Sadiq, Fatima

Ms. Plummer
English 10 Honors
April 8th, 2016
Archetype Hype Research Paper

Over time, stories have been created and passed on. These stories
contain archetypes. An archetype is a typical character, an action or a
situation that seems to represent such universal patterns of human nature.
(Literary Devices) An archetype can be a person, an animal, an object, or
even a setting. It has been argued by many literary critics that archetypes
are the structure of many literary works and have had a recurring
representation in human culture. The three main types of archetypes are
character, situational, and symbolic. Examples of these are the Great Mother
(character archetype), the Journey (situational archetype), and the Magic
Weapon (symbolic archetype). Each play a key role in stories.
Before going into greater depth of the specifics of the Great Mother,
Journey, and Magic Weapon archetypes, we need working definitions. A Great
Mother archetype could be when the mother nurtures not just the child, but
all of creation or certain elements of nature. (Literary Devices) A Journey
archetype could be when the main character takes a journey that may be
physical or emotional to understand his or her personality and the nature of
the world. (Literary Devices) A Magic Weapon archetype could be when the
hero has the ability to use this to be successful in the quest or to prove he or
she is the chosen one. (Literary Devices) These archetypes are found
periodically through North and South American literature.
The archetype, Great Mother, can also be known as Mother Nature,
Earth goddess, and Mother/Queen of the gods. The symbols of mother does
not only represent our relationship with her, but also how a mother figure
influences our growth. An example of the Great Mother archetype can be
found in the Okanagon Tribes story, In the Mother of All People (Bierhorst),
which is about the Earth being said to be made out of a woman and that
woman and would be known as the mother of all people. Another example of
the Great Mother archetype can be found in the Estsan Tribes story, Yolkai
Estsan (Jordan), where the mother in this story had given life to an image
from white shells which later endangered her from the gods. Another
example of the Great Mother archetype can be found in the Haida Tribes
story, The Raven Brings the Light(Coldwater), where there was a raven
who needed to steal something from a chief so the raven disguised himself
as a seed. The chiefs daughter ate the seed. The woman became pregnant
which gave the Raven a disguise to sneak into the chiefs territory as her
baby. Another example of the Great Mother archetype can be found in the
Omaha Tribes story, The Flaming Rock (Bierhorst), where a mother,
Wakonda, was considered the maker of all things and gave life to all.
In the archetype, The Journey, the Hero is usually sent in search of
information or some intellectual truth (Literary Devices). An example of The
Journey archetype can be found in the Chippewa Tribes story, In Theft of

Sadiq, Fatima
Ms. Plummer
English 10 Honors
April 8th, 2016

Fire, which is about the hero, Nolomis, going on a journey in search of

information on why his people had to freeze all winter long. Another example
of The Journey archetype can be in the Cree Tribes story, Who Calls (S. E.),
the man goes in search for his betrothed and along the way is spoken to by
the wind, which later haunted him. Another example of The Journey
archetype can be found in the Navajos Tribes story, Monster-Slater and
Born of Water Visit the Sun (Steve), where two sons try to prove themselves
to their father while also trying to find him. Another example of The Journey
archetype can be found in Papineau Tribes story, Paul Bunyan Plants Corn
(Andrews), where Paul and his friends journeyed up a cornstalk trying to
figure out how to get it stop growing.
The archetypal, Magic Weapon, refers to a skilled individual hero's
ability to use a piece of technology in order to complete a task (Literary
Devices). An example of the Magic Weapon archetype can be found in an
Ecuadorian Tribes story, The Search for the Magic Lake (Cole), where a
prince is kept young by drinking water from a magical lake. Another example
of the Magic Weapon archetype can be found in a Costa Rican Tribes story,
The Three Magic Oranges, where three magic oranges were used to break
a spell, imprison a witch, and find a prince his future wife. Another example
of the Magic Weapon archetype can be found in a North American Tribes
story, The Magic Feather (Spence), where an Indian saves himself from
being trampled by bulls with a magic feather. Another example of the Magic
Weapon archetype can found in another North American Tribes Story, The
Indian Cinderella (Cyrus), where the strong wing had been magically
transformed by her sisters bath.
The Great Mother, the Journey, and the Magic Weapon are three
powerful archetypes that show characteristics of their culture. Each of these
archetypes have played a vital role shaping literature. These archetypes are
still being used to this day and will continue to appear in North and South
American literature.

Sadiq, Fatima
Ms. Plummer
English 10 Honors
April 8th, 2016
Works Cited
Bierhorst, John. The Red Swan; the Myths and Tales of the American Indians.
Toronto, Canada: McGraw-Hill, 1976. Print.

Raven Brings the Light Coldwater Counseling Center. Web. 16 March 2016.

Jordan, Michael. Dictionaries of Gods and Goddesses; Second Edition. New York:
Michael Jordan, 2004. Print.

Steve Eddy and Claire Hamilton. Monster-Slayer and Born of Water Visit the Sun
- Navajo Living Myths. 28 February 2015. Web. 16 March 2016.

S. E. Schlosser. Who Calls? A Saskatchewan Ghost Story (Cree Tribe) American

Folklore. S. E. Schlosser. 13 December 2014. Web. 16 March 2016.

Spence, Lewis. The Myths of the North American Indians. New York: Dover
Publications, 1989. Print.

Cole, Joanna. Best-Loved Folktales of the World. New York: Anchor Books, 1982.
Print.

Andrews McMeel Universal. Tell Me a Story; Paul Bunyan Plants Corn (An American
Tell Tale) uexpress. Universal Uclick. 2016. Web. 16 March 2016.

Sadiq, Fatima
Ms. Plummer
English 10 Honors
April 8th, 2016
Cyrus MacMillan. THE INDIAN CINDERELLA. Canadian Wonder Tales. Yesterdays
Classics, LLC. 2015. Web. 16 March 2016.
Literary Devices. Archetype. Literary Devices. Literary Devices. 2016. Web. 16
March 2016.