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John Smith
Ms. Cordeiro
ENG4U
22 April 2011
The Birth of Character
The ability that differentiates humans from machines is the ability to generalize.
Throughout the history of literature, there have been many recurring ideas that have become a
convention. Commonly, these collections of general ideas, persons, and facts are called
archetypes. In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Hamlet, Hamlet is on a quest to find the meaning in his
life after the death of his father. Similarly, the movie, The Lion King, presents the character
Simba whom is confused on his role as the son of a deceased king. Undoubtedly, the archetypes
within the stories of Hamlet and The Lion King aid each protagonist to define their personal
identities. While both stories are dissimilar on how each hero’s story concludes, through the use
of universal characters, collective situations, and recurring symbols, archetypes play a prominent
role in helping the character achieve their individuality.
To begin with, Shakespeare incorporates many archetypal characters in his tragedy to
help guide the hero to achieving his true character. One of these archetypes is the scapegoat. A
typical scapegoat of a story is a character whose death taints the community (Cordeiro,
22/04/11). It is evident that King Hamlet is the scapegoat in this tragedy. Hamlet uses the death
of his father as a reason for him becoming an angered filled avenger...
Similarly, in Walt Disney’s movie, The Lion King, one can see many archetypal
characters within the plot; some of which are equivalent to those of Hamlet. Within Walt
Disney’s classic movie, one identifiable archetype is the character of Mufasa, the father of
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Simba. Although he rules a completely separate kingdom, like King Hamlet, he serves as the
reason for Simba’s vengeance against his uncle Scar. ...
Secondly, the use of universal symbols also helps the hero in defining himself. In
Shakespeare’s tragedy, one of the most important symbols is the symbol of darkness. As such,
darkness represents the unknown, ignorance or despair (Cordeiro, 22/04/2011). The theme of
darkness is most evident during the appearance of the ghost. ...
Lastly, Shakespeare’s use of common situations which a general protagonist must face,
also help the character of Hamlet in discovering himself. The hero’s quest generally follows
“The Monomyth.” “The Monomyth” is the basic pattern of a hero’s journey that which can be
found in many stories (Cordeiro, 22/04/2011). An attribute of “The Monomyth” which is
obvious in Hamlet’s mission is the magic flight...
Correspondingly, in Simba’s journey he too is put under the same circumstances that
parallel Hamlet’s own story. During the middle stages of Simba’s chronicle, he experiences the
magic flight...
To conclude, archetypes allow the protagonists, Hamlet and Simba, to find their reason
for being through the use of returning characters, well known symbols, and conventional
situations. ...
Works Cited