Heroes and Archetypes

        The word archetype has several different interpretations.  The first meaning most students are exposed to is that an archetype is the prototype on which all other items like it are based.  By this definition one could trace the ancestry of a popular myth in any culture to an original myth that marked the inception of its particular mythical view.  Karl Jung, however, uses the word archetype in a different way.  When he speaks of an archetype, he is referring to an image or idea that is housed in what he terms the collective unconscious.  Jung states that these kinds of archetypes are manifestations of this collective unconscious that exists across all cultures and is common to people at all times and all places.  According to Joseph Campbell, the Jungian archetype hypothesis is precisely why certain myths and legends recur so often in literature.  One myth of which Campbell speaks is the hero myth, and, to him, this is the most important archetype.  This myth occurs so freq!
uently in literature that readers often can predict the outcome of novels based on it.  The archetype of the "hero quest" has defined much of the literature in human history. 
        The hero quest is a life fulfilling journey the hero must undertake in order to complete his role in his culture.  This quest gives meaning to the hero's life and allows him to accomplish great deeds for his society.  The action that a hero performs in his quest can range from bringing an innovation to his society to preserving a way of life to completing a personal spiritual journey.  It is the hero's status as a great man that allows him to accomplish these acts.  Not only does the hero make great claims, but he also delivers on those claims as well.  It is the justness of his claims that lends credit to the hero's validity as a revered figure in society.  This does not mean that every hero must have a very clear and well-defined sense of morality, on the contrary, the hero is more respected if he is able to make decisions in spite of ambiguity and uncertainty.  In his quest the hero may also be required to defeat the powers of the unconscious mind.  Usually water represe!
nts the unconscious mind and the creatures below the water are the personification of different fears we all have in our unconscious mind.  The story of Jonah and the whale is a perfect example of this archetype.  
The hero archetype in literature is pervasive.  In all of his actions the hero is "larger than life" because he has attained the best values of his society.  If strength is a valued trait, then the hero is not just strong, he is the strongest; if intelligence is valued, then he is not just smart, he is the smartest.  The hero represents all of the strivings and yearnings of his culture and is typified by such famous literary figures as Odysseus, King Arthur, and Beowulf.  A hero doesn’t always have to save the world, however; a hero can emerge from an everyday situation, and people can relate to his struggle in everyday terms. Authors such as Harper Lee have captured the essence of the 20th century hero whose struggles are those of a more personal nature and whose goal is to save the world one person at a time.  Today, the hero must be made available to readers because they need real and attainable goals to look to in their heroes.  The hero is not a person whose status is i!
mpossible to reach; he is a man we can emulate as we find our own hero traits within ourselves.