Archetypal+Imagery

=﻿= Archetypal Imagery = The Seven Character Archetypes =

As we travel along the road with the Man and the Boy through a ruined world, few characters are met. Some frightening vagabonds, a deceased mother who took her own life, a blind man man claiming to be called Ely, assorted prisoners to be eaten at a later date, and a man who had been struck by lightning comprise the motley band of dismal folk. From these tortured souls, two stand out: the Man and the Boy.

Either of the characters is an adequate hero in his own right. The Man serves as the champion and protector of the fledgling Boy. He is undertaking a journey to find greener pastures for his son to enjoy and embrace. To find an alternative to despair is his purpose, and to save his son. Desperately he seeks to accomplish these tasks, but he dies before seeing them through. But, one's dying prior to fulfillment of one's aspirations does not diminish the efforts made nor the lives altered. Mother Teresa's life project of saving the poor was not nearly finished when she died--impoverished souls and social outcasts still lived, crying out for a savior--but although many people still needed her aid, her work during her life still stands as heroic and noble. That there are still unfortunate people does not smother the flame of beneficence she ignited and tended throughout her life as a missionary of charity. The Man //did// save the Boy, many times, in fact, and push the story forward in his quest for hope.

Conversely, the Boy can be seen as a hero. Sure, he is under the guidance and watch of the Man, but he is the one who strives to help other, even when doing so is detrimental to himself; to give their finite supplies to other starving folk; to provide company for the lost and lonesome; to plead and acknowledge the case of the forgotten and discarded. He perpetually emanates and aura of naive generosity that the Man feels and, eventually, succumbs to. After the man dies, claimed by the ravenous, unquenchable appetite of a degenerate world, the Boy goes on to do who-knows-what. I believe, though, that boy continues to help those around him, existing a lone flame of charity in an evil, selfish world, which is a heroic feat and an impetus for change. When one man who has lived in the gutter and knows naught else suddenly experiences the majesty of caring, the wonder of a few minutes in which another treats one with dignity and humanity, he comes to understand the power of charity and can then wield it himself, sharing the knowledge with his fallen race.

When the Man and Boy perform as hero, the other serves as a mentor; the non-hero teaches the hero qualities he does not possess. The Boy repeatedly shows his father the miracle of compassion and care; even in a forsaken world they still have a place. The Man teaches the boy that sometimes a hard heart is necessary for survival; to give away all one has is to condemn oneself to death. We can see then that both teach a valuable lesson and neither character fits just one archetype. Life itself can be counted as type of mentor in the man and boy’s cases. “The Mentor provides motivation, insight and training to help the Hero.” What other motivation besides life do they have in this God forsaken world? They have each other, but without life, neither of them have anything. What gives you more insight and training than everyday life experiences? Life acts as a mentor for the man and the boy at every turn.

The remainder of the squalid //Dramatis Personae// fall into the category of "Threshold Guardian." Each pilgrim presents a new, traumatizing circumstance; being struck by lightning, waiting to be eaten, waiting to eat people, being bereft of all loved ones, choosing to end one's life rather than continue living in a land of squalor. Learning that such maledictions have befallen everyone alive is dejecting enough to reduce one to a state of blubbering, pity, and misery; a state soon to consume all parts of one's life and soul, leading to an unwillingness to live and, ultimately, death. By resisting the temptation to crumble, the Man and Boy pass the tests of the Threshold Guardians and continue on their laborious search for home. However, I feel I am neglecting what is perhaps the most influential character in the novel, one that can satisfy all archetypes; it is the Road.

As a purveyor of experience in the harshest way and a source of learning, the Road is a Mentor. Each day it presents a new challenge which its captives must surmount using wit. By solving the problem and living another day, training is obtained that expedites the solving of the next problem.

As a guardian of the coast, the Road continuously attacks the Man and Boy with ill-tempered weather, ill-tempered people, and poor supplies of food and water. Each challenge is followed by another, forcing the pair to prove their determination and skill as the trudge towards the coast. In this way, the Road is a Threshold Guardian.

As the source of all nourishment and lack thereof, the road compels the duo to press onward in their search for life. The Road's denial of all luxuries calls the group to action, making the Road a Herald.

As a house of horrors, the Road forces those traveling it to adopt deceit and trickery as a means of survival in addition to cunning. Trust is dead; everyone wears of mask of lies. Nothing on the Hellish earth can be taken at face value, not even the Road itself. Around the next turn, it may lead to a gang of cannibals or a desolate coastline once thought to hold promise. Playing the Shapeshifter, the Road is always assuming new forms.

As an unrivaled evil and spawner of cruelty, the Road both is and creates man's darkest, most selfish and deprave urges. The Road and its minions seek to annihilate all hope, life, joy, and any humans standing in the way of survival. Evoking man's most foul characteristics requires the blackest of blacks; it requires the Shadow that is the Road.

As an equalizer, the Road renders all titles, heritages, family lineages, qualification, educations, and wealth meaningless. Under the rule of the Road, the status quo is upended as all descend into the same torment. In this way, the Road is a Trickster, but it adopts neither humor nor laughter. Rather, the Road frames the absurd cruelty of the world by bringing forth the most vile humans to hinder and harm the Man and Boy. Doubtlessly the Road relishes such inflictions of pain.

We can see form this analysis that the road fulfills almost all of the seven archetypes. But, with a stretch, its scope can broaden to all of the archetypes. If we consider that the Road is leading the Man and boy to the coast, past all the food stores that save them, and that the entity is creating all the scenarios which push the pair onward, then the Road becomes a protagonist of sorts. Considering the Road from this unconventional view leads to the dawning of an idea: the Road controls everything and is everything, permeating all facets of the world. However, we hit a snag here, for if the Road is everything, it is equally good and evil, making its overall stance neutral. Furthermore, it is a perfect balance between all opposites. But if the Road is everything in equal parts, then it is nothing. So, though we have identified the Road as all archetypes, we have found it is also nothing, which asks the question //What is the Road//.

=The Twelve Archetypal Stages of the Journey=

The Ordinary world

It is impossible to tell what is truly the ordinary world depending upon who you are considering the hero of the story. If you consider the man the hero, the ordinary world would be the world as we know it now or something similar. With the boy as the hero, however, the world full of violence and destruction is the only world he has ever truly known. Going upon the man’s ordinary world, you have a set place or time, but with the boy’s ordinary world, it has never been a safe haven that can be compared to the life he has now. Maybe comparing life when his mother was alive to after she committed suicide, but was his life any more safe when she was around? It can be said that his life was a little happier, but it is up to opinion.

The Call to Adventure

Again, this is dependent upon whom you consider to be the hero. For the man, it would be when whatever disaster happened to the world happened and forced him to make hard decisions to keep himself him and his wife safe and alive. For the boy, however, having to leave the home in which he was born and having to fight to get to the coast is his call to adventure. Either way, disaster is the call to adventure, making it sound more like a horror than an adventure.

The Refusal to the Call

Neither the boy, nor the man, had much of a choice to refuse the call. The only way they could escape what “adventure” they were set upon was death. After the suicide of his wife, the man could have refused the call by following her example, but other than his own demise, he had no chance to save his son as well as refuse the call. For the boy, death was also the only answer for refusal. He could either continue to strive to live after his father’s death, or he could have given up and died. Refusal was not really an option if they intended to survive.

Meeting with the Mentor

Depending on who is considered the mentor-life, the road, the father, the boy- the ideal behind the mentor remains the same. With the father being the hero, he meets his son at his birth and gains insight and more reason to live, also the boy is a sort of moral center with his ability to want to help everyone he meets. With the boy being the hero, the father is his mentor. He keeps his son safe, wise, and alive, and teaches him wisdom he will need to know when he is gone. With the road being the mentor, you have to realize that both the boy and the man can be the hero at the same time, learning from the hardships presented by the road and becoming stronger because of it. Without the challenges the road presents, would the pair be quite as strong as they are? It is all up to opinion.

Crossing the Threshold

When the man decides not to give up when his wife dies and fights to stay alive with his son, he becomes the hero that crosses the threshold. Seeing that there really was never a special world for the boy, you could not really make this part of the journey count for him. The man could have given up after the disaster, yet he continued to fight and kept his son alive. He lived in the once good world and had to live through the world that was destroyed, and by striving through that, he crossed the threshold.

Tests, Allies, Enemies

With a world full of cannibals, criminals, and just plain nutty buddies, it becomes quite difficult to make allies and harder still to keep a constant enemy. The only truly friendly characters met were the man not called Eli, and the family at the end. Other than that- and they didn’t exactly last long in the story- were the many people fighting to survive as well in a slightly more heinous way that may or may not be considered truly villainess. What makes anyone a true enemy? The people in this story who are considered enemies are simply trying to survive in the same world as the man and the boy. So enemies and allies aside, you could consider tests as life. Living itself is the biggest test for them. They have to struggle to survive on a daily basis. Other than the occasional hungry lunatic they encounter, life is more challenging and dangerous than anything else.

Approach to the Inmost Cave

Although it was not something they planned for or knew was coming, the house of cannibals and basement of naked men and woman awaiting their death was the central ordeal in the book. Here the man and boy surely faced their greatest fear and met the supreme danger lurking in this world. It was the height of the novel and the point where the reader stayed attentive; not knowing what was to happen next with the two main characters in such danger. And this was the part that led up to the next step: the ordeal.

Ordeal

Here is where the Hero confronts his most difficult fear and his biggest challenge, to face death. This is when the man has to hold the gun to the boy’s head in case he is caught by the cannibalistic men. And when he leaves the boy behind, thinking it is what’s best, giving him the gun to take his own life in case anything should happen. This is the part of the book where the man’s journey teeters on the brink of failure-that is losing his son.

Reward (Seizing the Sword)

Here is the part where the Hero has survived death (the house of cannibalism) and his now in stow for his reward, or better yet, something to finally go his way. And for this stage of the journey, this part is where the boy and man find their chamber of food and supplies. Here they just barely miss the hidden hole in the ground which saves them from their near death of starvation. Thus it gives them cause to celebrate, and they do with meals, games, and long overdue showers. And for a little while they get caught up in the reward and lose sight of their journey.

The Road Back

After much needed relaxation in their underground oasis, they realize it is not a safe place and could mean their death if they stay. Here the man must recommit to his journey, although his son wants otherwise. It is pushed by a point when the man realizes how risky the situation he is in can become and after a few days waiting out the rain, they pack to leave. The man chooses between the cause and his heart and decides it is the better decision to get back to the road.

Resurrection

Not too long after they have left their underground bunker do the boy and man stumble upon a new town. Well new as in the sense they have not seen before, it is still a deserted old town that has been ransacked long ago. And it is in this town that the character faces their final ordeal of life-or-death. This stage could be a final showdown between the Hero and the “Shadow”. From the beginning to end of the man’s journey, he has repeatedly said he is being followed by others. And by opinion, the “others” could surely be cast as the character the Shadow. Once they enter this town they are being watched, and an eerie feeling leads up to the events that are to cause the resurrection. The height of his resurrection is when a man from atop a house shoots the father with a bow and arrow, thus resulting his death soon after. Allies may then come to the last minute and lend a hand at the scene, which then leads us into the next stage.

Return with the Elixir

Now that the father has died, the boy is left alone in the street to become the new Hero of the journey. After a few days of mourning he decides he needs to get up and start out to pursue his quest. Here is when the new allies come in and cast a helping hand. The family the boy always wanted with a younger son to play with come along and offer him a place with them. This is his final reward and end, or new start, to his journey.