Psychologist Carl Jung proposed that humankind has a collective unconscious, which is manifested in myths and dreams, which harbors themes and images that all humans inherit. Carl Jung’s proposal about the collective unconscious is expressed when archetypal and mythological criticism applies to literary works (Archetypal Criticism). Neverwhere is a novel written by Neil Gaiman, which is heavily influenced by archetypal and mythological concepts. Neverwhere is the story of a young man who tries to help an injured girl named Door on the street, when he soon realizes that this is no ordinary person that he has come across and he has to go into the underworld to get her help. Richard goes to get her help from a man in the underworld named Marquis …show more content…
“An archetype is a typical or recurring image, character, narrative design, theme, or other literary phenomenon that has been in literature from the beginning and regularly reappears” (Introduction to Modern Literary Theory). The main character in this story, Richard Mayhew, is an archetypal character because he represents the hero that must go on the hero’s journey. Gaiman uses several more character archetypes apart from Richard: Door is the damsel in distress, Old Bailey is the wise old man, Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar are the main villains, Anasthesia makes a sacrifice for the sake of completion of the journey, and Hunter can be seen as the guide or protection of the group. Hunter however, betrays the group, but then makes up for it by sacrificing herself to save the group. The Angel Islington is seeming as the hope and joy of the group early on, but later it is revealed that the angel is a villain and behind the death of Door’s father. Betrayal is a common theme in this book that is also commonly expressed through archetypes and mythology as well. In the prologue of the novel, Gaiman uses an old woman to talk about the troubles that she had in London, she warns Richard to stay away from doors which foreshadows the issues Richard has with the character Door, as well as the doors that lead to London Below. The use of these archetypal characters helps …show more content…
Joseph Campbell splits the idea of the hero’s journey into three stages: departure/separation, Initiation, and the return. Not all heroes’ journeys are the same, for example, some do not have a return or the hero might be thrown right into the initiation (Campbell's 'Hero's Journey' Monomyth). Richard’s case of a hero’s journey is different from the normal journey because he is thrown into the situation with zero idea of what is going on and he has to help Door find out about her parents’ death and return himself to the normal life, facing many challenges along the way. There are many events in this novel similar to Joseph Campbell’s sequence of actions often found in stories. Richard has to go through the call to adventure, which is part of the departure, where he figures out about the quest he is on. “You can’t go back to your old home or your old job or your old life… None of those things exist. Up there, you don’t exist” (Gaiman, 127). This quote from Marquis de Carabas expresses when Richard crosses the first threshold which is the point in which he realizes that there is no turning back, this is when he realizes he is part of the underworld and non-existent in the normal world. He receives supernatural aid, which is part of the departure, from several people along the way, including Door, Marquis de Carabas, Hunter, Anasthesia, and Old Bailey. Another action of the departure
The first part in A Hero with a Thousand Faces that Campbell discusses of the Monomyth is the departure. Even though this deals with ancient myth, Allan in Tron is called to adventure just as Campbell describes in his text. Allan receives word that everyone who had level seven access is essentially being laid off work leading him to talk to Flynn starting the call to adventure. Campbell defines the call to adventure as, “A Blunder-Apparently the merest chance-reveals an unsuspected world, and the individual is drawn into a relationship with forces that are not rightly understood.” Next, Allan crosses into the threshold when he first enters ENCOM with Flynn and Lora when they enter the monumental, metal door beginning their mission. Crossing the threshold in the book can be seen as exiting ordinary life and entering into a supernatural world. Finally, Allan enters the belly of the whale as his doppelgänger Tron during t...
The first stage of the hero’s journey is the departure. This stage begins when a herald gives the hero the call to adventure. The herald in this story is the Big Lebowski who as a bitter, crippled old man fits the description of the herald having a loathsome, underestimated appearance. The call to adventure comes when he offers the Dude $20,000 to make the drop off of Bun...
To fully appreciate the significance of the plot one must fully understand the heroic journey. Joseph Campbell identified the stages of the heroic journey and explains how the movie adheres meticulously to these steps. For example, the first stage of the hero’s journey is the ordinary world (Campbell). At the beginning, the structure dictates that the author should portray the protagonist in their ordinary world, surrounded by ordinary things and doing ordinary tasks so that the author might introduce the reasons that the hero needs the journey in order to develop his or her character or improve his or her life (Vogler 35). The point of this portrayal is to show the audience what the protagonist’s life is currently like and to show what areas of his or her life are conflicted or incomplete. When the call to adventure occurs, the protagonist is swept away into another world, one that is full of adventure, danger, and opportunities to learn what needs to be learned. T...
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, Oates wants to show a more intellectual and symbolic meaning in this short story. Oates has many symbolic archetypes throughout the short story along with an allegory. Oates uses these elements in her story by the selection of detail and word choice used. Oates does this because she wants to teach her audience a moral lesson.
To start with, Campbell explains that departure is the first stage in which the character traverses to enter the unknown. To demonstrate, Joseph Campbell elaborates on how the departure begins when he says, “There are both kinds of heroes, some that choose to undertake the journey and some that don’t” (Campbell 3). In Rose’s case, she voluntarily ventures
Greed, lust, envy, wrath, gluttony, sloth, pride. The cardinal sins are feared by some and recognized by all; despite this, there is one transgression that casts a silent shadow upon all of these offenses. As shown in T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men”, the internal void of humanity not only destroys man, but begins the downfall of those whom he influences. The character Kurtz in Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is portrayed in T.S. Eliot’s “The Hollow Men” through the use of an anti-hero archetype and allusions to “Death’s other Kingdom”, which is representative of the his detachment, caused by his revert to a primitive state -- acting only on his quintessential needs. Eliot’s usage of an anti-hero archetype and allusions also prove Conrad’s theme: indifference is the
The article,”The Hero’s Journey Defined,” is written by Anthony Ubelhor. A respected scholar, Joseph Campbell, described a cycle of a hero’s journey in mythology consisting of three stages; Departure, Initiation, and Return. The author, Anthony Ubelhor, goes into detail about Joseph Campbell’s work, explaining the entire passage leading up to as well as after the hero’s journey. In Departure, a hero is summoned, aided, and sent out on his quest. The author explains the call to adventure, “...destiny has summoned the hero and transferred his spiritual center of gravity from within the pale of his society to a zone unknown,”. The author’s description of Departure is significant to my understanding of the passage, because his description
Joseph Campbell the founder of the hero’s journey precisely lays out each stage and subdivision on what the hero goes through. The hero first starts in the ordinary world where he is used to everything. Harry who lives in the cubby under the stairs, is used to being bullied by his uncle, aunt and his cousin. The start of Harry’s journey as a hero, begins when he gets a mail. This mail is important because harry doesn’t had never received a letter before due to the fact that he has no other family who would write to him. As he is opening the envelope Dudley, Harry’’s cousin, sanches the mail from Harry and gives it to his
Ancient quests have been told in many generations for over centuries. Each adventure brings strenuous challenges that the character faces in order to achieve their objective. These certain quests have been characterized as archetypes. Joseph Campbell, a literary philosopher, managed to study different types of archetypes ; Campbell revealed myths tend to have the same patterns or stages that are constantly repeated. Any type of archetypal myth has three stages that the character undergoes: birth/separation/departure, initiation, and the return (A Practical Guide to The Hero with a Thousand Faces). Birth/separation/departure consists of five elements that the character undergoes
Nick Earls’ use of characterisation successfully engages with the audience as they have something to relate to. Richard Derrington is heartbroken and the audience reads about how he is trying to find his way again. Many people have been heartbroken by someone at least once in their life which creates an instant connection to them. Jeff Ross is the friend Richard trusts and listens to in the novel, he is the one who talks sense into Richard without holding back. Jeff uses the power of words to help Richard like a therapist or psychologist, he can get through to Richard and the readers see him as the one who keeps Richard from losing his mind. Anna is someone who many individuals meet in real life, a crush, a lover, a
Each character represents a different mindset on the world going from an obedient book burner to a free-spirited teenager. Despite the idea that Bradbury places this story soon, the characters are humans and this provides the readers a connection that they can make with each one.
An archetype in literature is defined as a typical example of a certain type of person. A character in a poem or play can be placed into many different archetype categories. Archetypes help a reader to gain a better understanding of who a character in the work is on the inside. This deeper insight into the character allows the reader to follow the flow of the story easier and more effectively. There are many different archetypes that can help to advance the story. One of the most useful in advancing this story is the typical powerful character. Whether it be supernatural or cunningness this character always comes out on top in the situation and holds the most control over others and their actions. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”,
Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself ” (Moyers 1). The Hero’s Journey consists of three major parts: the separation, the initiation and the return. Throughout a character’s journey, they must complete a physical or spiritual deed. A physical deed involves performing a daunting and courageous act that preserves the well-being of another person. A spiritual deed calls for action that improves another individual’s state of mind. While fulfilling their journey, a hero must undergo a psychological change that involves experiencing a transformation from immaturity into independence and sophistication.Campbell states that these events are what ultimately guides a hero into completing
Throughout the stories the characters developed by their choices. Richard didn’t have a father he wasn't strong and had never been in a fight. But he had to step up since there wasn't anyone. He had himself and his mother if he didn’t step up there was no way he would be called a man. He was afraid to face his fears but he had to push through.
Joseph Campbell was a well known mythology teacher who spent his whole life trying to understand the different types of stories that are told. To Campbell “all humans are involved in a struggle to accomplish the adventure of the hero in their own lives.” He made a list of stages that every hero goes through, and sums it up to three sections: separation (the departure), the initiation, and the return.