Archetypes

The student will demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of a specific archetype.

Reflection

Artifact: A Wiki Page created in English class that demonstrates my understanding of the characteristics of the Artist Archetype.

One of the most remarkable topics we covered in class last semester was our study of archetypal characters. It was a concept I had never heard of before, and I was interested to learn that archetypes were present in all fiction, from Harry Potter to Odysseus, Martin Luther King to the Little Mermaid.

After learning about the tendencies of each, I began to enjoy identifying archetypes in the television I watch and the books I read. This project was one of the more rewarding projects of the year for me, mainly because I enjoyed the opportunity to work with peers whose skill in the class I admire, and because I did what was required of me to the best of my ability. At the risk of sounding unintelligent, I also believe I did well on the wiki page because the assignment was more straight forward than some of the others we have worked on since.

I remember at the time of the project having come to believe in an analogy that archetypes are to creative writing as physics is to science; they are the building blocks that enable their user to contend at a much higher level.