Literary Criticism Archetypes and Symbols: Archetypes #1 1. Fire vs. Ice Light vs. Darkness Colour of Gold (truth) Masks (concealment) Mr. Wilhelm has affairs with other people, not being loyal to his wife, many times before he dies. He committed adultery without any of his family members, his wife and their son Tomas, knowing. The appalling behaviour demonstrates that Mr. Wilhelm has a dark side that is from the unknown. His family members believed him to be the opposite (Light vs. Darkness or Fire vs. Ice). His actions also show his concealments to whom he actually is as a person (Masks), believing that his family members would never find out about what he was up to in terms of the indiscretions he chose to do. Archetypes #2: Valley …show more content…
Sri thinks of it as nothing other than clinical, medical issues. He expresses his thoughts about “irrelevant matters” when he says, “Relatives asked things he had no idea about – whether the car would be towed, or which hairdresser had given the last trim. Why did they care, now that these things were in the past?” (194). In other words, only medical matters are important, not questions he could not answer nor what he perceives to be nothing to do with his job. However, he indicates feeling bad for thinking in an non emphatic way. Sri comes across as calm but cold in manner when conversing with others in the aforementioned, but the reader gets the impression that he cares more than he lets on. He is almost lying to himself about not caring but the truth is he does as he revealed to himself and the reader that he felt bad about the death of his patient though externally, he made it appear as if he did not care. The job of emergency doctors makes them appear cold and uncaring, almost numb to the horrors they see everyday, but they are lying to themselves that they do not care when the truth is, they really …show more content…
She pays attention to the details of what is going on in front of her such as when this quote is mentioned by the author: “She counted the waves. One, a stroke that seemed to touch only the leg hairs. Two, a tingling pain on her skin––as if the drying salt would pull and crack open her pores. Three, what is this beach?” (210). The number continues on until seven. One archetype is clearly “numbers” embodying a list of mindful and spiritual thoughts. The other archetype is a circle, specifically peaceful eternity and heavenly feelings. Archetype #8 Dreams vs. Reality The Dream versus Reality archetypes are the same context as Archetype #7, where Janice dreams of being at the beach. Janice is extremely calm at the beach, as she thinks this way: “I am so still, thought Janice. Why have I never in my life felt so still before? There was a wonderful relief of not moving her limbs, of allowing her arms to lie like wet rope over her globe-like abdomen.” The above quote describes her “wonderful” dream she is visualizing , a dream that the reader can imagine Janice would wish it to continue on forever. However the sound of the beeping phone woke Janice up from her dream, which brings her to back to
Le Morte d’Arthur and many other stories have many wonderful archetypes in them. The definition of an archetype is a typical character action or situation that seems to represent universal patterns of human nature. This means that things represent things that naturally happen and will still happen. Archetypes play into Le Morte d'Arthur by showing how the character act and react with other characters and objects. In Thomas Malory´s Le Morte d´Arthur he illustrates the three types of archetypes they include character, situational, and symbolic.
An archetype is a universal symbol. It is also a term from the criticism that accepts Jung’s idea of recurring patterns of situation, character, or symbol existing universally and instinctively in the collective unconscious of man. Archetypes come in three categories: images (symbols), characters, and situations. Feelings are provoked about a certain subject by archetypes. The use of the images of water, sunsets, and circles set the scene of the movie. Characters, including the temptress, the devil figure, and the trickster, contribute to the movie’s conflicts that the hero must overcome in order to reach his dream. However, to reach his dream, the hero must also go through many situations such as, the fall, dealing with the unhealable wound, and the task. By using archetypes in the movie, the viewer can obtain more than just the plot and better understand the true theme of the movie: to never give up on dreams.
“Symbolism.” Dictionary of World Literature: Criticism - Forms - Technique. Ed. Joseph T. Shipley. New York: Philosophical Library, 1943. 564-9.
...at could these five pieces of literature possibly have in common?’ The answer to this question is very simple, these pieces of literature each possess symbolic colors that represent something different. Yellow wallpaper represents a deteriorating mind, a shabby, black box represents a gruesome, sacrificial death, green is the physical representation of power and wealth in society, a mixture of blue and yellow represents the confusion of a clear sky with dead grass and ‘Blue Roses’ and Blue Mountain represent the longing someone feels for something they can never have. Perhaps a paining is not the only symbol for the universe. Perhaps every piece of literature is related to each other in such a way that by reading each piece of literature, one can connect the different symbols an author chooses to use and recognize the complex harmony that binds the literature world.
The author of One Flew over the Cuckoo 's Nest, allows the reader to explore different psychoanalytic issues in literature. The ability to use works literature to learn about real world conflicts allows us to use prior knowledge to interact with these problems in reality. Ken Kesey, the author of the above novel and Carl Jung, author of “The Archetype and the Collective Unconscious” wrote how the mind can be easily overtaken by many outside factors from the past or present. The novel takes place in an asylum that is aimed to contain individuals that have a mental issue or problem. The doctors and care takers are seen as tyrants and barriers that inhibit the patients to improve their health, while the patients are limited by their initial conditions
Quite often in life we wish for things bigger than ourselves. Seeming to get wrapped up in our own minds we do not pay attention to reality. As reality comes full force we are not sure how to take it, so we let it take us. In the writing “Where are you going, where have you been?” we see Oates craft archetypes and allegories into the work through detail and word choice in order to help the reader understand the shocking outdistancing of day dreams and the overshadowing sockdolager called reality. These archetypes and allegories provide a way for the reader to join Connie in the story, but also to see the danger of what Connie doesn’t see.
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?”,
In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, Huxley uses symbols to create meaning and to get his agenda across. The use of sex and reproduction, and Shakespearian writing and religious texts, as symbols in the novel help to push Huxley’s agenda that total government control is devastating, and the inner human drive to be an individual can never be suppressed. Also, the fact that the novel was written in 1931 shows that Huxley was attacking the newly forming Socialist nations.
Ken Kesey the author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo 's Nest, allows the reader to explore different psychoanalytic issues that plague the characters in his novel. Carl Jung disciple of Sigmund Fraud created “The Collective Unconscious” his theory based on how the mind can be easily overtaken by many outside factors from the past or present and even those that one is born with. The novel takes place in an asylum that is aimed to contain individuals that have mental issues from schizophrenia to repressed memories that are causing insanity. The nurses are seen as tyrants and actually worsens health of the patients turning some from acutes to chronics (incurable), while the patients are limited by their initial conditions or their developing conditions
Works of Dark Romanticism also use dark symbols to emphasize their themes. Prominent examples that show the themes of Dark Romanticism are: Moby Dick, by Melville, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “Tell-Tale Heart”, by Poe, and “The Minister's Black Veil”, by Hawthorne.
The first theory to be discussed is Structurealism, this theory is composed of many different branches. The branches that this paper will be looking into are archetypes. The definition of archetype is typical images, characters, narrative designs and themes and other literary phenomena. Archetypes have their own form of criticism, called archetypal criticism. Archetypal criticism means the generic, recurring and conventional elements in literature that cannot be explained through historical influence or tradition.
The best example of this is how Helen Burns is a foil to Jane. Unlike Jane, Helen is detached from most earthly desires, constantly reminding Jane to endure, that God and her future in heaven are more important than revenge (55). While Jane is filled with blazing passion, Helen is peacefully submissive. When Helen is punished or unjustly mistreated, Jane would find “the fury of which [Helen] was incapable had been burning in [Jane’s] soul all day” (74). Helen’s cool nature directly foils Jane’s fiery one, making the use of the fire and ice motifs in regard to Jane very emphatic. Jane, unlike Helen, is not willing to turn the other cheek. Rather, Jane craves to be loved and dramatically claims she would willingly submit to harm to gain love (69), a desperate, passionate idea to say the least. Further, the fire motif is also used to emphasize the positive forces in Jane’s life, specifically Miss Temple, the beautiful and kind superintendent at Lowood, whose apartment contained a “brilliant fire” and who was capable of rekindling the “radiance” in the pale and sick Helen (73). Miss Temple, with her overwhelmingly kind nature, is evidently a positive force in young Jane’s
Moreover, the symbol darkness questions of the actual event took place or if the narrator is just imagining the realistic events. Overall, the symbol of darkness lays out different possibilities for the novel to flourish and effectively convey the main morale of the
During the process of writing literature, and for works of fiction especially, authors will often utilize a literary device known as symbolism, in order to further engage readers and add a deeper layer of meaning to their story. Any object, person, or situation, can be used as a symbol provided it represents an additional concept or abstract idea apart from its literal meaning. In several fictitious stories, the element of symbolism plays a crucial role in helping writers extend the meaning behind their works beyond the prosaic. Two notable pieces of literature that skilfully demonstrate how symbolic imagery can enhance the narrative include, Frankenstein and “Goblin Market”—written by Mary Shelley and Christina Rossetti, respectively. Within
A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. (2009 Open-Ended Question for AP English Literature and Composition).