Archetypes:
Storytelling for Survival and
Hope
How many stories do you
encounter daily?
• Think about the number of stories you encounter
daily either reading, viewing, or listening. This
would include all of the following categories:
-books, short stories, newspaper stories,
movies, sitcoms, tv shows, video games,
news reports, magazine stories, etc.
• Write down this number in your notes, as well as
what categories apply to you.
• Write down what percentage of the stories you
encounter are fictional.
Do you agree with the
following statements? Why or
why not?
• Storytelling is essential for the
survival of humanity and provides
hope for humanity.
• Without stories, mankind would
slowly go mad and become suicidal.
Why do we need stories?
Think of examples of each of the ideas below as we go.
•To explain natural phenomenon such as great floods and the
creation of the world.
•To answer such questions such as why we are born and why
we die.
•To help us escape reality by entering a world where the good
guy wins, the forces of evil are defeated, and love conquers all.
•To help define the roles of good and evil such as the hero and
the villain so that we might recognize them in reality.
“Throughout the inhabited world, in all times and
under every circumstance, the myths of man have
flourished; and they have been the living inspiration of
whatever else may have appeared out of the activities
of the human body and mind. It would not be too
much to say that myth is the secret opening through
which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour
into human cultural manifestation. Religions,
philosophies, arts, the social forms of primitive and
historic man, prime discoveries in science and
technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up
from the basic, magic ring of myth.”
-Joseph Campbell The Hero with a Thousand Faces
Joseph
Campbell's
Purposes of
Myth
The Mystical
Function
The realization of the wonder of the
universe and what a wonder you are,
and experiencing the awe before this
mystery. Myth opens the world to the
dimension of mystery, to the realization
of the mystery that underlies all forms.
If you lose that, you don’t have a
mythology.
What is an example of a
story that demonstrates
the mystical function of
myth, either in one
moment or in the entirety
of the story?
The Cosmological* Function
*the branch of philosophy dealing with the origin and general
structure of the universe, with its parts, elements, and laws, and
esp. with such of its characteristics as space, time, causality, and
freedom.
The dimension with which science is
concerned – showing you what the
shape of the universe is, but showing
it in such a way that the mystery
again comes through.
What is an example of a
story that demonstrates
the cosmological function
of myth, either in one
moment or in the entirety
of the story?
The Sociological Function
Supporting and validating
a certain social order.
What is an example of a
story that demonstrates
the sociological function
of myth, either in one
moment or in the
entirety of the story?
The Pedagogical Function
How to live a human lifetime under
any circumstances.
What is an example of a story
that demonstrates the
pedagogical function of
myth, either in one moment
or in the entirety of the
story?
The Monomyth
• The term Monomyth (often referred to as
the hero's journey) as used within the field
of comparative mythology refers to a basic
pattern supposedly found in many narratives
from around the world. This widelydistributed pattern was described by Joseph
Campbell in his book The Hero with a
Thousand Faces (1949). Campbell held
that numerous myths from disparate times
and regions seem to share a fundamental
structure and stages.
What are archetypes?
Are they simply different types of
arches?
What are archetypes?
•They are the basic building blocks
of stories that all writers use to
create a world to which readers can
escape.
•Without communicating about
archetypes, all cultures around the
world use them to build their
stories. This is called the Collective
Unconscious (term coined by Carl
Jung).
Examples
of
Archetypes
Situational Archetypes
•THE QUEST—search for someone or some object, which when it is
found and brought back will restore life to a wasted land, the
desolation of which is shown by a leader’s illness and disability.
•THE TASK—to save the kingdom, to win the fair lady, to identify
himself so that he may assume his rightful position, the hero must
perform some nearly superhuman deed.
•THE INITIATION—this usually takes the form of an initiation into
adult life. The adolescent comes into his/her maturity with new
awareness and problems along with a new hope for the community.
This awakening is often the climax of the story.
•THE JOURNEY—the hero goes in search of some truth or
information to restore life to the kingdom; he must descend into a real
or psychological hell and is forced to discover the blackest truths quite
often concerning his faults; once the hero is at his lowest point, he
must accept personal responsibility to return to the world of the living;
this could also appear as a group of isolated people (trapped on a boat,
bus, island) to represent society.
Situational Archetypes
•THE FALL—describes a descent from a higher to a
lower state of being. The experience involves a
defilement and/or a loss of innocence and bliss. The
fall is often accompanied by expulsion from a kind
of paradise as a penalty for disobedience and moral
transgression.
•DEATH AND REBIRTH—grows out of a parallel
between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life.
Thus, morning and springtime represent birth, youth,
or rebirth; evening and winter suggest old age or
death.
•NATURE VS. MECHANISTIC WORLD—Nature
is good while technology and society are often evil.
BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL—
Obviously the battle between two primal
forces. Mankind shows eternal optimism in
the continual portrayal of good triumphing
over evil despite great odds.
THE UNHEALABLE WOUND—The
wound is either physical or psychological
and cannot be healed fully. This wound also
indicates a loss of innocence. These wounds
always ache and drive the sufferer to
desperate measures.
THE RITUAL—The actual ceremonies the
initiate experiences that will mark his rite of
passage into another state (weddings,
funerals)
Symbolic Archetypes
•LIGHT VS. DARKNESS—Light usually
suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual
illumination. Darkness implies the unknown,
ignorance, or despair.
•WATER VS. DESERT—because water is
necessary to life and growth, it commonly
appears as a birth or rebirth symbol. The
appearance of rain in a work of literature can
suggest a character’s spiritual birth.
HEAVEN VS. HELL—Man has traditionally
associated parts of the earth not accessible to
him with the dwelling places of the gods that
govern his world. The skies and mountains
are where his gods live, and the bowels of the
earth contain the evil forces that inhabit his
universe.
INNATE WISDOM VS EDUCATED
STUPIDITY—Some characters show wisdom
and understanding of situations instinctively
as opposed to those supposedly in charge.
Symbolic Archetypes
•SUPERNATURAL
INTERVENTION—The gods intervene
on the side of the hero or sometimes
against him.
•HAVEN VS. WILDERNESS—places
of safety contrast sharply against the
dangerous wilderness. Heroes are often
sheltered for a time to regain health and
resources.
FIRE VS. ICE—Fire represents knowledge,
light, life, and rebirth, while ice like the
desert represents ignorance, darkness,
sterility, and death.
MAGIC WEAPON—The weapon used by
the hero to defeat the forces of evil…must
have supernatural or magical powers.
Character Archetypes
•THE HERO—mother is sometimes a virgin,
circumstances of conception are unusual,
some attempt is made at birth to kill him;
raised by foster parents. We know almost
nothing of his childhood, but upon reaching
manhood, he returns to his future kingdom.
After a victory over the king or a wild beast,
he marries a princess, becomes king, reigns
uneventfully, but later loses favor with the
gods. He meets a mysterious death, often at
the top of a hill. His body is not buried.
THE INITIATE - These are
young heroes or heroines who,
prior to their quest, must
endure some training and
ceremony. They are usually
innocent and wear white.
MENTOR - These individuals
serve as teachers to the
initiates. Sometimes they work
as role models, and often serve
as a mother or father figure.
YOUNG MAN FROM THE PROVINCES
- This hero is spirited away as a young man
and raised by strangers. He later returns to
home and heritage where he is a stranger
and can see new problems and new
solutions.
FATHER-SON CONFLICT
Tension often results from separation during
childhood or from an external source when
the individuals meet as men and where
the mentor often has a higher place in the
affections of the hero than the natural
father.
Character Archetypes
•HUNTING GROUP OF
COMPANIONS—Loyal companions
willing to face any number of perils to
be together.
•LOYAL RETAINERS—These
individuals are somewhat like servants
who are heroic themselves. Their duty
is to protect the hero and reflect the
nobility of the hero.
•FRIENDLY BEAST—This shows that
nature is on the side of the hero.
DEVIL FIGURE—Evil incarnate, this
character offers worldly goods, fame, or
knowledge to the hero in exchange for
possession of the soul
EVIL FIGURE WITH GOOD HEART—A
redeemable evil figure saved by the nobility
or love of the hero.
SCAPEGOAT—An animal or more
usually a person whose death in a
public ceremony gets rid of some evil
that has been visited upon a
community. Their death often makes
them a more powerful force dead than
alive.
Character Archetypes
•OUTCAST—A figure who is banished from a
social group for some crime against his fellow man.
The outcast is usually destined to become a
wanderer from place to place.
•EARTHMOTHER—This character traditionally
offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those
with whom she comes in contact. Often shown in
earth colors and has large breasts and hips
symbolic of her childbearing capabilities
• TEMPTRESS—Characterized by a
sensuous beauty, this woman is one
to whom the hero is physically
attracted and who ultimately brings
about his downfall.
• PLATONIC IDEAL— This woman is a
source of inspiration for whom the hero
has an intellectual rather than physical
attraction.
STAR-CROSSED LOVERS—These two characters are
engaged in a love affair that is fated to end tragically for
one or both due to the disapproval of society, friends,
family, or some tragic situation
DAMSEL IN DISTRESS—The vulnerable woman who
must be rescued by the hero. She is often used to trap
or ensnare the unsuspecting hero.
CREATURE OF NIGHTMARE—A monster usually
summoned from the deepest, darkest part of the human
psyche to threaten the lives of the hero or heroine. Often
it is a perversion or desecration of the human body.
Harry Potter Archetypes
•HERO—Harry has unusual birth, is saved
by his mother’s love and develops his powers
as a wizard.
•QUEST—various; to discover the sorcerer’s
stone, find horcruxes, etc.
•TASK—to defeat Voldemort
•HUNTING GROUP OF
COMPANIONS—Ron and Hermione
are Harry’s constant companions; He is
also aided by others such as the Order
of the Phoenix
Harry Potter Archetypes
•FRIENDLY BEAST— Hedwig, any number of
creature’s kept under Hagrid’s watch.
•DAMSEL IN DISTRESS— At times Hermione,
Ginny Weasley and others
•HEAVEN VS. HELL— Hogwarts vs. the
muggle world Harry occupied previously
and during the summer. The world under
the dominion of good wizards or under the
power of Voldemort.
•LIGHT VS. DARKNESS – Voldemort and his
minions are depicted at night or meeting in the
shadows. Hogwarts, while often encroached
upon by shadows, is a light in the darkness.
Harry Potter Archetypes
•DEATH AND REBIRTH— Harry is
sometimes aided by those who have died,
The ending of the saga places Harry in this
role.
•STAR-CROSSED LOVERS—Harry
and Ginny
•BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL—
Harry and his friends face down Voldemort and
his minions.
Harry Potter Archetypes
•EVIL FIGURE WITH A GOOD
HEART—Professor Snape, Draco
(discuss)
•CREATURE OF NIGHTMARE—
Voldemort
•THE JOURNEY—Journey
to adulthood, preparations to
defeat Voldemort,