as an unknown
•  Hero is special/one of a kind; may represent a whole nation or culture
Characteristics of the Journey
continued…
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Hero struggles for something valuable and important
Hero has help for divine or supernatural forces
Hero has a guide(s)
Hero goes through a rite of passage/initiation, an event that marks a change
from immaturity to a mature understanding of the world
Hero has a loyal band of companions
Hero makes a stirring speech to his companions
Hero engages in tests or contests of strengths (physical and/or mental) and
shows pride in his excellence
Hero suffers an un-healable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound
from which the hero never completely recovers