Transcript Document 7298304

Archetypes and Heroes:
An Introduction
Feraco
Myth to Science Fiction
14 September 2009
Ar·che·type (n)
 1 : the original pattern or model of which
all things of the same type are
representations or copies : prototype;
also : a perfect example
 2 : an inherited idea or mode of thought
in the psychology of C. G. Jung that is
derived from the experience of the race
and is present in the unconscious of the
individual
Locating the Treasure
 If I ask you about archetypes, look at:
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Images
Themes/Ideas
Symbols
Character Types
Plot Patterns
 You can find them in:
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Myths/Folklore/Fantasies
Literature
Dreams
Religion
Seven Stories (Booker and Haig)
 Tragedy
 Hero with a fatal flaw meets tragic end (Macbeth)
 Comedy
 Not necessary laugh-out-loud, but always with a happy ending,
typically of romantic fulfillment (Jane Austen)
 Overcoming the Monster
 Its psychological appeal is obvious and eternal (“Jaws”)
 Voyage and Return
 The archetypal structure of personal development through
leaving, then returning home (The Odyssey, Alice in
Wonderland)
 Quest
 It is the plot that links a lot of the most popular fiction ( The
Lord of the Rings)
 Rags to Riches
 The riches in question can be literal or metaphoric (Cinderella)
 Rebirth
 A central character suddenly finds a new reason for living (A
Christmas Carol)
Haig’s View
Every story has been told...Authors are, if you
excuse the analogy, like fashion designers dressing and
re-dressing a body that will always have two arms and
two legs and a head.
Shakespeare, for instance, never bothered himself
with inventing plots. The story of Hamlet had already
been told several times before. Same with King Lear
and Macbeth and every other Shakespeare work you
can think of.
That does not mean a novel or a play or a film can't
be truly original. Of course it can. It's just originality
doesn't come through plot. It comes from style and
voice and the imagination that brings language and
characters and settings to life.
Personally, I don't get too bothered about whether
or not a plot is considered 'original' or 'unoriginal'. All
stories are, to some degree, cover versions. It's how you
carry these universal plots into the present age that's
the challenge for every writer.
Jung’s Archetypal Studies
 Recognized that there were universal patterns
in all stories and mythologies, regardless of
culture or historical period
 Hypothesized that part of the human mind
contained a collective unconscious shared by all
members of the human species – a sort of
universal, primal memory
 Jung gave rise to Joseph Campbell, whose A
Hero With a Thousand Faces refined the
original hypotheses, highlighted the patterns
we either respond to or seek out (even
unconsciously), and helped define the concept
of heroism in the modern age
Heroic Archetypes – Twelve to Know
 Hero as Warrior
 A god-like or impressive individual faces
physical challenges and external enemies
 Hero as Lover
 A pure love motivates the individual to
complete the quest
 Hero as Scapegoat/Martyr
 Hero suffers for the sake of others
 Transcendent Hero
 Common to tragedy; a fatal flaw brings about
his/her downfall, but not before he/she
reaches a transforming realization (wisdom)
Heroic Archetypes – Twelve to Know
 Romantic/Gothic Hero
 Hero with a decidedly darker side
 Proto-Feminist Hero
 Self-explanatory
 Apocalyptic Hero
 Faces either the end of society or the end of
the world
 Anti-hero
 Typically prone to failure, blindness, or
alienation; sometimes humorous
Heroic Archetypes – Twelve to Know
 Defiant Anti-Hero
 Opposes societal values, particularly concepts of
heroism/goodness/virtue
 Unbalanced Hero
 Protagonist who has (or pretends to have) mental or
emotional deficiencies
 The Denied Hero/The Other
 A protagonist whose status as an outsider makes
heroic action possible
 The Superhero
 Exaggerates the normal possibilities of man;
frequently of divine or supernatural origin; someone
who does not quite belong, yet is needed by society