Archetypes can be found across multiple short stories and represent characters in a very effective way. One story with several examples of archetypes would be “The Most Dangerous Game.” In “The Most Dangerous Game,” General Zarroff has the characteristics of a monster. General Zaroff gives those characteristics by hunting humans for his own enjoyment. General Zaroff then
The easiest archetype to apply to The Hobbit is the example of a quest, as a quest is what the majority of the book consists. The author of How to Read Literature like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster, states that a quest contains a quester, a place to go, a stated reason for going there, challenges along the way, and lastly, the real reason for going there. The quester in the book is Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit that once lived comfortably in his hole in a hill. He informed of his place to go when twelve dwarves, their leader Thorin, and the wizard Gandalf, barge into his home, somewhat uninvited. He must go to the Lonely Mountain and help the thirteen dwarves retake their fortune and land from the dragon, Smaug.
Archetypes are used in a few different short stories. Archetypes can be used to describe characters. Archetypes can also be used for symbols to other people or animals. All in all, archetypes are used in some short stories and describe characters and other things. For example, In the short story.
When watching movies or reading books, you may notice a pattern or similarity in the stories. This is called an archetype. The hero’s journey is one example. Authors have different ways of expressing their thoughts in their hero’s journey. The Hobbit is about the journey of Bilbo Baggins and 13 dwarves who journey to get their treasure back.
I believe Bilbo Baggins will be set up as the hero of the story. This is because in The Hobbit, Tolkien describes aspects of Bilbo’s character that fit the characteristics of a hero. One aspect is shown when he describes Bilbo’s ancestry, “That was, of course, absurd, but certainly there was still something not entirely hobbitlike about them, and once in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures” (Tolkien 2-3). Hobbits are generally peaceful in nature and don’t care much for anything unorthodox in their lives. However the Took-clan is an exception to this shown in the the quote above as it describes that they had an unnatural love for the unknown.
Character Archetypes In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy was accompanied by a hunting group of companions on her journey to the Emerald City. Her companions consisted of Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion, who were loyal and willing to face hardships and ordeals in order to stay together. All wanting seemingly unattainable things, they came along to meet the Wizard of Oz.
The theme for the first 5 chapters are things are not always as they seem. In chapter 1 we originally thought that Mrs. Dodds was a regular teacher, but know we know she is a bird like figure. In the text it says, “Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons.
Archetypes play an important role in creating a story, they symbolize an importance that brings meaning to the story. The author places archetypes to help the story flow which also helps to explain an event in the story and its meaning. In the story The Seventh Man by Haruki Murakami, Murakami does a nice job at using archetypes throughout his story to represent things such as life, death and most importantly reincarnation. The first time we see Murakami’s use of an archetype is towards the middle of the story.
(Tolkien #155). Bilbo also has many upbringings, his moms side is fancy, and likes to go on adventures. “And once in a while memories from the took-clan would go and have adventures”. The last supporting detail that shows how Bilbo is a hero is when the author states, “Farewell good thief he said, I go now to the halls of waiting to sit beside my fathers, until the world is renewed”. This is how Bilbo is an archetypal character and how he is a hero.
An archetype is a model for common symbols or story pattern seen throughout similar works. For example, that of the “Hero’s Journey”. In James Cameron’s 2009 film Avatar, an ex-marine by the name of Jake, finds himself on Pandora after his brother passes away. While there, he takes part in a mission left behind by his brother Tommy, in which he becomes an avatar and tries to earn the trust of the native Na’vi people. Colonel Quaritch tells Jake that he must negotiate with The People and report back to him every day after exiting the “simulated world”.
Joseph Campbell, a renowned mythologist and professor studied mythology and traditional stories. He defined a hero as “someone who has given his or her life for something bigger than oneself.” His creation of the Hero’s Journey structured the storyline for so many stories to come, including The Hobbit. J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel follows the adventure of Bilbo Baggins, an ordinary hobbit turned hero. Gandalf, a wizard forces Bilbo on an adventure to regain treasure with thirteen dwarves.
Imagine your world is divided by the color of your blood. Red and Silver. Imagine your best friend is taken away to an arena of death because their name was pulled from a bowl of others names that just narrowly escaped death. Wouldn’t you want change? In King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard, the world is divided by blood type.
Do you like animated films? Well, Finding Nemo is the ninth most grossed animated film of all time. Finding Nemo was an adventure and comedy film, that taught the world the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation to everyday life. Archetypes are used in many films, movies, and/or books to help both enhance and advance the audiences/readers understanding of the story.
The Girl on Fire In “Creating the Myth”, Linda Seger states how the lives of regular people, their ups and downs, the struggle of achieving ones dreams or goals, finding ones soul mate etc. are essentially universal stories drawn from the same experiences. She adds that these universal stories are quite comparable to the basic storyline of most successful movies, albeit the twists and turns, climax, cultural based differences and the characteristics of every person may differ. Furthermore, she distinguishes the two major kinds of stories, primarily “search stories” and “hero stories” (Seger 335). As the name suggests, search stories basically address the desire to find some sort of treasure which could be anything ranging from love and respect
SEVEN SLEEPERS AS AN ARCHETYPE IN LITERATURE Old myths, old gods, old heroes have never died. They are only sleeping at the bottom of our mind, waiting for our call. We have need for them. They represent the wisdom of our race. — Stanley Kunitz Introduction
