What are some archetypes (e.g. common
character types)of fantasy fiction?
Archetypes are universal understanding symbols which are often used in myths and storytelling and they refer to generic version of personality. In fantasy fiction, distinctive archetype can attract readers' attention. Majority of fantasy fictions have their own views of the world which readers cannot grasp the essence of it. Fantasy world is a new world which is an imagination world in people’s mind. When we read it, we can give full scope to our imagination because anything is possible in fantasy world. It is a magical world which is not constrained by the real world.
Most characters in Fantasy fiction are imaginary. Majority of fantasy have something in common in archetype, like some of characters may have supernatural ability- two people painlessly exchanging heads, a tree reaching out to grab passers-by. There are a few particularly notable recurring archetypal.
The wise old man or Sage: for example, Gandalf who is in the lord of the rings. Merlin which is the magician of the King Arthur. Albus Dumbledore who is the president of Hogwarts School.
The devil: for example, lord voldemort who is in the harry potter.white witch who is in The chronicles of Narnia. Mrs. Coulter in the film The Golden Compass.
The mentor: for example, the lion in the film The Chronicles of Narnia. Lila’s uncle in the film The Golden Compass.
The Mysterious creatures: half man half beast, dancing tree in the film The Chronicles of Narnia. Hobgoblins, ghost, fairy of little house, dragon, mermaid in the film the harry potter. Daemon, Iorek Byrnison which is bear in the film The Golden Compass.
Also
we can see the variety characters in the movie. Which is Hero, martyr, great
mother, wise old woman/man, damsel in distress, trickster, Satan, scarecrow and
warrior.
Reference
The Chronicles of Narnia vs Harry potter vs The Golden Compass (2008). Retrieved from http://blog.naver.com/mytears4u?Redirect=Log&logNo=60051289136
Reference
The Chronicles of Narnia vs Harry potter vs The Golden Compass (2008). Retrieved from http://blog.naver.com/mytears4u?Redirect=Log&logNo=60051289136
A good general account of archetypes here (the Devil is usually called the Shadow archetype) but you do not apply that understanding to the texts on the course! Who are the mentors in Earthsea? and who or what is the shadow? Please try to answer!
ReplyDeleteAnd...where are the comments from your friends?
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DeleteLike other archetypes such as 'mother', 'child', 'animal' and 'hero' in fantasy novels, I think the 'mentor archetype' is one of the most common elements in the genre. Also, those mentor characters play a very significant role in stories. Without their advices, counsels and wise guidance that teach protagonists a lesson (make them realise things) stories would be less interesting. In Earthsea, the mentor is Aihal (Ogion the Silent). In the story, for example, Ogion did not only train, teach Ged magical skills but also counseled him to confront the shadow rather than fleeing from it. I wonder where Ged would be without Ogion. To sum up, I think this mentor archetype is a device for making story interesting and flow well.
ReplyDeleteSecondly I found out that the shadow represents the arrogance and ignorance of Ged himself, thus the dark part of himself, his materialised evil.
I think the other main archetype is ‘friend archetypes’. Normally, the main character in fantasy fiction is teenager and there are friends who help main character keep going straight and encourage main character when it experiences in frustrations and disappointments. Also, sometime ‘friend archetypes’ plays a significant role as much as the main character does. They have an individual problem and story in the noble such as ‘The chronicles of Narnia’ ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The lord of the rings’.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I think ‘the friend archetypes’ always stay near by the main character in the novel so ‘friend archetypes’ is one of influential and key characters.