THE CIRCLE OF CULTURE: ARCHETYPES & ALLEGORY
NAME ________________________________
DATE _____________________ PER _____
Discussion questions
1. What is culture? Where does it come from? Why do you think that there is a “circle” of culture?
2.
You know a great deal about your own culture before you ever set foot in school. How?
3.
Why might it be important to have a greater understanding of our culture and where it came from other than different cultures
that exist today?
Vocabulary--Try to match the vocabulary with the definitions below.
____Allegory (allegorical)
____Allusion
____Archetypal character
____Archetypal theme
____
____
____
____
____
Archetype
Culture
Epic
Epic hero
Fable
____
____
____
____
____
Fairy tale
Folktale
Legend
Myth
Parable
____
____
Resonate
Symbol
1.
_________________________
a brief story that teaches a religious or moral lesson about life
2.
_________________________
a folktale that teaches or moral or practical lesson, usually with animals as characters
3.
_________________________
a larger-than-life hero who embodies the values of a specific culture
4.
_________________________
a person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and something beyond itself
5.
_________________________
a specific reference in one work of art to something else outside that work of art
6.
_________________________
a story that is rooted in a specific culture, is basically religious, and usually serves to explain a
belief, a ritual, or a mysterious phenomenon—these stories collectively create the mythology (or
moral code) of that culture
7.
_________________________
a story that uses characters, objects, and actions to represent other stories or situations outside
of the original narrative
8.
_________________________
a type of folk tale that centers on a human hero
9.
_________________________
a type of folk tale told to children
10. _________________________
a universal character type that can be found in stories from nearly every culture
11. _________________________
a universal theme that can be found in stories from nearly any culture
12. _________________________
an anonymous story shared orally that helps to form the basis of culture
13. _________________________
any character, theme, or idea that has occurred so often it has become universal
14. _________________________
long narrative poem that relates the great deeds of a larger-than-life hero who embodies the
values of a particular society (culture)—usually include elements of myth, folklore, and history
15. _________________________
the beliefs, customs, arts, and institutions of a society at a given time
16. _________________________
to echo
The Lion King
 Story origins (4:37)
4. List 2 examples of archetypal themes found in The Lion King, as noted in the video.
5.
6.
7.
a.
________________________________________________________________________________________
b.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Circle an epic hero NOT mentioned in the video.
a. Ben Hur
b. Gilgamesh
c. Joseph
d. Moses
Underline the character from the movie could be seen as a “Moses” archetype?
a. Naala
b. Simba
c. Scar
d. Mufasa
Put a star next to the moment in the movie could be an allusion to the “burning bush” in the Bible?
a. “Hakuna Matata”
b. Simba sees Mufasa’s face in the sky
c. Rafiki shows up and hits Simba over the head
d. Simba and Naala get lost in the Elephant Graveyard
 Timeless themes (3:59)
alone
brief
belong
circle
bigger
communities
culture
death
families
human spirit
impact
life
purpose
together
work
The following are archetypal themes from The Lion King discussed by the creators. Fill in the blanks from the word
bank. (2 will not be used)
8.
One of the “timeless themes” in The Lion King is that we all have responsibilities to our _______________ and our
_______________
9.
Simba decides to “take responsibility” instead of checking out because _______________ is too hard.
10. We must live our lives in the face of _______________.
11. The _______________ can get rise above everything.
12. We are all part of something _______________ than us--we cannot get through this life journey _______________--we have
to _______________ _______________.
13. We all _______________--we all have a _______________.
14. Our time here is _______________, but our _______________ can be everlasting.
 The story comes to life (3:14)
15. What might the image of Simba putting his paw in Mufasa’s paw print symbolize?
a. betrayal
b. fate/destiny
c. loyalty
16. What aspect of his “Royal legacy” causes Simba such internal conflict?
a. the freedom to do whatever he wants whenever he wants
b. inheriting the responsibilities of leadership
c. being able to boss Zazu around
17. Simba feels incredible guilt because he believes he caused Mufasa’s death. We (the audience) know that he did not—what
literary term does this refer to? ______________________________
18. Who says to Simba: “You have forgotten who you are!” _______________