When looking at popular books and films as consumers we cannot help but see similarities, most commonly we see the brooding hero, the damsel in destress, and the evil villain. Whether it is a more modern story like Stranger Things or something older like Sir Gawain and The Green Knight we continue to see variations on of these characters. Psychologist Carl Jung noticed this and in the late 1910’s, Jung went on to produce many books on his findings. Over the span of these woks it was explained that these similarities were to be called Archetypes. Jung explains that Archetypes are not just limited to film and books, but rather that they appear just as regularly in our everyday lives. Jung also goes on to explan that there are many different types …show more content…
The hero acts as the audience’s guide throughout the story, this means it is extremely important that the audience can relate to this character. Throughout the film Donnie Darko it is clear that Donnie is the protagonist, but it does not become clear until the end of the film that Donnie is truly fits the hero Archetype. Although, Donnie is a rather a relatable charter; teenage boy full of angst with a distaste for the world around him accompanied with mental health problems that make him feel isolated from the world, all of which are characters many viewers could/may relate to. It is not until we first see Donnie interact with Frank that we realis that Donnie fits into the hero Archetype in an unconventional way. Typically, in the hero archetype we see the hero traveling to a new world, using their skill set to help them along the way. This is almost the opposite with Donnie, he does not travel anywhere new or use any exciting skills. This is because Donnie’s journey is a that of self-discovery. Throughout the film Donnie is costly placed in situations in which he and his subconscious mind are at war with one …show more content…
This is done quite literally in the film, although portrayed in the film as two separate people or entity’s both are representations of Donnie. This can be seen in how the two charters interact, Donnie can interact with the outside world but Frank can only interact with Donnie. When these interactions are interrupted only Donnie can see Frank, those who interrupt only continue to see Donnie as one person This can be seen in the bathroom scene that takes place within/after the PTA meeting, although Donnie can see and interact with Frank his younger sister cannot. In the interactions that take place between Donnie and Frank they cannot harm one another, this is made clear in the bathroom scene within the one on one meeting between his parents and his psychologist, here Donnie attempts to stab Frank but is unable to due to a barrier separation the two of them. This is because they are the same person
An archetype, according to Literary Terms, is an idea, symbol, pattern, or character-type, in a story that appears again and again in stories from cultures around the world and symbolizes something universal in the human experience. There are symbolic, character, and situational archetypes. The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls, uses each archetype. The memoir captures Jeannette’s difficult life growing up due to her father’s alcoholism and inability to hold a job. These archetypes also play a crucial role in developing the novel’s theme. A central theme to the novel can be perseverance. Jeannette and her siblings grew up and managed to build a better life for themselves. They worked hard and never gave up, demonstrating perseverance.
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.
“The archetype is probably Jung’s most difficult concept. Archetypes are inherited predispositions to respond to the world in certain ways. They are primordial images, representations of the instinctual energies of the collective unconscious” (Frager). The archetypes in Jung’s analysis are the shadow, anima, animus and self. Beginning with the shadow, this to be a person of the same sex but possessing different traits. The Wicked Witch represents the shadow, the dark or unconscious part of the personality that the conscious ego tries to ignore. Along with the witch, her heinous flying monkeys could be categorized into this archetype. The Wicked Witch of the West is a dark, controlling presence who seeks to dominate and control. Any person seen throughout the world could be symbolized by the witch as a foreboding character and one who thought all was right with their plan of action, hence a universal
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist who developed many theories concerning the unconscious mind. Jung’s theories state that the unconscious part of a human’s psyche has two different layers, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious is unique to every individual; however, the collective unconscious “is inborn.” (Carl Jung, Four Archetypes, 3) The collective unconscious is present in everyone’s psyche, and it contains archetypes which are “those psychic contents which have not yet been submitted to conscious elaboration” (Jung, Archetypes, 5); they are templates of thought that have been inherited through the collective unconscious. Jung has defined many different archetypes such as the archetype of the mother, the archetype of the hero, the archetype of the shadow, etc. These Jungian archetypes are often projected by the collective unconscious onto others. If the novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving is examined through a Jungian archetypal lens it is possible to discern different archetypes projected by the protagonist’s unconscious self to illustrate the effects of the collective unconscious on character and plot analysis.
MD: Rowman & Littlefield. Mayes, C. (2010). The archetypal hero’s journey: A study in Jungian
Without archetypes, characters would be harder for the audience to relate to and understand. They help people from all over the world comprehend foreign characters. Through The Odyssey and The Alchemist, the audience is exposed to a diverse group of characters with a variety of traits that contribute to their personalities and the way they are perceived. The Bildungsroman, vengeful villain, damsel in distress, sage, and flawed hero then become recognizable in other pieces of literature and in films. Therefore expanding the audience’s experiences and ability to understand diverse compositions and apply what they know to real life
We can see this when Donnie is explaining to his therapist about being alone. Donnie begins the scene reminiscing on how Reberta sparrow, the grandma of death, whispers in his ear, "Every living creature on this Earth dies alone." Donnie has this feeling of loneliness because he does not have any proof. Then he is asked if he believes in a higher power or God he was undecided. When Donnie avoided his death the first time he was given a chance to change the future to see what would happen but this would only cause everyone else to die still leaving he alone. He is not alone when he dies because he has proof there is a God. He allowed Donnie back into a different universe so he could understand why life is truly worth living and how our time on Earth is to grow and influence the lives of others. He was given the opportunity to love which showed him the value of the
Archetypes are designed to be universal and original models after which similar ideas are patterned. They include, but are not limited to images, recurring themes, symbols, ideas, character types and plot patterns. Archetypes can be expressed in myths, dreams, literature, religion, fantasies and folklore. They are an effective means utilized to evoke strong associations, emotional or physical, to the reader or audience. Carl Jung, a psychiatrist and analytical psychologist, created the term ‘archetype’ and claimed that they could also be applied to literature. Jung recognized that there were recurring and universal patterns in many stories regardless of their cultural or historical period. As a result, he hypothesized that the human conscious contained a collective unconscious relatable to most people. In literature, it is important to recognize archetypal patterns because they hold special symbolic meanings that are representative of universal ideas similar to how the image of a mother represents love and sacrifice and how the color white represents purity and innocence.
Neher, A. (1996). Jung'S Theory of Archetypes: A Critique. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 36(2), 61-91. doi:10.1177/00221678960362008
Carl Gustav Jung, “The Principle Archetypes” in The Critical Tradition: Classic Texts and Contemporary Trends, ed. David H. Richter (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1989), 666.
Consistent in literature throughout every era and culture, archetypes represent a recurring image, pattern, or motif mirroring a typical human experience. An idea developed by Carl Jung, archetypes in literature exist as representations reflecting vital perceptions of the human psyche expressing the manner in which individuals experience the world. Using Jung’s concept, writers of all epochs embeds archetypes in structures, characters, and images of their narratives. John Gardner, in his novel Grendel, integrates several of Jung’s archetypes into his epic tale derived from the early story Beowulf. Gardner associates Jung’s personas of the outcast, the shadow, and the mentor-pupil relationship through the identities of Grendel, the narrator of events, and the dragon.
In literature, Archetypal Criticism is a critical approach where the reader interprets the meaning of a story by looking at the archetypal characters, events, and symbols that it contains. In general, an archetype is a universal, primordial representation of an event or character that is seen as a general blueprint for stories and myths, such as the Hero or Death and Rebirth (Meyer 1587). Archetypes can be very important in identifying and supporting a theme by giving us background and references for aspects throughout the story. Carol Joyce Oates uses a couple vital archetypes in her short story, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” a tale about Connie, a teenage girl, who goes through an innocence to experience situation, signifying a transition from childhood to adulthood.
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?”,
The Maze Runner is a 2014 mystery/science fiction film that can be viewed from an archetypal perspective. An archetype can be described as a pattern that can and is copied and recurring symbols or characters. The concept of archetypes came from Carl Jung a psychiatrist who believed that all cultures use archetypes to build stories without communicating to each other about them. Two groups of archetypes are the character and symbolic archetypes. The film The Maze Runner should be analyzed through an archetypal perspective because it has character and symbolic archetypes.
The first theory to be discussed is structuralism, this theory is composed of many different branches. The branches that this paper will be looking into is archetypes. The definition of of archetype is typical images, characters, narrative designs and themes and other literary phenomena. Archetypes have their own form of criticism that is called archetypal criticism. Archetypal criticism means the generic, recurring and conventional elements in literature that cannot be explained through historical influence or tradition.