Archetypes--Part II:
The Beginning of the
Journey
by Don L. F. Nilsen
and Alleen Pace Nilsen
1
STAGE 1
The Innocent
The Orphan
The Warrior
The Caregiver
2
THE INNOCENT
The Innocent moves from an unquestioning
acceptance of the environment through
experiencing disillusionment (fall) to a return
to Paradise as a wise innocent.
EXAMPLES: Brady Bunch, Forrest Gump,
Bambi, Gomez Adams, Leo the Late Bloomer,
The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio
3
Junex vs. Senex
4
Three Universal Innocents:
Alice, Peter, and Dorothy
5
Scout and Atticus: Junex and Senex:
Is Go Set a Watchman a Prequel, a Sequel,
or a Rejected First Draft?
6
The Innocent or the Fool
•
•
•
“Smart”
“Sour Face Ann”
“Something Missing
7
An Innocent (and the Orphan)
in London, England
8
Smart
My dad gave me one dollar bill
‘Cause I’m his smartest son,
And I swapped it for two shiny quarters
‘Cause two is more than one!
And then I took the quarters
And traded them to Lou
For three dimes—I guess he don’t know
That three is more than two!
Just then, along came old blind Bates
And just ‘cause he can’t see
He gave me four nickles for my three
dimes,
And four is more than three!
And I took the nickels to Hiram Coombs
Down at the seed-feed store,
And the fool gave me five pennies for
them,
And five is more than four!
And then I went and showed my dad,
And he got red in the cheeks
And closed his eyes and shook his
head—
Too proud of me to speak!
Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk
Ends, page 35
9
Sour Face Ann
Sour Face Ann,
Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the
Attic, page 90
With your chin in your hand,
Haven’t you ever been pleased?
You used to complain
That you had no fur coat,
And now you complain of the fleas.
10
Something Missing
I remember I put on my socks,
I remember I put on my shoes.
I remember I put on my tie
That was painted
In beautiful purples and blues.
I remember I put on my coat,
To look perfectly grand at the dance,
Yet I feel there is something missing
I may have forgot—
What is it? What is it?...
NOTE: And here the poem ends.
What is it? What is it? …
That rhymes with “dance.”
Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic,
page 26
11
Shadow Innocent
vs. Innocent
12
The Fool in Alvin Schwartz’s
Chin Music and in Shel Silverstein’s A Light in the Attic
Shaking
Geraldine now, stop shaking that
cow
For heaven’s sake, for your sake
and the cow’s sake.
That’s the dumbest way I’ve seen
To make a milk shake.
Page 18
13
The Innocent or Fool
in Peggy Parish’s Amelia Bedelia Books
•
She draws the drapes,
–
Cuts the red tape,
–
Helps someone run for president,
–
Sews up an election,
–
Gives someone her two cents,
–
Plays music by ear, and
–
Fiddles with a violin
14
Another Innocent
15
The Orphan or the Outsider
The Orphan moves from accepting pain and
loss through accepting the need for help to
becoming independent and working with
others.
EXAMPLES: Charlie Brown, Cinderella,
Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Huckleberry
Finn, Frankenstein’s Monster, Maniac
McGee, Oedipus, Harry Potter, Peter Rabbit,
Dorothy
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Books about Orphans: Handler’s Lemony Snicket,
Hinton’s The Outsiders & Ibsen’s A Doll’s House
17
Two More Orphans
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Ethnic Orphans or Outsiders
19
And Three More
20
THE WARRIOR
The Warrior moves from fighting and cheating
simply for the sake of fighting to fighting
within the rules for others and for what really
matters on an unselfish level.
EXAMPLES: Batman, Lancelot, Ulysses, Joan
of Arc, Jo in Little Women, Robin Hood, 3
Musketeers, Superman, Darth Vader
21
The Warrior: Andrew Wiggins (Ender), Katniss
Everdeen & Joan of Arc
22
More Warriors
23
Bill Hader’s Spoof of Movies Coming from YA Literature:
http://herocomplex.latimes.com/tv/snl-bill-hader-spoofs-hunger-gamesdivergent-maze-runner/
24
25
Chris Kyle: American Sniper
Chris said there are three kinds of
men:
Sheep
Wolves
Guide Dogs
Chris thought he was a guide dog.
We think Chris was a cowboy.
He was from Texas.
He had been a cowboy.
He was like the “cowboy” in Hurt
Locker who disarmed bombs.
26
Two Shadow Warriors
27
THE CAREGIVER
The Caregiver moves from overcoming a conflict
between one’s own needs and those of others
through empowering others (tough love), to a
willingness to help beyond immediate family (a
global level).
EXAMPLES: Gepetto in Pinnocchio, Holden Caulfield,
The Giving Tree, Horton, “The Jewish Mother,” Mary
Poppins, Pygmalion, Anne Sullivan, Mother Theresa,
The Velveteen Rabbit
28
Three Caregivers:
Florence Nightingale, Mother Teresa & Nuns on the Bus
29
The Valkyries Who Carried the Valiant
Dead Warriors to Val Halla
30
Human Caregivers for Statues
at a Seattle Bus Stop
31
Two Shadow Caregivers
32
Caregiver and Shadow Caregiver
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