Summary: The passage that was assigned focused on the archetypes of characters in fairy tales, myths, and stories in general. There are eight archetypes that occur most frequently in stories. Those eight archetypes are a hero, mentor, threshold guardian, herald, shapeshifter, shadow, ally, and trickster. The hero has a psychological function which Freud called the ego. The hero also goes through dramatic functions such as audience identification, allowing the audience to identify with the hero. The hero is considered a hero because he undergoes growth, either between a hero and a mentor, a hero and a lover, or even between a hero and a villain. A hero should be fully active, and in control of his own fate. He hero is responsible for performing the decisive action of the story, the action that requires taking the most risks. A hero cannot be a hero if he is not willing to sacrifice his own well-being for the well-being of others. Every hero has to come close to death and in some cases actually die. The hero’s flaws are a starting point of imperfection or incompleteness from which a character can grow. Heroes can be unwilling or willing. Also you can have an anti-hero, which is a special kind of hero, one who can be an outlaw or villain from the point of view of society, but with whom the audience is basically in sympathy. There are also loner and group heroes. The former who is alone to start with then who travels into a group’s normal turf then he returns to isolation. The latter starts within a group, who then travels out to be alone and who sometimes returns to their starting place. The reading also talks about what role a mentor plays throughout the story. A mentor can be an old mad or an old woman. The mentor gives the hero tools and powers he needs to succeed throughout his journey. The mentor also motivates the hero, and there are dark mentors who block the hero’s path of continuing their journey.
Reaction-While I was reading this section I found many things to be interesting. I was a little confused as to how a mentor can be a dark mentor. I always think of a mentor as a person who guides, motivates and helps a hero. I also found it interesting that the word mentor comes from The Odyssey. As for heroes I thought that a catalyst hero is more like a mentor, at least in the case of Beverly Hills Cop. I think that if a person doesn’t understand and undergo change in their selves that they are more of mentors then heroes. I think that if a character has no flaws then they have nothing to change, which eliminates two of the keys elements in being a hero. Also the fact that a hero can be unwilling confuses me. If a hero is unwilling then they don’t have the passion or desire to complete the journey. I think at first a hero might be unwilling but as time progresses and they change they become more willing.
Reflection- Looking back on movies and stories a have seen or read I understand that even the littlest points of a story make the story. If you were to change who the mentor or hero was as a person or how the identified with the audience the whole story could turn out differently. Every element of a story has to be fulfilled in order to allow the story to flow smoothly and entertain the audience. The fact that the reading for Wednesday’s class didn’t have many of the elements made that story just as interesting. The story needs to have either all the elements of none of the elements any story in between just wouldn’t be complete. Every character needs to take on many different archetypes, which allow the character to relate to the audience. Not just the hero needs to relate to the audience, if only the hero relates to the audience the audience will not be able to identify with the story as a whole.
Questions-
1.Can a group-oriented hero ever remain or turn into a loner hero if they don’t return to their home?
2. Does the type of hero determine the type or mentor and vice versa?
3. If a hero is supposed to possess multiple archetypes, can he ever turn evil and not complete his takes and in fact make the world worse?
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