PD 2 AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Excellent discussions for the past few days!
Let's think about archetypes and how they are significant in Wiley Cash's writing. Remember, an archetype is a common pattern repeated throughout many stories (example: Christ Figures, the battle between good and evil). Below is a list of common archetypes in stories. The Quest or Journey The Task The Hero The Blind Character The Shared Meal Death and Rebirth Battle Between Good and Evil The Unhealable Wound The character who thinks they are normal until told they are a hero The Return Home Mentor-Pupil Relationship The Threshold Guardian (Gatekeeper) Father-Son Conflict Hunting Group of Companions The Side-kick The Evil Character with an Ultimately Good Heart The Creature of Nightmare The Outcast Damsel in Distress The Beautiful but Dangerous Lady Friendly Beast The Shadow The Devil Figure The Unfaithful Wife Light vs. Darkness Nature vs. Civilization The Underworld What archetypes do you recognize in your Wiley Cash book?? In the comments below, choose one or two or two archetypes and explain how you see them played out in your book. Make sure to explain why you think the use of this archetype is significant to the story/overall themes of your novel. Your response should be at least 5-6 sentences. After posting, you should reply to two of your peers with a quality 2-3 sentence response (add to the discussion). Your initial reply is due by Saturday night (12 midnight). Your replies should be completed by Monday night (12 midnight).
37 Comments
Ashton Lazorick
9/1/2017 06:18:11 am
I personally believe that this book follows the archetypes of The Unhealable Wound and The Evil Character with an Ultimately Good Heart. The Unhealable Wound comes into play with Easter and her reluctance towards her father. He created a pain for Easter that I doubt she will ever get over, no matter how hard she tries. I also think that The Evil Character with an Ultimately Good Heart comes into play with Wade. I don't think he kidnapped his children with bad intentions. He just wanted to give them a good life that they deserve. While I do say that he went the wrong way about getting them back, at least he wanted them back so that he could prove that he really did love them.
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Owen
9/1/2017 06:26:55 am
I agree with your Unhealable wound archetype, I never really thought about it like that. It makes a lot of sense, Wade basically did this to himself. If he wanted a relationship with hi daughters then he shouldn't have left them in the first place and that is why Easter will always have reluctance towards wade.
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Kyra
9/1/2017 06:28:52 am
I like the fact that you stated Wade didn't kidnap his children with bad intentions but only to have his kids back. I also think the same as your opinions, personally I can somewhat relate to the Unhealable Wound in a situation somewhat similar to hers, so I can compare to her pain.
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Nicolas Morel
9/4/2017 06:01:12 pm
I also like how you stated that Wade had good intentions. I believe that Wade felt trapped and felt that it was necessary to kidnap them. He was in a hurry and was so desperate to get his children back for a key reason. If he didn't get them in time then someone else would (Pruitt) and would use the children to force Wade to come back.
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Hannah
9/5/2017 05:48:28 am
I agree with your statement 100%. I never thought about Wade being The Evil Character with an Ultimately Good Heart probably because I never saw him as necessarily "evil".
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Owen
9/1/2017 06:23:12 am
I think Easter and Ruby's journey to Alaska represents the "The Quest or Journey" archetype. They had to endure many challenges to get to a very good life. That includes going through very difficult times as well. The second example of an archetype I wild chose is Pruit's Career. Pruit's career is an archetype of the unhealable wound because wade destroyed his life and is stopping him from moving on with his life. He cant be happy because he cant forgive what wade did to him.
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Ashton Lazorick
9/1/2017 06:29:28 am
I agree with this. The quest has a lot to do with this story.
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Georgia Wathen
9/2/2017 09:38:44 pm
I agree with you, Owen. The novel is about the journey of the children finding their way to having a better life.
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Nicolas Morel
9/4/2017 05:54:55 pm
I agree with you because the girls had to go through many obstacles and overcome trials to get to where they are. In my opinion the girls are trying to find and cling to those who show love to them. This can be seen by their mother, father, guardian ad litem, and even Easters boyfriend. Through all of this, they journeyed to their new home in Alsaska.
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Sierra
9/4/2017 06:56:08 pm
Although I never thought of the quest or journey archetype, it really does make sense. Throughout the whole story Easter and Ruby had to go through many good and bad senarios and I think that helps support this archetype.
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Hayley Robinson
9/5/2017 07:57:42 am
I agree with Pruitt being the unhealable wound. I feel as if after Wade "destroyed his career" Pruitt felt as if he could never make anything of himself again. He was determined to get back at Wade, because he was convinced Wade was the reason he was where he was at in life.
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Sierra
9/1/2017 06:24:05 am
The archetype I thought best fit this story was light vs. darkness. Throughout the book it was a battle between the two not only physically but metaphorically. The physical being between Easter and Wade, but then the metaphorical battle takes a whole different meaning. In the beginning, Easter hated Wade for abandoning her and Ruby. Then towards the middle she started to want him as her father again. Throughout this whole process she was going back and forth, changing her mind every few chapters. When she wanted Wade as her father it was the light part of it, the good part. However when she hated wade it was the dark part.
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Ashton Lazorick
9/1/2017 06:31:13 am
I actually really thought about the Light v. Dark archetype. I debated on using it, but I decided against it because I feel like it was not the main focus.
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Kyra
9/2/2017 08:32:58 pm
I also can agree with this, although Easter dies have a soft spot she is still against Wade in the beginning but gradually they bond again.
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Owen
9/3/2017 03:01:03 pm
I agree, through out the entire book there is this conflict between wade and Easter which make the light v. darkness really show in the book
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Hayley Robinson
9/5/2017 08:00:12 am
I agree with this archetype, because the story is back and forth throughout. Easter is stuck between hatred and forgiveness, and at the end of the day she still sees him as a father figure. There are many parts where the story is considered dark, simply because the damage has already been done when Wade abandoned the girls for so long.
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Nicolas Morel
9/1/2017 06:24:43 am
In my opinion, I believe that Pruitt shows the archetype of an unhealable wound. In the book, we learn that Pruitt gets injured by Wade during their baseball career. Pruitt feels that Wade ruined his chances in life by blinding him and therefor taking him out of baseball. Because of this, Pruitt never forgives Wade and feels a constant anger towards him. He uses this hatred to inflict pain on others when hunting Wade down.
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Georgia Wathen
9/2/2017 09:33:21 pm
I agree with you. Throughout the whole novel, Pruitt seeks revenge because of what Wade did to him in the past. He does not seem to want to forgive him and will not allow his "wound" to heal as a result.
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Hayley Robinson
9/1/2017 06:26:09 am
I personally believe that throughout This Dark Road to Mercy, the unhealable wound and the blind character are two of the major archetypes. The unhealable wound has an affect on Easter, Ruby, and even Wade. Although Wade left the girls and that has forever damaged them, it has hurt him as well. He feels as if Easter hates him and will never truly forgive him, no matter what he does for her. As for the girls, they're always going to be worried that he's going to leave/abandon them again. It is hard to put your trust in someone you barely know, someone that left you, and I think Wade fails to realize that and expects forgiveness just because he is their father. The blind character to me would be Ruby. She was young when Wade left and has a very forgiving heart, so she sees no wrong in instantly putting her faith into him. Wade could also somewhat be considered a blind character because he is blind to the fact that money can't buy the time and memories he missed out on after leaving his family.
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Sierra
9/4/2017 06:52:15 pm
I really agree with this. I never really thought about Ruby being the blind character until now. I also never thought about Wade partaking in a role for the unhealable wound as he was the one causing the wound until now. It does make sense that he is part of it though.
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Kyra K
9/1/2017 06:26:31 am
Death and Rebirth
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CJ Arciaga
9/2/2017 03:51:20 pm
Huh, I never thought of that. I always wonder if there was any symbolism or metaphors in book (like I always thought the baseball in the book means something. Then, I realize it was just a thing to drive the plot). I do agree.
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Hannah (Bubbles) Schreiner
9/1/2017 06:28:43 am
The Unfaithful Wife
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CJ Arciaga
9/2/2017 03:38:35 pm
Woah! Hannah, that's actually a really good theory. I would never thought of that. I don't know I would agree on this theory, but I would like it to remain why Wade and Easter's and Ruby's mother get divorce and Wade losing his parental rights towards them as a mystery (I'm not dissing you on any shape or form, I really like the theory).
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Anna Huestis
9/2/2017 06:43:55 pm
That is something I definitely did not think of, that really could be why he left them but like CJ said, it has some flaws. He wouldn't have lost his parental rights to that and he would have been able to see them at least, Also that doesn't explain why he left completely, a good father would still have stayed in the area to see his daughters.
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Hannah
9/6/2017 06:47:53 pm
I agree, but what I was trying to get across was, the mother forcing the divorce because she didn't love Wade anymore, plus she probably wanted full custody over the kids because she didn't see Wade fit too.
CJ Arciaga
9/2/2017 03:17:11 pm
I personally belive that archetype in this novel is the "unhealable wound."The "unhealable wound" is played in two parts in the novel. One from Easter relationship between her father, Wade, and Pruitt's actions in the entire story. While reading the part of the novel where Wade is taking Easter and Ruby to places (that's like 80% of the novel), I was wondering whether Easter would make a different attitude towards her father, despite the fact that he left them in an early age and ruined their relationship together for life. I'm pretty doubtful that she would ever change attitude or thought towards her father, even if she tries. Another part of novel that the archetypal falls into is Pruitt's actions. In the novel, we were told that Pruitt had an messed up (or abusive if you want to call it) childhood, his father would beat up his mother up. In my opinion, that childhood is the unhealable wound for Pruitt, and that's why the action he takes is the actions. You can say that Wade is the unhealable wound here because he ruined his entire career, but as from my experience with some friends and acquaintances, some people's childhoods can affect their decisions or actions later in life, especially that has an abusive one too. And Pruitt is one those characters.
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Sierra Barrett
9/4/2017 02:58:41 pm
That's very interesting what you said about Pruitt having an unhealable wound too. I hadn't even thought of that. I agree with you about how his childhood effects a lot of his later actions in life.
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Hannah
9/5/2017 05:51:06 am
I had never thought about Pruitt's pov for this archetype. Well done Cj! Way to think outside the box.
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Anna Huestis
9/2/2017 06:36:32 pm
I think the archetypes is an "unhealable wound" and "the quest or journey," in "This Dark Road to Mercy." The unhealable wound would be Easter and her father, Wade left his two daughters and didn't go back to see them until the beginning of the book. Easter and Ruby were just kids when he left and being that small they need a father and he wasn't there for them, and the time lost can not be made up. The two girls may forgive him for not being there for them but it will never change the fact that he left them. It is also a journey or quest because on the path of forgiveness they had an adventure together. Wade's "quest" is to earn the girls trust once again and for them to forgive him for not being there. Ruby and Easter had a journey of getting to know their father once again, and seeing the man he is, and if he truly cares for them.
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Sierra Barrett
9/4/2017 03:01:38 pm
I completely agree with you on your views about the quest. I think the girls and Wade have different quests but they all correspond together.
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Hannah
9/5/2017 05:54:50 am
I like how you pointed out that Easter, Ruby, and Wad had their own little "quest" or journey, and I strongly agree with "Wade's "quest" is to earn the girls trust once again and for them to forgive him for not being there..."
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Georgia Wathen
9/2/2017 09:19:36 pm
This book has the archetypes of The Unhealable Wound and The Outcast. Easter resents her father for leaving the family and has trouble trusting him as a result. A part of her wants Wade as a reliable father-figure, but the other part is afraid to let him into her life again and allow herself to be vulnerable, which is The Unhealable Wound in the story. Throughout the book, Easter mentions several times about how she wants to look like her mother and implies that she wants to have a normal family, which would be The Outcast archetype. For Instance, when they went to the beach and Easter was crying because some other kids were making fun of her, in a sense, she felt like an an outcast. She wanted to fit in with the other children and felt like she stood out due to her father.
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Josué Arrucha
9/3/2017 08:58:50 pm
I like to associate this novel with the "Death and Rebirth" archetype. While I am going on a limb here, I find the town of Marshall to represent it quite clearly. It should be noted that by town I am talking about everything that it contains. In the story the town seems to be in distress, almost suffering without the company of a pastor, that is until Pastor Chambliss comes into the town as a symbol of hope and renewment. Deeper into the story however, the darker side of Chambliss is revealed and that leads to the issues that the main characters face. The story comes to an end by both the shootout scene and the funeral. I view the whole story up until the shootout scene to serve as the "death" portion of this archetype, with the funeral scene serving as the "rebirth" portion, looking at the fact that the people have left the church after the events that they had just gone through which it almost resembled a blindfold being taken away from them.
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Joshua Arrucha
9/4/2017 06:01:27 pm
Oh wait, wrong chat.
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Sierra Barrett
9/4/2017 02:54:58 pm
When I think of the archetypes in this book, I think of the quest or journey and The Evil Character with an Ultimately Good Heart. Obviously the quest or journey would be the journey Wade takes Easter and Ruby on. I also think there could be a second one somewhat though with the girls playing the game Oregon Trail. I believe how much they love the game could be a bit of foreshadowing for the journey they take later on with Wade.
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Jeff Montinar
9/7/2017 04:16:03 pm
In my opinion, I believe the two most important archetypes in this dark road to mercy are Battle between Good and Evil and The Unhealable Wound. The first archetype deals with Wade Chesterfield and his emotional difficulties overpowering his power to logically think. Wade went and stole a duffel bag full of money for his daughters so he could purchase back the love he has never given. So, the second archetype affects different characters Easter and Ruby Quillby. The unhealable wound was a heart-hitting metaphor that reveals the figurative scars Easter and Ruby felt after Wade had relinquished his parental rights to their mom.
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