Audrey's Mediocre Midnight Character Analysis Class Part II: Archetype vs. Stereotype
I see these words get thrown around a lot, with people often using them interchangeably, so I thought it was time to drop another of these bs posts that 0 people read- enjoy class below the cut :D
So, to start off, what ARE Archetypes and Stereotypes? Here are some incredibly loose definitions
Archetype- a category of character that's made up of different goals, basic traits, motivations, and ways of seeing things.
Stereotype (Literary, Character)- a category of characters that share a basic purpose to the story, as well as sharing several traits, some of which are usually appearance-related.
Examples of Character Stereotypes-
The Mean Popular Blonde Girl (Regina George, Mean Girls; Heather Chandler, Heathers; Quinn Fabray; Glee)
The Mysterious Loner Bad Boy (Edward Cullen, Twilight; Jason Dean, Heathers)
The Idiotic Pair of Mischief-Makers (Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, Cats; Fred and George Weasley, Harry Potter; Jessie and James, Pokémon)
You guys know the drill with these.
I want to clarify that having slightly (LITERARY) stereotypical characters is not always a bad thing! Like I love the pair of idiots stereotype. If you stereotype your characters based on their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, etc. Ill break your fucking femurs though
But ARCHETYPES are different from stereotypes in the sense that vastly different characters can fit into the same one. Stereotypes are often based on appearance, as well as personality (see: The Mean Blonde) but Archetypes are based soley on character and motivation.
These are what we call the 12 jungian archetypes. The gray part in the middle is the goal of the character, and the colored part is how they wish to achieve it. For example, the Everyman wishes to connect to others through belonging, the Caregiver wants to provide structure through service, and the Sage wants an espiritual journey for/to spread knowledge.
Archetypes are not always obvious. For example, Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer (see my post on Paired Characters btw to see why I sort of count them as one) you would expect to be the Outlaw, right? They actually fit better (depending on how you interpret them, that is) into the Jester, Everyman, or even Explorer categories. Try and ignore the names of the categories, and focus soley on their meanings, if that makes sense.
Anyway this is getting long- let me know if you want a part 2 on archetypes! It's one of my favorite literary subjects.
Hey everyone! I see a lot of people like my great comet analysis posts! (Don't worry, there WILL absolutely be more, keep your eyes open for that!) But if you like literary analysis in general (mostly character analysis) consider following my main ( @peaked-in-third-grade ), where I've started a series called Audrey's Analysis Class! If you want to bypass the shitposts of my main blog feel free to just follow the '#audreys analysis class' tag! Thanks guys! You'll get more content soon I promise-
