Well this question got me most interested in so I’m going to talk a bit about it. The archetypes of a fantasy fiction normally start either with the nothing special ‘yet’ or fully unpolished power. Harry Potter, Eragon, Bilbo and Prodo are typical for the nothing special yet while Gen (Sparrowhawk) and Septimus Heap are typical for the other type. Despite the differences, all the protagonists are mostly begin alone and gather friends along the way through the battle. They all are good at heart but easily to be provoked and create chaos because of their inexperienced. Eventually they meet up with people from all walks of life making friends and enemies. Somewhere halfway there will be time when they fight with their other side (Harry cheated in the halfblood prince, Eragon was making continuous mistake from mis-blessing to jump off Shafira midair to fight with Murtagh), and one of their friends due to some circumstances turn enemies (Murtagh turn his back to Eragon because of the vow and doubt of believing himself and others). In the end, they overcome difficulties and success on protecting what must be protected. Well, Eragon is on another note when he on carelessness was defeated by Murtagh and has to flee from the country. I didn’t have a chance to finish reading Brisingr though so it’s up to you guys to found out about the end then.
References:
Paolini, C. (2006). Eragon, Laurel-Leaf.
Paolini, C. (2007). Eldest, Alfred A. Knopf.
Paolini, C. (2010). Brisingr, Random House Children's Books.
Rowling, J. K. (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Scholastic.
Rowling, J. K. (2004). Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets, Bloomsbury.
Rowling, J. K. (2007). Harry Potter and the deathly hallows, Bloomsbury.
Rowling, J. K. and M. GrandPré (2003). Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Large Print Press.
Rowling, J. K. and M. GrandPré (2003). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Scholastic.
Rowling, J. K. and M. GrandPré (2005). Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Thorndike Press.
Rowling, J. K. and M. GrandPré (2008). Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Paw Prints.
Sage, A. and M. Zug (2006). Septimus Heap, Book One: Magyk, San Val.
Sage, A. and M. Zug (2007). Septimus Heap, Book Two: Flyte, HarperCollins Publishers.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2004). The lord of the rings, Houghton Mifflin.
Hey Simon, I think you explained the archetypes very well. I agree with your comparison of Ged and Harry. I liked your description of the two protagonist and how they are just everyday people and nothing special to start off with.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon.
ReplyDeleteWell done on this post - I agree with Teu's comments.
Lots of good examples from primary texts used here.
I would have liked to seee you reference descriptions of character archetypes from the secondary readins as well - to 'name' them
Esther:)
Just now, i read another person's analysis about same question. I compared some my own opinions from my cultural background. After read your post, i really get much more about it. thanks. This is a happy process!
ReplyDeleteNo problem ^^
ReplyDelete