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ARCHETYPES

by and Don L. F. Nilsenand Alleen Pace Nilsen

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ARCHETYPES FROM CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

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THE ROMANCE

The Romance “presents an idealized world, the black-and-white world of our desires, where good things are really good, and bad things are really bad.

The Romance involves the Journey, and the Journey involves the Hero, the Villain, the Quest, the Sage, the Prohibition, the Sacrifice, the Dragon, the Treasure, and sometimes the rescue of the Maiden.

The epiphany (mountain top, tower, island, lighthouse, ladder, staircase, Jack’s beanstalk, Rapunzel’s hair, Indian rope trick etc.) connects Heaven and Earth” (Frye 203).

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THE HERO

In archetypal hero tales, the hero, usually a young person identified as having “special” qualities, sets out on a journey—either real or metaphorical.

The young person does not know what is in store and has probably not made a conscious decision to embark on “the quest.”

Nevertheless, when challenges come, the young hero meets and overcomes them, often making some kind of a sacrifice in exchange for wisdom. A common motif is that help will come from an unexpected source, perhaps from an older and wiser person or from a supernatural source.

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STAGES OF THE JOURNEY

The stages of the journey (listed below) can be seen in many of the quest stories and can also be compared to one’s own life.

The Shadow Archetypes result from hyperbole, from developing the hero’s characteristics to such an extreme that they become a negative force as when the caregiver turns into the overprotective mother or the lover into the jealous controller preventing or marring the process of development.

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PREPARATION FOR THE JOURNEY

INNOCENT: ARCHETYPE: Security, Acceptance, Disillusionment, OptimismSHADOW ARCHETYPE: Denial, Repression, Blame

ORPHAN:ARCHETYPE: Abandonment, Accepting Help, Against AuthoritySHADOW: Cynicism, Victimization

WARRIOR:ARCHETYPE: Fighting for Self, for Others, and for IdealsSHADOW: Ruthlessness, Fighting to Win

CAREGIVER:ARCHETYPE: Self-Sacrificing, “Tough Love,” ResponsibilitySHADOW: Martyrdom, Guilt-Inducer

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THE JOURNEY ITSELFSEEKER:

ARCHETYPE: Exploration, ExperimentationSHADOW: Perfectionism, Inability to Commit

DESTROYER:ARCHETYPE: Confusion, Acceptance of Chaos, Letting GoSHADOW: Destructiveness of Self and Others

LOVER:ARCHETYPE: Following Love, Bonding, CommittingSHADOW: Envy, Fixation, Don Juanism

CREATOR:ARCHETYPE: Visionary, Creator of Own EnvironmentSHADOW: Creators of Negative Situations

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THE RETURN FROM THE JOURNEY

• RULER:– ARCHETYPE: Responsibility for Self & Others, Good of

Planet– SHADOW: Ogre, Tyrant

• MAGICIAN:– ARCHETYPE: Making Dreams Come True– SHADOW: Turning Positives into Negatives

• SAGE:– ARCHETYPE: Searching for Truth– SHADOW: Insensitivity, Critical Judgment

• WISE FOOL:– ARCHETYPE: Living for Fun, Living in the Moment– SHADOW: Self-Indulgence, Gluttony, Sloth

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STAGE 1

The Innocent

The Orphan

The Warrior

The Caregiver

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THE INNOCENT

The Innocent moves from an unquestioning acceptance of the environment through experiencing disillusionment (fall) to a return to Paradise as a wise innocent.

EXAMPLES: Brady Bunch, Forrest Gump, Bambi, Gomez Adams, Leo the Late Bloomer, The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio

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THE ORPHAN

The Orphan moves from accepting pain and loss through accepting the need for help to becoming independent and working with others.

EXAMPLES: Charlie Brown, Cinderella, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Huckleberry Finn, Frankenstein’s Monster, Maniac McGee, Oedipus, Harry Potter, Peter Rabbit, Dorothy

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THE WARRIOR

The Warrior moves from fighting and cheating simply for the sake of fighting to fighting within the rules for others and for what really matters on an unselfish level.

EXAMPLES: Batman, Lancelot, Ulysses, Joan of Arc, Jo in Little Women, Robin Hood, 3 Musketeers, Superman, Darth Vader

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THE CAREGIVER

The Caregiver moves from overcoming a conflict between one’s own needs and those of others through empowering others (tough love), to a willingness to help beyond immediate family (a global level).

EXAMPLES: Gepetto in Pinocchio, Holden Caulfield, The Giving Tree, Horton, “The Jewish Mother,” Mary Poppins, Pygmalion, Anne Sullivan, Mother Theresa,, The Velveteen Rabbit

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STAGE 2

The Seeker

The Destroyer

The Lover

The Creator

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THE SEEKER

The seeker moves from wandering aimlessly and trying out new things through trying to climb the ladder of success to looking for spiritual guidance.

EXAMPLES: Goldilocks, Indiana Jones, Don Juan, Leo the Late Bloomer, Luke Skywalker, Pinocchio

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THE DESTROYER

The Destroyer moves from confusion over experiencing pain and death of a loved one through accepting mortality to letting go of what is not important.

EXAMPLES: Beowulf, The Big Bad Wolf, Samson, The Terminator, Darth Vader Lord Voldemort,

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THE LOVER OR FRIEND

The lover, friend, or sidekick is incomplete without the other lover, friend, or sidekick.

SHADOW EXAMPLES: Bathsheba, Delilah, Don Juan, Don Giovani, Byron’s Don Juan, Cassanova

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LOVERS, FRIENDS OR DOPPELGANGERS

Annie and Daddy Warbucks

Batman and Robin

Mark Anthony and Cleopatra

Robinson Crusoe and Friday

Hansel and Gretel

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson

Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde

Othello, Iago, and Desdemona

Peter and the Wolf

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza

Romeo and Juliet

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

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THE CREATOR

The Creator moves from daydreaming and imagining through knowing what is really important to allowing dreams to come true.

EXAMPLES: Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams, Frederick, The Purple Crayon

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STAGE 3

The Ruler

The Magician

The Sage

The Wise Fool

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THE RULER

The Ruler moves from taking responsibility for oneself through working with one’s own group or commnity to concern for society or the planet.

EXAMPLES: Aslan, King Arthur, Max in Where the Wild Things Are, Jupiter, Obi Wan Kenobee, The Lion King, Woden, Zeus

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THE MAGICIAN

The Magician moves from healing and noticing extrasensory experiences through acting on visions to connecting everything with everything else establishing mental, emotional, and spiritual connections.

EXAMPLES: Abuela, Gandalf, Genie, Hermione, Merlin, Mary Poppins, Harry Potter, Samantha in Bewitched, The three Witches in Macbeth, The Wizard of Oz

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THE SAGE

The Sage moves from searching for the truth through skepticism to an understanding of the complexity of truth.

EXAMPLES: the professor in Gilligan’s Island, Jimminy Cricket, Dumbledore,The Fairy Godmother, Galdalf, Luke Skywalker, Yoda

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THE WISE FOOL/TRICKSTER

The Wise Fool moves from treating life as a game through using cleverness to trick others to living life one day at a time and enjoying each special moment.

EXAMPLES: Anansi the Spider, The Cat in the Hat, Coyote, Ferdinand, Forest Gump, The Hare in the Tortoise and Hare Race, Huckleberry Finn, Raven, Tom Sawyer, Sawyer on Lost, Schererazade, The Wizard of Oz

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ARCHETYPE RELATIONSHIPS

Creator and Destroyer

Eiron and Alazon

Fool and Wise Fool

Hero and Anti-Hero

Innocent and Orphan

Junex and Senex in “Comedy of Manners”

Sage and Magician

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IDENTIFY THE ARCHETYPES

In the following slides, place the examples into various archetypes, and explain what evidence you used to make your choices.

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MALE EXAMPLESWoody AllenKing ArthurAslan in The Lion, the Witch & the WardrobeCharlie ChaplinJesus ChristFalstaffGandolf in Lord of the RingsObi Wan KenobiRadar O’Reilly on M*A*S*HSamuel PickwickThe Wizard of Oz

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FEMALE EXAMPLESAlice in WonderlandEdith BunkerCinderellaCleopatraHera or JunoJoan of ArcMoll FlandersNora in The Doll’s HouseThree Witches in MacbethTinkerbell in Peter PanVirgin Mary and Queen Elizabeth

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!CHILD EXAMPLES

David CopperfieldDorothy in The Wizard of OzHuckleberry FinnLittle Red Riding HoodPeter PanPinocchioTiny TimTom ThumbWinnie the Pooh

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!!SHADOW EXAMPLES

Bartleby the Scrivner (Melville)

Captain Ahab in Moby Dick

Dr. Frankenstein

Don Juan in Byron’s Don Juan

Willie Loman in Death of a Salesman

Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis

The Joker in Batman

Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Oedipus

Lord Voldemort

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!!!Web Sites:

Arizona English Teachers Association: http://www.asu.edu/aeta/

Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Nilsen. Encyclopedia of 20th Century American Humor. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2000: http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/OXHUMOR.aspx

Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Nilsen. Names and Naming in Young Adult Literature. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2007: http://www.scarecrowpress.com/

YA-Lit Web Quests, Jim Blasingame—Web Master: http://www.asu.edu/clas/english/englished/yalit/webquest.htm

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References:

Campbell, Joseph. The Portable Jung. New York, NY: Penguin, 1971.

Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1957.

Jung, Carl G. Four Archetypes: Mother, Rebirth, Spirit, Trickster. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1959.

Nilsen, Alleen Pace Nilsen, and Don L. F. Nilsen. Encyclopedia of 20th Century American Humor. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000.

Pearson, Carol S. Awakening the Heroes Within: Twelve Archetypes to Help Us Find Ourselves and Transform Our World. San Francisco, CAP Harper, 1991.

Pollack, Rachel. Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot. New York, NY: Gramercy Books, 1999.