IM - The Archetype Lesson

The Archetype Lesson

Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell are well-known names in the mythological arena. When studying these two, the word "archetype" is bound to surface. Let us take a look at how these three are connected.

Carl Jung

Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who lived from 1875-1961.
He studied the conscious and unconscious mind and how this affects our lives as a whole.
His work can be connected loosely to Sigmund Freud, another well-known psychiatrist of the time period.
He worked some in analyzing dreams and, unlike Freud, thought humans were prone to be religious.
Through his studies, he defined archetype and connected this to psychology studies.

Joseph Campbell

Campbell was an American, who studied myth and religion.
He lived from 1904-1987.
He is most famous for his work with the monomyth, or hero's journey.
The monomyth is a story form that is found in many myths and legends around the world.
He believed that we could all be connected by this monomyth and the desire to explain our origin, culture, and consciousness.

The Archetype

Carl Jung found archetypal behaviors in humans across the board. Campbell took these archetypal behaviors and expanded them into characters, found in many stories across the world. They are intertwined into mythology to create the archetype as we know it today. The basis of the archetype is a behavior or character upon which others are based. So, according to Jung, our behavior can be traced back to those archetypal behaviors. According to Campbell, characters found in many stories, can be traced back to original archetypes and archetypal behaviors.

The Hero's Journey Cycle

View the following presentations for a continued look at the explanation of archetypes. Taking notes on the following presentations is suggested.

Freud and Jung Presentation

Archetypes Presentation

In order to better understand how the monomyth and the hero's journey work in literature and film, think about the movie, Star Wars. George Lucas openly admits to having followed Joseph Campbell's road map for the hero's journey when creating this legendary film. There are many websites that point on the stages of Luke Skywalker's journey in comparison to our archetypal hero. You can do a general internet search to find some other examples of the monomyth.

Activity

Stages of the Hero's Journey

Step	Explanation
Birth	Fabulous circumstances surrounding conception, birth, and childhood establish the hero's pedigree, and often constitute their own monomyth cycle.
Call to Adventure	The hero is called to adventure by some external event or messenger. The Hero may accept the call willingly or reluctantly.
Helpers/Amulet	During the early stages of the journey, the hero will often receive aid from a protective figure. This supernatural helper can take a wide variety of forms, such as a wizard, and old man, a dwarf, a crone, or a fairy godmother. The helper commonly gives the hero a protective amulet or weapon for the journey.
Crossing the Threshold	Upon reaching the threshold of adventure, the hero must undergo some sort of ordeal in order to pass from the everyday world into the world of adventure. This trial may be as painless as entering a dark cave or as violent as being swallowed up by a whale. The important feature is the contrast between the familiar world of light and the dark, unknown world of adventure.
Tests	The hero travels through the dream-like world of adventure where he must undergo a series of tests. These trials are often violent encounters with monsters, sorcerers, warriors, or forces of nature. Each successful test further proves the hero's ability and advances the journey toward its climax.
Helpers	The hero is often accompanied on the journey by a helper who assists in the series of tests and generally serves as a loyal companion. Alternately, the hero may encounter a supernatural helper in the world of adventure who fulfills this function.
Climax/The Final Battle	This is the critical moment in the hero's journey in which there is often a final battle with a monster, wizard, or warrior which facilitates the particular resolution of the adventure.
Flight	After accomplishing the mission, the hero must return to the threshold of adventure and prepare for a return to the everyday world. If the hero has angered the opposing forces by stealing the elixir or killing a powerful monster, the return may take the form of a hasty flight. If the hero has been given the elixir freely, the flight may be a benign stage of the journey.
Return	The hero again crosses the threshold of adventure and returns to the everyday world of daylight. The return usually takes the form of an awakening, rebirth, resurrection, or a simple emergence from a cave or forest. Sometimes the hero is pulled out of the adventure world by a force from the daylight world.
Elixir	The object, knowledge, or blessing that the hero acquired during the adventure is now put to use in the everyday world. Often it has a restorative or healing function, but it also serves to define the hero's role in the society.
Home	The hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.

Stages of a Hero Review

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