Archetypes in The lord of the rings, Narnia and Harry Potter

M. A. thesis

Teo Pucko (Author), Victor Kennedy (Mentor)

Abstract

The fantasy genre is popular among the readers of different ages, geographical and social background and new novels are being published on a daily basis. Motion films are continuously being published on the basis of fantasy novels, as are video games and new editions of older books. The present paper discusses one of the possibilities, why the fantasy genre is ever present and some fantasy novels continue to impress new readers. The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter were chosen as representatives of the fantasy genre because of their popularity and critics reviews; they were also adapted to motion films. When analyzing these works and also other fantasy novels, one can notice similarities; sometimes they can be seen at the first glance, sometimes they occur on the deeper level of symbols and ideas. Broadening the scope of research leads to similarities with fairy-tales, mythologies and religious texts - texts that help many people survive their daily lives. Carl Gustav Jung argued that these texts are based on archetypes, innate concepts that are hidden in the human unconscious and have to be realized in order for the human psyche to function properly. He dedicated most of his time to five main archetypes that can be projected in various forms. Projections of the wise old man, the hero, the shadow, the anima, and the trickster can be found in myths and religious texts around the world, which was also discussed by Joseph Campbell. Jung and Campbell stress the importance of archetypes and argue that they can be realized through myths and religious texts. The three novels include projections of all major archetypes. These projections have great similarities among themselves, among other projections in fantasy literature, and similarities to the most well-known projections of these archetypes in myths and religious texts. Jung emphasized that fairy-tales and myths offer a way of realizing the need for archetypes, however; these archetypes can also be met in fantasy novels. Thus the fantasy genre is also one of the ways how people can satisfy their need for archetypes and this can be one of the reasons why the fantasy genre is very popular.

Keywords

archetypes;fantasy novels;hero;wise old man;anima;master theses;

Data

Language:	English
Year of publishing:	2016
Typology:	2.09 - Master's Thesis
Organization:	UM FF - Faculty of Arts
Publisher:	[T. Pucko]
UDC:	821.111.09-312.9:159.964(043.2)
COBISS:	22464776
Views:	1258
Downloads:	156
Average score:	0 (0 votes)
Metadata:

Other data

Secondary language:	Slovenian
Secondary title:	Arhetipi v Gospodarju prstanov, Narniji in Harryju Potterju
Secondary abstract:	Literarna zvrst fantastike je popularna med bralci ne glede na njihovo starost, zemljepisno lego ali socialno ozadje. Avtorji dnevno izdajajo nove romane. Poleg tega vedno znova nastajajo filmi, katerih predloga so fantastični romani, prav tako so izdane video igre in novi ponatisi starejših knjig. Magistrsko delo govori o eni izmed možnih razlag, zakaj je fantastična zvrst tako brezčasna in nekateri romani osvajajo vedno nove bralce. Za namen tega dela sem izbral zgodbe Gospodar prstanov, Zgodbe iz Narnije in Harry Potter kot predstavnike fantastične literature, saj so priljubljene med bralci in literarnimi kritiki, poleg tega so po njihovi predlogi bili posneti tudi filmi. Pri analizi teh del in drugih fantastičnih romanov je moč opaziti podobnosti med njimi; včasih so takoj vidne, spet drugič se pojavljajo na globlji ravni simbolov in idej. Če analizo razširimo, lahko najdemo tudi podobnosti med fantastično literaturo in pravljicami, mitologijo in verskimi besedili - besedili, ki mnogim ljudem pomagajo preživeti. Carl Gustav Jung je trdil, da ta besedila temeljijo na arhetipih, prirojenih konceptih, ki so skriti v človekovi podzavesti in jih moramo realizirati, da naša psiha pravilno deluje. Večino svojega časa je posvetil petim glavnim arhetipom, ki se lahko reprezentirajo v različnih oblikah. Reprezentacije modreca, junaka, sence, anime in prevaranta lahko najdemo v mitologijah in verskih besedilih po celem svetu, o čemer je pisal tudi Joseph Campbell. Izbrani romani vključujejo reprezentacije vseh glavnih arhetipov. Te reprezentacije imajo veliko podobnosti med seboj in imajo tudi veliko skupnega z reprezentacijami v delih fantastične literature in podobnosti z znanimi reprezentacijami, ki jih najdemo v mitoloških in verskih besedilih. Jung je poudaril, da pravljice in miti ponujajo dober način realizacije arhetipov. Arhetipe lahko bralci srečamo tudi v fantastični literaturi. Tako je tudi fantastična literatura en izmed načinov, kako lahko ljudje zadostimo svoji potrebi po arhetipih in to bi lahko bil en izmed razlogov, zakaj je fantastična zvrst tako popularna.
Secondary keywords:	arhetipi;fantastični romani;junak;modrec;anima;magistrska dela;
Type (COBISS):	Master's thesis
Thesis comment:	Univ. v Mariboru, Filozofska fak., Oddelek za anglistiko in amerikanistiko
Pages:	112 str.
ID:	9153752