Archetypes are a very old part of the human experience. They’ve been around―quite literally―forever. Stories that make use of archetypal characters or situations are often successful because readers already have strong feelings related to the archetype. They might even have had similar personal experiences, which means memories and the emotions connected to those memories.

Think of a story you’ve read or watched on screen that made a big impact on you. Did the story include one or more archetypes? If so, that may help explain the story’s impact.

Open a new Word document that will contain this module’s journal assignments. Copy and paste the prompt below at the top of the document and label the entry with this lesson’s title. Then, type a response to the prompt.

Journal

Describe a story you have read or seen performed (in a movie or play) that involves an archetype, such as a hero on a quest, an outlaw, a sage, or a trickster. Describe what happens in the story. Then, explain why you think one of the story elements represents an archetype.

When you have written a complete and detailed answer to the journal prompt, save the file so that you can open it again for the next lesson with a journal assignment. (You will submit your journal to your teacher for grading once or twice during the module.)