Symbols and Archetypes
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Transcript of Symbols and Archetypes
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(Universal Symbols)
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something that means more than what it is object, person, situation, or action that in addition to its
literal meaning suggests other meanings as well
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Zero
the indivisible unit Buddhist void
symbolic of the eternal cycle
One
Unity individual importance
the sun = # 1 as a symbol of life and wholeness.
Two
duality; separation; conflict
dichotomy of sun and moon
male and female
life and death
good vs. evil
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Three
unity of the trinity three fates, spinning the threads
birth/childhood old age/death Christian theology: Holy TrinityFatherSon--Holy Ghost
Four
order and symmetry
fourcardinal points:fourelements : air, water, earth, & fire
four quarters of the moon =
birth, development, maturity, & death
middle age
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Five
man: (like da Vincis Vitruvian Man) the human microcosm or natural man equals
two arms, two legs, and a head
five fingers, toes, and senses
Six
harmony; balance (two 3s)
love, beauty, romance, harmony, balance between male and female
principles
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Seven: entirety (7 Deadly Sins)
Biblical creation 7visible planets (before the discovery of
Uranus, Neptune, and the now-non-planet-Pluto)
In alchemy, each of the 7 planets = a metal:
sun = gold
moon = silver
Mercury = quicksilver
Venus = copper
Mars = iron
Jupiter = tin
Saturn = lead
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Eight
universal order (two 4s) an infinity symbol
worlds of the conscious, unconscious, & the loop
which flows back & forth between them
8 spokes of the ancient wheel held the center andouter rim together
Christian baptismal fonts octagonal
8 = rebirth through baptismin sacred water
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Nine = Harmony
divine perfection (three 3s)
in numerology, 9 = the end of a 9-year cycle
In biology, 9 = 9-month gestation cycle
Dantes Divine Comedy: 9 circles of hell
reflect 9 circles of heaven
The 9 muses of Greek mythology
Ten = spiritual achievement
solidarity among creatures & things linked by the laws ofnature
reappearance of the Monad from zero,indicating the beginning of a new cycle at ahigher level of awareness
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Eleven = a master number:
the eleventh hour time for church
11thsign of the zodiac = Aquarius, thewater bearer
Positively = inventor,
originator, & pioneer
Negatively = conformity to herd,
tribe, or groupPromethean attitude: courage necessary to
go forth as a pioneer
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Twelve = universal fulfillment
four points of the compass
(earth) times the Trinity (heaven)
circle of wholeness: 12 = # of the zodiac
months of the year
original tribes of Israel
gods of Olympia
Thirteen = death
Unlucky (originating with Judas, Jesus, & thetwelve disciples)
13th book of Revelation has as its theme theAnti-Christ
13th card in the tarot deck is Death
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Forty
spiritual order (4 x 10)
often used Biblically
Whitepurity
Grayambiguity
Blueserenity
Reddanger, energy,
passion
Blackevil, death
Purpleroyalty
Greennature; new
life
Yellowhappiness;decay, disease
colors
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Applefertility;
temptation Grapesabundance
Pineapplefertility
Peachmarriage
Cherryimmortality Figfertility
Plumindependence
Poppysleep
Lilypurity Roselove
Daisyinnocence
Cypressdeath
Oakstrength Olivepeace
Palmprotection
Willowforsaken love
Cedarincorruptible Yewresurrection
Pine coneimmortality
Aspenlamentation
Acornpotential
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Dogloyalty Catmalevolence Cowmotherhood Bullfertility Pigunclean; greed Donkeystupidity Ramvirility Sheepblindness; stupidity Snakesatanic Crocodile/Alligatordeath Turtlecarries its world; wise; perseverance FishJesus Seahorsegood luck Whalepower Shellgood luck Conch shellpower of sound Snailrenewal; slowness Cock (Rooster)morning; fire; virility Peacockroyalty Ostrichstupidity Cuckooadultery; spring Dovepeace Swangrace Storkgood luck Spiderlife; fate Butterflychange; rebirth Antindustriousness
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Circle; wheelcycle of life; never-ending
Triangletrinity
Crownroyalty; nobility
Stardivine presence
Sunhappiness; light; masculine
Moonlight in darkness; feminine; cyclical
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Rainlife; just and fair: falls on good & evil alikePlot device: cleanses characters; forces themtogether; restorative precipitation; removes stainsFall into mud = more stained than beforeCloudsmist; concealment;Fogconfusion; miasma; murkyRainbowpeace; harmony; promiseSnow: clean/stark; severe/ warm ; playful/suffocatinginhospitable/invitingSpringbirth; life; : renewal, hope, new awakeningsSummergrowth; ripeningFallmaturity Winterdeath
Elementsearth, air, fire, water
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a recurrent device, image, object, phrase,
word, incident, situation, or action
used to unify a work
Certain motifs occur frequently
repeated in many works e.g.: hero saving the damsel in distress
Leitmotif:
motif specific to a particular work Big Brother in 1984
Phrase Catch 22 from the Joseph Hellernovel of the same name
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an original pattern or model of which all things
of the same type are representations or copies1. Situations:
Initiationan individual understands his/herresponsibility; often a rite of passage into
adulthood (e.g.: Huckleberry Finn, King Arthur)Transcendencesometimes the initiate
undergoes an ordeal and assumes a new role asan adult. (e.g.: Stephen Dedalus in Portrait of the Artist asa Young Man)
Taskan extraordinary feat that must beaccomplished to save the day. (e.g.: Arthur pulls thesword from the stone to become king of England).
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Questthe search for someone or something
needed to save the day (e.g.: the Holy Grail) Journeythe difficulties that the hero must
undergo to accomplish the task, usually involvingtravel (e.g.: The Canterbury Tales, The Odyssey)
Ritualan official ceremony; may be part of theinitiation or rite of passage (e.g.: weddings, graduation)
Fallloss of innocence or afall from grace which oftenincludes expulsion from paradise (e.g.: Adam and Eve)
Deathlike in the cycles of nature, an actual or spiritualdeath, equated with evening and the seasons of fall andwinter
Rebirthagain like nature, renewal, equated with
morning and the seasons of spring and summer
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Communionwhenever characters eat
or drink togetherBreaking bread together = act of sharing and peaceMeal scenes show how characters are/arent getting
alongMeals: show the bonds between characters Failed meal = bad sign Interlopers : cause other characters to lose
their appetite
Meal sharers = loyalty, kinship, generosity
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Flightone of the temptations of Christ
In general, flight = freedom (from specificcircumstances)
Or, = escape (from general burdens tying usdown)
Also, = spirituality In poetry: freedom of birds contrasts
w/earthbound cares & woes of humans
Flight = the soul taking wing (spirits cant rise
when weighed down by guilt)Rebirthagain like nature, renewal,
equated with morning and the seasonsof spring and summer
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Baptismcharacters reborn through medium ofwater; characters whose old identity stays inwater River = shifting nature of time
All things are caught up in the rivers flow(somewhere else now) Literary drowning swept away in flood Near-drowning = baptism: character must be ready to
receive it
Symbolic rebirth: reborn in identity as followerof Christ
Heraclitus: One cannot step into the same rivertwice (500 B.C.)
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Sacred marriagethe joiningoften of
oppositeswhich restores peace (e.g.: Beauty andthe Beast) Battle between good and evilwe want goodto
win (e.g.: cartoons, many movies, Paradise Lost) Natural world opposed to mechanical world
usually nature is good; technology, evil (e.g.: BraveNew W orld, Walden)
Innate wisdom vs. educated stupiditysome
characters, though ignorant, exhibit a naturalwisdom; this is often shown in animals. Others,though educated, have no street smarts andmake poor decisions (e.g.: the teacher in To K ill aMockingbird with her tirade about Hitler and prejudice)
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Unhealable woundmay be physical or
psychological (e.g.: Captain Hooks missing limb)Magic weaponusually bestowed by a mentor
to the hero (e.g.: Excalibur; light sabers in Star Wars) Supernatural interventionthe gods help (or
hurt) the hero (e.g.: The Iliads Trojan War) Light vs. Darklight represents hope and
illumination; dark indicates hopelessness andthe unknown. Light shines from heaven to
indicate goodness; characters
are often drawn into evil
darkness
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Sexuality: Grail Legends: Knights lance (phallic sword)
Holy Grail/Chalice/Empty vessel = femalesexuality
Lance + Chalice = fertility Knights restore fertility
Waves breaking on the beach = fulfillment
Curtains blowing, Campfires, Fireworks
Male symbols: Lances, Swords, Guns, Keys
Female symbols:
Chalices, Grails, Bowls
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Heaven vs. Hellsupreme beings and mythologicalgods live in the skies; evil forces, including Satan,
come from the underworld (e.g.: myths of Persephoneand Orpheus and Eurydice; Paradise Lost) Haven vs. Wildernesshavens are places of
comfort and safety (e.g.: Garden of Eden;
Camelot); wilderness includes any place of danger(e.g.: escaped slaves such as James Pennington had to go into thewilderness before they could reach safety from the UndergroundRailroad) Water vs. Desertwateris a symbol of life and
birth (used in baptism); deserts indicate lack oflife, desolation. (e.g.: Jesus temptation by Satan in thedesert; the Joad family in The Grapes of Wrath must crossthe desert before they get to the Promised Land ofCalifornia and see the river)
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Fire vs. Ice
fire depicts knowledge (technology) and life; ice represents ignorance (ice age) and death
(e.g.: Frankensteins monster begins his life with fire(lightning) and disappears on the ice.
Cavesisolated in barren wastelands Unadorned, strange, uncanny
Connection to our most basic, primitive elements
Platos cave consciousness & perception Security & shelter Nothingness (suggests existentialism)
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Geographical significance:
When writers send characters south, its so theycan run amok
Direct/raw encounters with the subconscious
Lowlands= swamps, crowds, fog,
darkness, fields, heat, life, deathunpleasantness, people
Highlands = snow, ice, purity, thin
air, clear views, isolation, life, death
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Herousually rises from a rather lowly birth to
become a leader or king after facing manytrials (e.g.: King Arthur, Jesus, Beowulf, Harry Potter,Superman)Young Person from the Provincestaken from
home and returns with a new perspective (e.g.:Tarzan, Dorothy from The W izard of Oz ; Alice fromAlice in Wonderland)
Initiatesinnocents who train for the quest
(e.g.: Luke Skywalker; Aragorn from Lord of the Rings)Mentorsteachers or counselors for the
initiates (e.g.: Yoda from Star Wars; Gandolffrom Lord of the Rings)
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Benevolent Guideusually an older person
who gives the hero counsel(e.g.: Merlin, ObiWon Kenobi, fairy godmothers)
Shamanprotector of rituals and traditions(e.g.: Rafiki in The Lion King; witch doctor) Parent-Child Conflictgenerational tension
(e.g: Romeo and Lord Montague;Luke Skywalker andDarth Vader)Companionsloyal to hero at all costs
(e.g.: The Fellowship in the Lord of theRingstrilogy; Robin Hoods merry men) Friendly Beasthelps hero
(e.g.:Chewbacca, Toto)
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Loyal Retainera true and loyal friend, often a
servant (e.g.: Sancho Panza in Don Quixote)Trickstera wise fool, a rascal, troublemaker
(e.g.: Loki in Norse mythology; Jar Jar Blinks in the StarWars series; Touchstone in As You Like It; BrerRabbit)
Devil Figurepurely evil (e.g.: Satan, Sauron fromLord of the Rings; Grendel in Beowulf; Simon Legree inUncle Toms Cabin)
Evil Figure with Ultimately Good Heartredeems himself at the end of the story (e.g.:Darth Vader; Scrooge)
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Evil Figure with Ultimately Good Heart
redeems himself at the end of the story(e.g.: Darth Vader; Scrooge) Scapegoatsacrificed animal or human who
takes on the sins and punishment for others
(e.g.: Jesus, Tom Robinson in To Kill a Mockingbird; JimCasy from The Grapes of Wrath; the mother in ShirleyJacksons The Lottery)
Outcastcharacter banished from society
(e.g.: Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame;Frankensteins monster) Star-crossed Loversfate is against them(e.g.: Romeo and Juliet; Guinevere and Lancelot)
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Earth motherprovides life and nourishment(e.g.: Mother Nature; Mammy in Gone with the Wind)Temptressbeautiful woman who brings the
destruction of the hero (e.g.: Delilah; Helen of Troy) Platonic Idealthe woman on a pedestal who
inspires the hero, but with whom the hero hasno physical relationship (e.g.: ladies of the court inwhose names the knights fought; the Virgin Mary)
Unfaithful Wifea married woman involved in
illicit affair(s) (e.g.: Madame Bovary; Hester Prynne) Damsel in Distressmust be rescued by the hero,
who is often trapped when he comes to her aid
(e.g.: Guinevere)
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Creaturesmonsters who threaten the hero
(e.g.: Grendel in Beowulf; Cyclops; vampires)Fisher Kinghero = fixer Wounded King who keeps Holy Grail in Arthurian Legend,
always wounded in the legs or groin, immovable His kingdom suffers because of his injuries His impotence affects the fertility of the land,
reducing it to a barren Wasteland All he can do is fish in the river near his castle Something in society is brokenWastelands must be restored to fertility Rain figures prominently in fertility myth
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Vampires: selfish, exploitative, refusing
to respect autonomy of others Elements in Vampire Allegories:
Vampires: attractive but evil Old Figure/Vampire: represents corrupt, outworn values
Violates young women
Leaves his mark on them Steals their innocence/their usefulness to younger men
Leaves them helpless followers in their sin
Victim: Young, virginal female: beautiful,unmarried
Vampire strips away virginal females youth,energy, virtue
Continuance of life force of the Old Male comesfrom death/destruction of young woman
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Christ Figures: Any 3-4similarities to thesecharacteristics:
Crucified (hand/foot/side/headwounds) In agony Self-sacrificing Good with children Good with loaves, fishes, water,wine 33 years old Carpenter Humble modes of transportation
(donkey, feet preferable) Walks on water
Portrayed with outstretched arms Spends time alone in the
wilderness Confrontation with Devil/temptedby Satanic force Last seen in the company ofthieves Creator of aphorisms and parables Buried but arose on 3rd day Disciples12 @ 1st (not alldevoted) Very forgiving Arrives to redeem unworthy world Unmarried, preferably celibate Inspires hope/performs miracles
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AP Central. org.
Foster, Thomas C. How to Read Literature Likea Professor. New York: Harper-Collins, 2003.
Google Images.http://images.google.com/images
Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://images.google.com/imageshttp://images.google.com/images