Examples Of Archetypes In All My Sons

The book, “To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by Harper Lee, is a very impactful novel that acutely connects an intricate plot and story to American history itself, specifically the time of the Great Depression, where racial oppression was rather common, and sadly, accepted. This novel dives into the harsh times of the Great Depression and gives readers a rather sufficient understanding of what life was like back then. In this novel, there are a plethora of archetypes, those being symbols, motifs, themes, myths, and characters that have a deep impact on the story’s development.

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.

It is the characters that make a story and they are what convey the feeling needed for the message contained in the story. Any great writing that contains characters provides their full, rounded personalities. These personal descriptions are averaged to form the classification of each person introduced. The “good guys,” the “bad guys” and all the other titles are classifications. In example, there were many types of characters in Elie Wiesel’s “Night.” Among these are the main protagonists, antagonists, and prophetic characters.

He almost made it so that the reader had to infer the characteristics of each character. Once a new character was introduced, the author would include small tidbits about them, but mainly focus on how they reacted to certain events, which allowed the reader to think about the kind of person a specific character is. For example, when James’ mother first talked about her father, she just said what his occupation was and how he treated her. She talked about how he would get sexual pleasure through her and always kick her around like a piece of dirt. Without Mrs. McBride having to saying anything about her father’s character, the reader can already assume that he is a selfish, rude old man who only focuses on what benefits him. Also, when James McBride personally introduces his mother, he gave copious examples of how she always put her children before herself and avoided negative influences. This makes the reader think that she is a kind-hearted, loving woman who wants the best for people who deserve it, especially her children. Therefore, without giving a legitimate introduction of each character, the author is able to hint at their characteristics, while still allowing the reader to have their own personal thoughts of them.

In Of Mice and Men it says “Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly. He pushed himself back, drew up his knees, embraced them, looked over to George to see whether he had it just right. He pulled his hat down a little more over his eyes, the way George's hat was.” (John Steinbeck, 10). Significantly in this text how Lennie is vulnerable and often follows George’ lead. I was reading Of Mice and Men, and realized how this text can contain multiple damsel in distress archetypes. I then started looking at more literary texts and some informational texts. I could tell that the damsel in distress archetype is common in many texts.The fact that mental illness is hinted at in one of the characters

Lennie Small: American Dreamer Archetype Lennie Small is a dreamer with many wishes throughout his life. He is a character from Of Mice and Men and can be seen as an American Dreamer archetype. An American Dreamer archetype is someone who wants to live the best and full life as a citizen of the United States of America. They can be known as a wish maker which Lennie can be known as.

Most if not all books have an example of good vs evil archetype and this book is no exception. In the book Of Mice And Men George and lenny face Curly which is the mean man on the ranch and is looking to start a fight with Lennie. For example on the first day of George and Lennie's arrival Curly tries to start a fight with Lennie because he feels he has to prove himself by picking fights with other people. Unfortunately for Lennie Curley sees that Lennie is a vulnerable target due to his gentle nature and threatens to fight Lennie to prove his power and make himself feel and look big. Like in many other books the good overcomes the evil. An example of this is when Lennie crushes Curley's hand when Curly tries to fight Lennie. In conclusion

During the 1930s, discrimination against African Americans was extremely prominent in southern towns. These towns characterized African Americans using different archetypes despite their actual personality, which widened the gap between the two races. In her book To Kill A Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses the character of Tom Robinson to show how said archetypes against African Americans provides justification for racial mistreatment for white southerners. In the book, Tom Robinson, an African American man, is accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. Atticus, his appointed lawyer, finds many faults in Mayella's case, saying, “ I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have

Niche Identity The series of events, both positive and negative that befall Joe Christmas are arguably due, almost entirely to his inner conflict, battle with his identity and sense of belonging. The life of Joe Christmas was far from desirable, bordering on downright depressing for most of what we see of him. We observe actions taken not only by Joe but those around him having a substantial impact on him, not only in the immediate space of time but also effectively shaping future events. This pattern is something we can observe at all stages of his life with each new one adding to his cumulating experiences which aid in his development and evolution as a character.

Taking the Safe Route: The Path in Literature Archetypes are old symbols that have become so common in stories that readers instantly recognize them when they appear. These symbols show up in many types of literature and help readers identify what role that archetype will play. One of many archetypes seen in works of literature is a path that a character comes across during the plot. This path provides a safe road or choice in the story that helps readers get to their ultimate destination. The path in stories can be a physical road or path, or the path may also be a specific decision of choice that the character must make to influence the outcome of a story.

As the central protagonist of the novel Enduring Love, Joe is evidently an extremely significant character. Not only does the plot revolve around his own experiences, but also the first person narration means that everything is seen from his own perspective and bias. Ian McEwan creates Joe’s character through multiple techniques, resulting in a complex character. For example throughout the novel, the conflict within Joe between his instinctive rationality and his decline in mental stability highlights the intense level of emotional distress created by Jed. This can be seen in the increase of Joe’s rhetorical and short sentences, showing the loss of control and the transformation into an almost stream of consciousness narration.

This explains that Joe is disappointed of the lack of significance in his life. He works harder to become more successful. But as he becomes successful, the hate towards his work increases. Joe gets so caught into work that he precludes a social life. This makes his life so boring.

The most talked about character in the story is Joe Christmas, as he was the first isolated individual to be acknowledged. Joe is considered one of the most debated characters because he does not fit in any culture or society. Joe’s isolation begins back when he stayed at an orphanage until the age of five under of the impression that he was black However, since Joe is neither definitely black or white, people of the town use derogatory words when they address him, and naturally, he retreats into his own world and becomes isolated. The feeling of non-belonging creates a sense of inadequacy and Joe begins to suffer from social remoteness, and this happens with all the other characters that will be outcast as well. Joe Christmas best demonstrates

When he is a young boy, he considers Joe his best friend and is always loyal to him. However, when he becomes wealthy and comes across a great fortune, he becomes embarrassed of Joe. When Biddy confronts him for his unacceptable behavior, he says, “‘Well! Joe is a real good fellow- in fact, I think he is the dearest fellow that ever lived- but he is rather backward in some things.

Joe is holding on to a very bad secret that could kill him if it spread. Ludlow had nowhere to go before he finally got away from his parents, he jump onto the back of a carriage. He was far away enough to get off, it’s the beginning of winter and he has nothing but lucky the carriage had cloves and a scarf, Ludlow threw that on and run for it and made it to an abandoned building. Joe had been going back to his shop and he saw someone under his desk as he walked in the door, grabbing this person by the throat throwing questions at them, Ludlow was terrified.