Transcript English-Lang Arts Standard 3.0 Literary response and Analysis

English-Lang Arts Standard 3.0
Literary response and Analysis
•3.6 Analyze the
ways in which
authors…use
archetypes…
archetype
• A pattern or model
• The original pattern or model from which all
things of the same kind are copied or on
which they are based.
• A generic (non-specific) or idealized
model of a person, object, or concept from
which similar instances or versions are
derived, copied, patterned, or emulated.
Two types of archetypes:
• Stereotype – generic personality
type observed multiple times,
especially an oversimplification of
such a type.
– When people think of Manhattan
Beach they often think about the
stereotypical (stereotype of) the surfer
dude.
Two types of archetypes:
• Epitome – idealized example;
the “perfect” or “greatest”
example of something
–He is the epitome of the scholarathlete.
–Her home epitomized elegance
and warmth.
Archetype in literature
• An image, descriptive detail,
plot pattern, or character
type that occurs frequently in
literature, myth, religion or folklore.
• A “type” of story or character
we recognize and see used
over and over in different stories.
Examples of character archetypes
• The hero
– The elite skills “kick butt and show no mercy” type
– The common man/woman caught in extraordinary
circumstances that compel him/her to become a
hero
• The perfect mother/ bad mother
• The abusive father/ perfect father
• The underdog
• The wise old man (often who adopts a protégé)
• The "eternal boy" (guy who won’t grow up)
• The “fallen woman” with a heart of gold
• The artist-scientist
• The kid genius
Stock Characters
•Generic or
epitomized
archetypes used
in literature/film
Stock Characters - Heroes
• The Honest Thief
• The Chosen One
• The Lovable Rogue • The Orphaned Hero
• The Outlaw
• The Haunted Hero
• The Humbled Hero • The Born Loser/The
Fall Guy
• The Nerd
• The Competent Man
• The Prodigy
or Adventuress
• The Whiz kid
• The Everyman
• The Repentant
• The Contender
Traitor
• The Loose cannon,
• The Rookie
or Cop on the Edge
• The Bad Boy
• The Wise Old Man
Examples of STOCK PLOTS
• A downtrodden individual finds a mentor who
helps him straighten out his life. Both mentor
and downtrodden individual grow from the
experience.
• Boy and girl hate each other. Boy and girl are
thrown into circumstances that require them to
work together to overcome obstacle. Boy and
girl grow to respect one another. Boy and girl
fall in love and live “happily ever after.”
• Common man’s family faces a hardship or
injustice. Common man must fight an unfair
“system” to get what they need and gains
respect from others.
Coming of Age Story
• Stock plot (archetypal pattern of action)
• Usually includes a journey motif
• Generally recounts one incident or a
closely related series of incidents that
cause an adolescent to gain a new
level of maturity.
• Adolescent begins to move
emotionally, socially, and cognitively
from childhood into adulthood.
From http://www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CLit/study_criticism.htm
Archetypal Criticism
Archetypal criticism depends heavily on symbols and patterns operating on a universal scale.
It is based on Carl Gustav Jung’s (1875-1961) psychological theory. Jung believed in a
collective unconscious that lay deep within all of us and contained the “cumulative
knowledge, experiences, and images of the entire human race” (Bressler, 1994, p. 92).
Jung identified certain archetypes, which are simply repeated patterns and images of
human experience found in literature, such as the changing seasons; the cycle of birth, death,
rebirth; the hero and the heroic quest; the beautiful temptress.
The basis of archetypal criticism is that all literature consists of variations on a great
mythic cycle within the following pattern:
1. The hero begins life in a paradise (such as a garden)
2. The hero is displaced from paradise (alienation)
3. The hero endures time of trial and tribulation, usually a wandering (a journey)
4. The hero achieves self-discovery as a result of the struggles on that journey
5. The hero returns to paradise (either the original or a new and improved one)
The journey motif is very common in children’s stories and usually takes one of the two forms:
1. The linear journey: The hero moves away from home, encounters adventures, and finds a
new home better than the first.
2. The circular journey: The hero moves away from home, encounters adventures, and
returns home a better person.
Strength: It allows us to see the larger patterns of literature
Limitation: It tends to ignore the individual contributions of the author and the specific cultural
and societal influences.
Archetypes
• Archetypes, according to Jung, are "primordial images";
the "psychic residue" of repeated types of experience in
the lives of very ancient ancestors which are inherited in
the "collective unconscious" of the human race and are
expressed in myths, religion, dreams, and private
fantasies, as well as in the works of literature (Abrams,
p. 10, 112). Some common examples of archetypes
include water, sun, moon, colors, circles, the Great
Mother, Wise Old Man, etc. In terms of archetypal
criticism, the color white might be associated with
innocence or could signify death or the supernatural.