Archetypes In We Were Liars By E. Lockhart

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To some people Death can be scary and some accept their fate. We were liars by E. Lockhart uses different archetypes to show the different sides of death and how it is portrayed as many different things. It can bring sadness, joy, anger, confusion. After all, death can bring out a person's inner thoughts and personalities. Cadence Sinclair Eastman is the main character in this book. Cady’s biggest fear is abandonment like the innocent archetype (Jonas). At the beginning of summer 15, the first thing to happen is “[when] he pulled out a handgun and shot me in the chest,” (lockhart 5). She is talking about what it felt like when her dad left her and her mom. When her dad left she was so distraught and stressed when “[we] had all that shopping to do,” they wanted to get the memory of her dad out of the house (lockhart 15). After that and coming to terms with her dad being gone it …show more content…

Those friends were like her loyal retainers even though her brain was making it up. The loyal retainer archetype is when they “reflect the nobility and power of the hero,” (Boswell). The other liars definitely bring out the best in Cady and help her remember the accident. They were always by Cady's side when she was having a tough time. They took the kayaks out one day to go cliff jumping and the boys jumped first but to cady when she climbed to the top she thought “it seems impossible anyone could survive,” but she jumped anyway (lockhart 156). What she didn't remember at the time is that these are the rocks she jumped off to get away from the fire. The Liars were taking her to places that would hopefully help her remember what happened that night. A few nights later Cady remembers burning down Clairmont and it was “Gat, Johnny, Mirren, and me. We set this fire and it is burning down Clairmont.” (lockhart 167). They were all inseparable and now cady has to figure it out