The Role Of Characters In 'The Orenda'

Archetypes are used in literature to symbolize seemingly universal patterns, actions, or characters. “The Bluest Eye”, Toni Morrison’s first novel, presents identifiable societal habitudes present throughout the novel and is evident in many of the characters. The novel depicts the inner workings of various characters that represent contrasting archetypes. Toni Morrison gives backstory to these archetypes, which can change how society regards them by transforming them from two-dimensional characters into ones that the reader can sympathize with. Toni Morrison deconstructs these archetypes by showing that they are all not the same.

A major archetype that was apparent in both stories was the mentioned idea of Good versus Evil. The symbol was represented by the Chantal’s and Carlos’s

This paper aims at using Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung’s collective unconscious and archetypal theories to interpret the archetypes of characters, natural scenes and themes.

Carl Jung, the very first pioneer who discovered human collective unconsciousness, including archetypes, once said, “An archetype is something like an old watercourse along which the water of life flowed for a time, digging a deep channel for itself. The longer it flowed the deeper the channel, and the more likely it is that sooner or later the water will return.” An archetype is the universal patterns and behaviors that represent a typical human experience that is passed down from generations to generations, creating its originality. In “A Separate Peace”, John Knowles uses many archetypes to enrich the personality of his characters, especially Gene and Finny based on common human experiences. By embodying the archetypes of the Fall from Innocence, the Unhealable, and the Crossroads in “A Separate Peace,” John Knowles was successful in establishing the theme for the novel which implies that the guilt which is begotten from one’s deceitful actions would remain as an irrecoverable wound overtime.

In the trilogy Oresteia, the issues concerned are the transformation from vengeance to law, from chaos to peace, from dependence to independence, and from old to new. These four significant changes all take place throughout the play and are somewhat parallel to the transformations that were going on in Ancient Greece.

The main idea of Sawaquat’s essay is the importance of realizing your identity. Growing up in Michigan deprived Sawaquat of his Native American heritage. What little he knew about his Ottawa ancestors was of stereotypes such as when he attended a powwow only to find out that white people were the attendees (paragraph 10). Sawaquat also talks about his time in the army and how in order to fit in with his fellow white soldiers he had to act like them which further diminished his identity (paragraph 7). The final story Sawaquat discusses in his essay is when his neighbor questioned why he did not look like a real Native American and at that point, Sawaquat realized that he was trying too hard to become what others envision a Native American to be and he is the only one who can shape his identity.

With every corner we turn in today’s culture, we become more and more aware of the archetypes that surround us. Archetypes are the works of a typical character, situation, setting, or symbol that can be found in fantasy and reality. An example would be the renowned medieval story Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by Pearl Poet. The author permeates the story with situational, symbolic, and character archetypes that illustrate the profound life of Sir Gawain. Sir Gawain was apprehensive of his journey at first, but as time passes, he began to make choices that unveils to the audience the true flawed knight that he was.

Archetypes are defined as “a typical character, an action or a situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.” (“Archetype”) The short story “On the Rainy River” by Tim O’Brien is about the internal struggle and the journey he faces after he is drafted to serve the army. The classical hero’s journey archetype is similar to Tim O’Brien’s journey in his short story, “On the Rainy River,” with the exception of the arc length and depth of transformation.

“The river’s brown waters would be stained with blood, forever and ever and ever…” (Anaya,17), thinks Antonio after witnessing a retribution murder. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolf Anaya is a story about a boy named Antonio who is torn between his family’s orthodox teachings and the different views of others. An old cuaderna, Ultima, comes to live with the family and Antonio builds a very close and loyal bond with her. He learns to respect and value her advice. Archetypes are universal motifs, characters and plots that appear in literature, movies, oral traditions, myths, etc. Therefore, an archetypical motif is a concept based from a pattern that is reoccurring throughout the story and has a deeper literary meaning. Water is a universal concept that represents cleansing and purity and this is present in Fahrenheit 451 when Guy Montag absconds the

Jung defines archetypes as, “Universal images that have existed since the remotest times. As a figure that repeats itself in the course of history wherever creative fantasy is fully manifested” (Jung, 7). Regarding the idea of archetypes, Northup Frye was a prominent theorist who contributed to the study and progression of archetypes; he applied Jung’s theories about collective unconscious, archetypes, and primal images to literature. Through Frye’s proposition of four mythoi type plots, “He formed a strong basis for four major genres that associated with each season of the year: comedy (spring), romance (summer), tragedy (fall), satire (winter)” (Frye, 45). According to Carl Jung the goal of humanity is to achieve individuation, the goal is to reach a state where the unconscious is known and integrated into the conscious mind. It is collective in nature from our human ancestors, predisposed human ways of perceiving, responding and reacting.

A key to understanding his writing, says author Tom Robbins, is a knowledge of Greek myth. A particular influence on him is the life and work of Joseph Campbell, author of several books on mythology (Hoyser and Stookey 9). Campbell, in turn, owes influence to the insights of analytic psychologist Carl Jung. Jung recognized the patterns within myths --- throughout the world and across all cultures -- of characters, situations, and events, and identified these recurring images as archetypes (Harris and Platzner 40). Campbell

In Sherman Alexie’s novel The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven shows the struggles of daily Native American life, which is shown through the point of view of male character. All though out the book the following three questions appear: ‘What does it mean to live as an Indian in this time? What does it mean to be an Indian man? and What does it mean to live on an Indian reservation?’ Alexie uses literary devices such as point of view, imagery, characterization to make his point that the conflict of being an Indian in the U.S. in these short stories using the following short stories “An Indian Education” and “Amusement”. “An Indian Education” uses both imagery and characterization to show us what the narrator is

Like Maus, Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona also explores themes of othering and alienation; however, whereas Maus depicts a true story of the Holocaust, Nimona instead explores these themes through a fantasy story of heroes, villains, and monsters. In Nimona the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics acts in a way similar to the Nazi government in Maus by splitting people into a binary of virtuous heroes and evil villains, typically based on their person’s physical appearance. For example, the primary antagonist of the novel, Ballister Blackheart, is made into a villain by the Institution when he loses his arm in a rigged jousting tournament, and Nimona is labeled a monster because of her shapeshifting powers. In the world of Nimona, morality and monstrosity are “never an intrinsic qualit[ies],’ but rather ‘narrative[s] imposed on certain appearances or behaviors at particular times in specific social contexts’” (Precup, 3).

       As the tale begins we immediately can sympathize with the repressive plight of the protagonist.  Her romantic imagination is obvious as she describes the "hereditary estate" (Gilman, Wallpaper 170) or the "haunted house" (170) as she would like it to be.  She tells us of her husband, John, who "scoffs" (170) at her romantic sentiments and is "practical to the extreme" (170).  However, in a time

The traditions of storytelling have long been used as a means to impart wisdom and life lessons to others. One of the most effective ways in which this is done is through the use of archetypes. While it is possible to look at these images in a general way, one may also focus an analysis on a single tale. In this way it is possible to explore the particular images used and their significance in a given situation, (often a coming of age rite of