Archetype English 4
The Ritual The actual ceremonies the Initiate experiences that will mark his rite of passage into another state. A clear sign of the character's role in his society
A prince becomes a king after the crowning ceremony; a Christian is "saved" after he is baptized or a wedding - a person goes from being unmarried to married.
The Initiates The Initiates are young heroes or heroines who must go through some training and ceremony before undertaking their quest.
All the high schoolers in Friday Night Lights (they learn, grow, and mature throughout the series)
The Hero The Hero is a protagonist whose life is a series of well- marked adventures. The circumstances of his birth are unusual, and he is raised by a guardian. He will have to leave his kingdom, only to return to it upon reaching manhood. Characterized by courage, strength, and honor, the hero will endure hardship, even risk his life for the good of all. Leaves the familiar to enter an unfamiliar and challenging world.
Bailey in A Dog's Purpose or Katniss in the Hunger Games
Haven vs. Wilderness Places of safety contrast sharply against a dangerous wilderness. Heroes are often sheltered for a time to regain health and resources
Bailey in the movie a dogs way home she went thought different places, peoples houses and many other places to regain her strength to get back with her family
The Evil Figure with Ultimately Good Heart A devil figure with the potential to be good. This person is usually saved by the love of the hero.
Beauty and the Beast- Beast never thought he would find true love, everyone thought he was mean and evil until he met Bella and fell in love and turned him back into a prince
Death and Rebirth The most common of all situational archetypes, this motif grows out of a parallel between the cycle of nature and the cycle of life. Thus morning and springtime represent birth, youth, or rebirth, while evening and winter suggest old age or death.
Bella becoming a vampire in the Twilight series; The reincarnation in A Dog's Purpose
Heaven vs. Hell Man has traditionally associated parts of the universe not accessible to him with the dwelling places of the primordial forces that govern his world. The skies and mountaintops house his gods, the bowels of the earth contain diabolic forces.
Bruce almighty- The black man becomes God and the white guy has to take charge while the balck man basically has to do what is right in God's eyes
Colors Red: blood, sacrifice, passion, disorder Green: growth, hope, fertility Blue: highly positive, security, tranquility, spiritual purity Black: darkness, chaos, mystery, the unknown, death, wisdom, evil, melancholy White: light, purity, innocence, timelessness (negatives: death, horror, supernatural) Yellow: enlightenment, wisdom
Charlie and Chocolate factory
The Castle A strong place of safety which holds treasure or princess, may be enchanted or bewitched
Cinderella finds her Prince in the castle.
The Task The nearly superhuman feat(s) the Hero must perform in order to accomplish his quest.
Fantastic 4- each person has a special power, either can stretch or be invisible, or run fast, or to be on fire they must perform there power to complete the task
The Quest What the Hero must accomplish in order to bring fertility back to the wasteland, usually a search for some talisman, which will restore peace, order, and normalcy to a troubled land
Finding Nemo: Nemo's dad (and Dory) must find Nemo
The Shadow A worthy opponent with whom the hero must struggle in a fight to the end. Must be destroyed or neutralized. Psychologically can represent the darker side of the hero's own psyche.
Frodo and Sam must overcome their inner dark side being created by their possession of the Ring
Loyal Retainers The Retainer's duty is to reflect the nobility and power of the hero.
Frodo, contrasted the true hero, Sam
White Goddess Good, beautiful maiden, usually blond, may make an ideal marriage partner; often has religious or intellectual overtones.
Glinda, the good witch of the North
The Threshold Guardian Tests the hero's courage and worthiness to begin the journey
Hydra, First monster Hercules defeats
The Threshold Gateway to a new world which the hero must enter to change and grow
I Am Legend, his apartment in the city.
Light vs. Darkness Light usually suggests hope, renewal, or intellectual illumination; darkness implies the unknown, ignorance, or despair.
I can only imagine- the dad was in a dark place he was an acoholic he didn't believe in god at the time. but close to his death he realized how getting save meant he would go to heaven
Hunting Group of Companions These are loyal companions willing to face hardship and ordeal in order to stay together.
In Lord of the Rings, the entire traveling group. Including Frodo, Samwise, Merry, Aragorn, Gimly, and Legolas
Innate Wisdom vs. Educated Stupidity Some characters exhibit wisdom and understanding of situations instinctively as opposed to those supposedly in charge. Loyal retainers often exhibit this wisdom as they accompany the hero on the journey.
In the TV show New amsterdam the head doctor thinks she knows best and what is best for the patient and wont let the other doctor help when she knows she right and locks her out of the room.
The Tower A strong place of evil, represents the isolation of self
In the Wizard of Oz, the wicked witch lives in the tower.
The Crossroads A place or time of decision when a realization is made and change or penance results
It's a Wonderful Life.
The Scapegoat An animal, or more usually a human, whose death in a public ceremony expiates some taint or sin of a community. They are often more powerful in death than in life.
Johnny Cade in The Outsiders
Damsel in Distress A vulnerable woman who needs to be rescued by the hero. She is often used as a trap to ensnare the unsuspecting hero.
Meg, trapped by Hades
The Earth Mother Symbolic of fruition, abundance, and fertility, this character traditionally offers spiritual and emotional nourishment to those with whom she comes in contact. Often depicted in earth colors, has large breasts and hips symbolic of her childbearing capacities.
Mother Willow, in Pocahontas
The Platonic Ideal A woman who is a source of inspiration to the hero, who has an intellectual rather than physical attraction to her
Neytiri, Jake's attraction in Avatar
The Journey The journey sends the Hero in search of some truth that will help save his kingdom.
Nim's Island- Nim's dad ends up getting in a bad ship wreck, and then tried to fix it, and then there were sharks, and he didn't have the resources and tools to fix the ship but his journey didn't stop him. he got home safely with Nim
The Fall The descent from a higher to a lower state of being usually as a punishment for transgression. It also involves the loss of innocence.
Rainsford in The Most Dangerous Game falling from Hunter to Hunted
The Underworld A place of death or metaphorically an encounter with the dark side of the self. Entering an underworld is a form of facing a fear of death.
Scooge is visited by death in A Christmas Carol.
The Unhealable Wound Either a physical or psychological wound that cannot be fully healed. The wound symbolizes a loss of innocence.
Soul Surfer- Bethany Hamilton lost her arm in a shark attack
Battle between Good and Evil Obviously, a battle between two primal forces. Mankind shows eternal optimism in the continual portrayal of good triumphing over evil despite great odds.
Star wars- the good side vs the bad side
The Temptress or Black Goddess Characterized by sensuous beauty, this woman is one to whom the protagonist is physically attracted and who ultimately brings about his downfall. May appear as a witch or vampire
Tangled - The lady who stole Rapunzel just wanted her hair all for herself so she could stay young. But if you cut her hair the magical powers went away. Rapunzel was kidnapped for 18 years
Water vs. Desert Because Water is necessary to life and growth, it commonly appears as a birth symbol, as baptism symbolizes a spiritual birth. Rain, rivers, oceans, etc. also function the same way. The Desert suggests the opposite.
The 100- when 16 people were in the dessert for 40 days, some people didn't make it. But everyone else were with water
Numbers 3—light, spiritual awareness, unity (holy trinity), male principle 4—associated with the circle, life cycle, four seasons, female principle, earth, nature, elements 7—the most potent of all symbolic numbers signifying the union of three and four, the completion of a cycle, perfect order, perfect number, religious symbol
The 5th wave, each wave symbolizes something different
The Initiation The adolescent comes into his maturity with new awareness and problems.
The Dogs in A Dog's Journey go through this as he/she learns to adapt to his environments, learns tricks and how to be a "good dog," and trains to find and save.
Mentor The Mentor is an older, wiser teacher to the initiates. He often serves as a father or mother figure. He gives the hero gifts (weapons, food, magic, information), serves as a role model or as hero's conscience.
The Giver- The Giver is an old man who is the sole keeper of the community's memories, Jonas discovers the dangerous truths of his community's secret past, and he becomes the new giver.
The Outcast A character banished from a social group for some real or imagined crime against his fellow man, usually destined to wander form place to place.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Supernatural Intervention Spiritual beings intervene on the side of the hero or sometimes against him.
The cabin- they use people that retain as God, and Jesus. Which made the dad become more of a christian after something terrible happen
The Maze A puzzling dilemma or great uncertainty, search for the dangerous monster inside of oneself, or a journey into the heart of darkness
The maze runner- is a puzzle where so many teens are on land and every so often the doors will open up for the maze, but there are monsters and if you get stung then you die. If the doors closed before you get out of the maze you still die.
The Magic Weapon The weapon the hero needs in order to complete his quest.
The movie Thor, he needs his hammer to complete his quest or journey
Star-Crossed Lovers Two characters engaged in a love affair fated to end tragically for one or both due to the disapproval of society, friends, family, or some tragic situation.
The movie/book- "Everything everything" Madeline as a low immune system and gets sick everytime she goes outside because her mother kept her inside for 17 years ever since the dad and the brother passed away in a car accident. Olly is the guy next door and Maddy likes him but her mother disapproves because they are scared she will get sick.
Mentor - Pupil Relationship In this relationship, the Mentor teaches the Hero/pupil the necessary skills for surviving the quest.
The old man taught Jonas how to deal with the memories
The Whirlpool Symbolizes the destructive power of nature or fate.
The wizard of oz, the tornado is what created this disater in the first place
The Devil Figure This character is evil incarnate.
Todd in A Dog's Purpose or President Snow in The Hunger Games
Friendly Beast An animal companion showing that nature is on the side of the hero
Toothless from How To Train A Dragon
Nature vs. Mechanistic World Nature is good while technology is evil.
Transformers- the evil cars try to take over the world
Young Man from the Provinces The Hero returns to his home and heritage where he is a stranger who can see new problems and new solutions
When Miley in the Hannah Montana movie visits her Family ranch in Tennessee.
The Unfaithful Wife A woman married to a man she sees as dull or distant and is attracted to more virile or interesting men.
Wife of the dentist in the Whole 9 Yards
Father - Son Conflict In this relationship, the tension is built due to separation from childhood or some other source when the two meet as men.
Zeus and Hercules never met because Hercules was taken as a baby
Fog Symbolizes uncertainty.
catching fire, when they were in the woods and the fog came they didn't know if it touched them they would get these big bilisters on their body
The Creature of Nightmare A monster usually summoned from the deepest, darkest part of the human psyche to threaten the lives of the hero/heroine. Often it is a perversion or desecration of the human body.
the creepy, faceless thing in Stranger Things
Fire and Ice Fire represents knowledge, light, life, and rebirth, while ice, like the desert, represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, and death.
the movie frozen the ice repersents Elsa's powers and how is freezes everyhthing and almost freezes her sister