“It’s an Underlying Meaning Monday!”

AP Literature and CompositionDecember 17, 2012

Mr. Houghteling

AGENDA

• Introduction to Archetype• Colors and Archetypes—

Group Activity

Number your paper 1 to 5. Then, when you see each image, write down words or phrases that express the connotations of that image. Think of the most primal, basic ideas associated with the image. DO NOT DEFINE THE WORD!

Archetypal Image #1

Archetypal Image #2

Archetypal Image #3

Archetypal Image #4

Archetypal Image #5

Archetypal Images

Archetypal ImagesSnake: negative connotations: deceit, corruption, evil. Positive connotation: wisdom.

Fire: power, both destructive and helpful; passion, danger

Yin and yang: balance, cyclical nature of life, duality, good and evil.

Archetypal Images

Sky—masculine, the Sky-FatherSea—feminine, a mother

Mother Earth, “penetrated” by the masculine river

Another way of looking at it…• Consider this curious phenomenon of

animal behavior: • “Newly hatched chickens, some with

bits of egg-shell clinging to their tails, will dart for cover when a hawk flies overhead. When other birds fly overhead, such as robins, gulls, or pigeons, the chicks do nothing.”

Another way of looking at it…(2)

• “Furthermore, if a wooden model of a hawk is drawn along a wire above their coop, the newly hatched chicks will go scurrying.”

• What do you think this anecdote means? Explain your answer.

(5 minutes)

Archetypes

• Archetypes are universal symbols. • These symbols “carry the same or

very similar meanings for a large portion of mankind” (Philip Wheelwright, Metaphor and Reality).

Group Activity• In groups of four, match the words from the

word bank with the COLOR you believe is connoted by the word.

• Discuss your findings with your group and match them up!

• Three words or phrases are repeated: death, truth and blinding truth, and purity and spiritual purity. Only those words may go into two separate categories.

Myth and Archetype

• “The myth critic is concerned to seek out those mysterious elements that inform certain literary works and that elicit, with almost uncanny force, dramatic and universal human reactions” (Campbell, The Masks of God).

Myth and Archetype

• Myth is universal. • Similar motifs or themes may be found

among many different mythologies. • Certain images or associations recur in

the myths of people widely separated in time and place, and these images often have a common meaning or elicit comparable psychological responses.

HOMEWORK• Consider books or movies that you’ve

seen before, even the animated movies you saw as a child.

• Make a list of five (5) specific characters that you believe may be ARCHETYPES, characters who represent the same ideas, beliefs, or symbols. Please make sure you can give background on your characters.