Archetypal Theory
In archetypal theory, you look at the many archetypes that are in a story. Archetypes are symbols that occur many times in different novels, whether it be a certain character type, colours, the journey, and similar patterns. These symbols contain a deeper meaning and can increase your understanding and help you look at the story in a different way.
The Great Gatsby
"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald contains many of these archetypes. Understanding this story from an archetypal perspective reveals the true meaning and hidden details contained in the novel. Interpreting the meanings of symbols and characters shown can create a new perspective when reading and makes it easier to understand.
Archetypes in
"The Great Gatsby"
Jay Gatsby's Journey
Jay Gatsby's journey itself is an archetype. From him working hard to become rich, then trying to find Daisy who is the girl he loves, to then having a tragic ending, which is actually another archetype. Jay Gatsby is the hero who has a devastating ending, because of a flaw he had which lead him to his downfall
The
"Tragic Hero"
He had an end objective ("prize") which was Daisy
Dedicated his whole life
to money and to find Daisy that
when he lost her he was done
In Chapter One Nick Carraway spots Gatsby looking at a green light at the end of a dock. That green light was coming from Daisy's dock. As we know Gatsby loves Daisy and is trying to look for her. I am mentioning this because there is a reason why Fitzgerald picked green. The colour green symbolizes hope. This makes sense as to why Gatsby is staring at it because his whole mission is to see Daisy again, and this scene gives him hope that he will.
Involuntarily I glanced seaward — and distinguished nothing except a single green light
(Fitzgerald, 17)
image
Jordan who is one of the three main female characters is a certain archetype as well. "The Huntress" describes Jordan very well. The Huntress is a character who is known for their courage, self-confidence, and independence.
Jordan is a golfer, which at that time was a male-dominated sport. Jordan's character is different to other women characters we see.
See some examples of "The Huntress" archetype here
But there was Jordan beside me, who, unlike Daisy, was too wise ever to carry well-forgotten dreams from age to age.
(Fitzgerald, 102)
The story takes place during the summer of 1922. Summer is a symbol of romance. The main plot of "The Great Gatsby" is the relationships such as:
Image
Image
Gatsby & Daisy
Tom & Daisy
Nick & Jordan
Almost all of these romances were not true love, as there were a lot of affairs. This as well goes with the term "Summer romance" as it happens in summer but ends when summer is done. This is what happened with a lot of these couples shown.
This book has also been adapted into a movie! If you are interested you can watch the trailer below
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References
Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. “The Great Gatsby - Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools.” Feedbooks, www.wsfcs.k12.nc.us/cms/lib/NC01001395/Centricity/Domain/7935/Gatsby_PDF_FullText.pdf.
Accessed 24 July 2023.
Heimkreiter, Anna. “The Huntress Archetype - Embrace the Wild Woman within You.” Where Wonder Waits, 21 July 2023, www.wherewonderwaits.com/the-huntress-archetype/. Accessed 24 July 2023