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How to Structure Your Critical Lens EssayTitle of Essay: Topic and TextIntroduction*Neutral sentenceContext sentenceState the argument Summing up*from Dr Ian Hunter’s Write that Essay. **Obviously, in your introduction you will need to work in the name, text, author and the theory you are using - and perhaps why applying the theory to the text is important.]Writers use archetypal settings to communicate and make understandable their vision of the world. Ken Kesey in his novel One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, about a group of psychiatric patients rebelling against the system, was to have an important impact on 1960’s culture and society. This essay will argue that Kesey’s use of archetypal settings is a big part of the novel’s impact. By reading this novel archetypally we can see why it spoke powerfully to readers at the time, and why it still continues to resonate fifty years later, and will for another fifty.Body Paragraphs: one aspect/topic per paragraph, developed with relevant analysisNote: You may wish to include a background or definition paragraph early on and later, near the end, a paragraph about the strengths and or weaknesses of using this lens to read texts.State the topic of the paragraph (e.g what archetype, component of the psyche, reader response element, or aspect of character, setting, plot, history….will you be examining.) An important archetype in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the ocean.Briefly describe/explain a little more about that archetype or the storyIn Archetypal Theory the ocean represents….Refer to specific examples, detail, incidents, conversations from your primary textIn OFOTCN the men organise a fishing trip…Interpret that evidence (what meaning do you make of this – how does this example fit the definition of this archetype, and help our understanding of a character’s development and/or the ideas/themes…)We can see that the men are being themselves…laughing….Develop your interpretation by making more perceptive interpretations or links: (return to the theory and why it’s useful or to what this all means; what does this us about our world, society, the human psyche; why we share these universal archetypes with others…i.e make wider/deeper/insightful connections….)It is interesting that the ocean, and water in general, represents the mother of life. The men have moved from one mother (the Big Nurse) to another…… Conclusion*Restate your argumentRemind us how you showed your argumentThoughtful analysis/or personal statementStrong statementAgain, see Dr Hunter or have a look at the exemplars.References You should have at least 3 – your primary text, and two secondary texts. Use either APA or MLA system. Exemplar 1Question: To what extent are the settings in the short story archetypes?Archetypal Analysis of ‘A&P’ Are settings in stories archetypal or are they unique, particular to a time and place? Archetypal theory was first developed by the psychiatrist Carl Jung, but was later used by theorist to examine literary texts. For archetypal theorists the same settings turn up in stories whether that story is an ancient myth, a dream, a short story or even the most recent computer game. The short story ‘A & P’ is about 19 year old Sammy working at a supermarket checkout in small town, 1960’s America. In the end he quits in his job, ostensibly to impress some girls. John Updike uses a number of archetypal settings to explore growing up, the paths we take in life, and conformity and consumerism in modern America. Four archetypal settings are the ‘wasteland’, summer, the ocean, and the town. Often the hero on his journey crosses a desert or wasteland and must confront death. In archetypal theory, the wasteland represents ………………………………… etc… On the surface of it the store is nothing like a wasteland but a place of abundance, with all sorts of consumer items. When the girls enter the store and go down one particular aisle, Sammy describes them going up the ‘cat- and-dog-food-breakfast-cereal-macaroni-rice-raisens-seasonsings-spreads-spaghetti-soft drinks-crackers-and cookies- aisle.’ Ironically, though the store (and America) is abundant, it seems as sterile as a desert, and the death is not one of the body but of the ‘spirit’; the customers, for example, are described as ‘house slaves’ and ‘sheep’ and the men that work there appear to end up becoming dull, tired and lifeless as the manager Lengel. So like a knight confronting death, Sammy confronts Lengel, tries to rescue the damsels, and then quits (meaning the town too) so he can continue on his life’s journey, which he hopes will be more fulfilling. The wasteland archetype helps us understand that limits of small town life, and how consumerism, puritanism and conformity can be like a kind of death. By recognising this store as the wasteland archetype, we now see Sammy’s predicament and his actions, even his removal of a bow tie, as noble, heroic, that what appears ordinary and mundane elevated to that of a myth. It gives nobility to all our lives, even those that seem humdrum. As the Canadian writer Robertson Davies once said ‘we are all involved in a heroic fight’. Another archetypal setting is the season of summer. Summer in archetypal theory is associated with youth and innocence and is an important setting in many coming-of-age stories (smith, p6) . In ‘A & P’ it is the height of summer, it’s just that in the store the air conditioning makes it cool, which makes it feel like we are cut away from as nature as well as youth,. It doesn’t really seem like a place for young people to be, especially on sweltering summer day; after all, Sammy is only 19. The three girls bring summer into the store, by wearing ‘nothing but bathing suits’ which is against the stores rules, and their youth contrasts with Sammy’s description of a woman with six children with ‘varicose veins mapping their legs’, the type of woman past their prime. Summer with its heat, and scanty clothes, is also associated with sex, and we can see that Sammy is obsessed with sex, which is natural. Summer is also mentioned quite often in the story. The town is described as being ‘five miles form a summer colony’. The use of the archetype of summer helps show that summer is happening elsewhere for Sammy, that his youth is in danger of being lost, or passed by, without truly living, and this archetype allows us to sympathise with Sammy and his predicament and it helps us understand why he must make a choice that he does before the ‘summer’ ends. Lastly, the town itself is an archetype. According to…. archetypal theory, towns are associated with ignorance and intolerance and conformity. We see this in ‘A & P’ etc…Exemplar 2 Question: to what extent are shadowshifters an important character archetype in John Updike’s short story ‘A and P’.Shapeshifters in John Updike’s ‘A and P’There are a number of character archetypes in John Updike’s A & P’. There is the hero, the love the interest, the threshold guardian, the ally, to name just a few. But the most important archetype is the shapeshifter. We see this archetype in a number of the characters in the story, even though they have another ole to play in the story. The three shapeshifters are the girls, Lengel, and the hero himself, Sammy. The three girls themselves are shapeshifters, especially the good looking one Sammy nicknames Queenie. She is the leader of the trio. The fact they are shapeshifters may not seem obvious at the start. They walk into the store ‘wearing nothing but bathing suits’. They seem to be what they are: three girls making a statement about their youth, and sexuality. They know they are being provocative, are breaking the rules, which they seem fine with. Sammy describes Queenie as walking ‘straight on slowly, on those white prima donna legs.’ She is used to showing off, wants the attention. But when Lengel comes over to the girls, the brash confidence falls away, and they become like children, flustered and embarrassed. The girl called ‘Queenie blushes’ and says: ‘My mother asked me to pick up a jar of herring snacks’. We can see that when confronted by an authority or shadow figure they shift back into just being obedient girls again. The shapeshifting archetype allows us to focus on the way teenagers try on roles and masks (being cool the most obvious example). The embarrassment the girls feel allows us also to see the puritanical values and mores of small town America triumphing over sexual freedom. This conflict would explode later on in the 60’s with….Another shapeshifter in the story is Lengel. A an authority figure he is the classic antagonist or external shadow of the story….but later onFinally, the main character, Sammy is a shapeshifter. Archetypal theory says that the change and growth of a hero counts as shapeshifting. At the beginning Sammy is an ordinary teenager working at a checkout of a supermarket. ….At the end he is a hero of sorts, a guy that stuck up for the archetypal ‘damsels in distress’ but more importantly, because they don’t witness it, he is going to strike out on his own, and do something else with his life….In a way he is a typical American hero, someone like Huck Finn, who does not accept the values and roles given to them, but will forge an independent life. ................
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