Archetypes In Rambo

Abstract: William Golding won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1983, for his first writing Lord of the Flies, in which symbolism is wildly used and attributes lots of symbolic meanings to the characters and events. The story thus becomes vivid and profound.

Do you like animated films? Well, Finding Nemo is the ninth most grossed animated film of all time. Finding Nemo accomplishes this by being a light hearted, adventure, comedy. Finding Nemo was an adventure and comedy film, that taught the world the importance of teamwork, collaboration, and cooperation in everyday life. Archetypes are used in many films, movies, and/or books to help both enhance and advance the audience’s understanding of the story, whether it be through character, symbolic, or situational archetypes.

Throughout the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou, classic storytelling through archetypes is reworked into a more modern time in order to create the unique gem that it is. Archetypes are a general persona of a character that is repeated many times through films and literature, they define the character and give meaning to their roles. Archetypes have been used ever since stories were made, from the Odyssey to even Percy Jackson. Archetypes tend to set the stage for the story, and get revealed throughout the story adding more life and energy to it. Three examples of archetypes expressed very well through characters in the movie are the hero, the alter ego, and the temptress.

In the The Lord of the Flies they're are many different characters that embodys various types of archetypes, one of those is Simon as the "Christ" figure. In the book Simon is portrayed like Christ because he is a very kind, compassionate, and peaceful person. He is also shown as a provider of food for example he provided fruit where in this case Christ provided bread. Around the end of the book simon is seen as a prophet just like Christ, he starts to apprehend who this beastie on the island truly is. When Simon tries to tell the boys on the island what he thought he was killed but in reality he was just an innocent boy, just like Christ was you can say "crucified".

Christians often use the teachings of Jesus Christ as source of guidance. In the 20th century dystopian novels Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, the authors use archetypes in reference to the protagonists and their societies, to warn against the dangers of self indulgence.

In our society, people are often cruel to one another in the want for personal gain, but this is restrained to mere social interactions and online in our industrial world. However, when we are separated from civilized society and the pressures that it places upon us, we are quick to turn to savage, cruel behavior to survive. Golding understood this idea, that we are only civilized when others are watching, and showed the possibility for even the purest to become affected by societal pressures in his novel, the Lord of the Flies. In order to show the role of cruelty in shaping the novel Lord of the Flies, Golding uses character archetypes, the idea of cosmic irony, and extended symbolism to highlight the inherent flaws of human nature and the potential for even the purest individuals to turn to cruel ways due to societal pressures.

In Cold Blood is full of archetypes that all contribute to in developing multiple themes, and emphasizing the overarching theme of the criminality of Dick and Perry. Although this is a “nonfiction novel” characters, settings and plots all fit well-known archetypes that are also seen in countless other works, most of which are connected with the Bible and are aided by the use of multiple motifs.

The science fiction cinematic piece Gattaca by Andrew Niccol was released in 1997. It addresses the moral and ethical concepts regarding genetic engineering and the social order strives in the pursuit of biological perfection. The idea of perfection and genetic engineering is portrayed with a dystopian world were genetic discrimination is the foundation for society that takes place in “the not so distant future”. To address these ideas Niccol, uses archetypal characters such as Vincent as the underdog and Eugene as the supporting character to convey the psychological challenges and boundaries that have an effect on how the characters live their lives and interact within the world they live in. The films idea of genetic engineering causes the viewer to consider the ethicality of such technology and how its superiority can result in a world were individuals are bound by social restrictions and discrimination due to the presence of a scientifically engineered race of human beings.

Fifth Business by Robertson Davies explores the theme of Psychology through several characters. Each character has a certain archetype which will affect how they think, showing different psychological effects. Specifically, the archetypes mentioned are the introverted, the confidant, the egotist, and the saint. These four archetypes correlate to being the side character, the secret keeper, the self-absorbed brat, or the painfully charitable woman respectively. Davies attempts to explore the relation between an archetype and the psychology behind it.

The word “use” is often thought of as negative when referring to friends, family and acquaintances. Yet, it is only by using one another to advance and improve, that humankind will progress. The well written novel, Fifth Business, touches on the topic of using those around to achieve a better self. Robertson Davies makes an effort to use archetypes with the purpose of highlighting humans constantly use the people around them to discover themselves. In the novel it is with the use of the archetypal characters Mary Dempster, Mrs. Ramsey and Boy Staunton; which Dustan, the main character and narrator, found out more about himself and who he he is and who he wants to be.

Ta-Nehisi Coates had one clear purpose in writing this novel, Between the World and Me: to teach his son what it means to be a black man. He shows him the fear that young black men feel, the history of slavery and black oppression, as well as his own personal experiences with being influenced by Malcolm X. He also shares with him the joy he feels about getting an education and learning of more ways to be black. He also shared with him the story of Prince Jones’ murder and how his mother’s pride in her son after his death was so important. In this novel, Coates uses the archetype of the journey and the teacher to further his message and bring life to his work.

In order to fully ascertain the gravity of negative archetypes, it is important to explore a common one. Donald Bogle is a film historian and lecturer at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Bogle has authored a book entitled Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, and Bucks: An Interpretive History of Blacks, in which he outlines a few of cinemas most infamous black architypes. The one most salient this this essay is that of brutal black buck. Bogle divides the brutal black buck into two subcategories: “black bucks” and “black brutes.”

George Lucas’ Star Wars “A New Hope” is an award winning film that graced the silver screen in 1977. Star Wars: A New Hope (New Hope) conforms to Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey. “George Lucas was an avid admirer of Joseph Campbell’s writings, and used them as a direct reference in his creation of Star Wars.” There is also a great deal of the Jungian framework that presents itself in a New Hope. A good number of archetypes are present in the film.

2. Looking at the candle before me, it was hard to imagine that it was made from the tallow of a sheep.

Once there was a woman who told a story. However, she had more than just an entertaining tale to tell. She chose common images that everyone would understand, and she wrapped her story around them, and in this way she was able to teach the people . . .