Archetype Sample: Star Wars: A New Hope Mr. Munday

Introduction Star Wars: A New Hope is a story about a young man who attempts to rescue a captured princess, and in doing so becomes involved in an intergalactic war During the story, he is trained to be a “Jedi” and use the “force”, an energy that exists everywhere and within everything

Plot Archetype: The Quest Follows Quest plot archetype: 1) protagonist, Luke, leaves home of Tatooine to save Princess Leia 2) Luke accompanied by companions like Han Solo, C-3PO and Chewbacca 3) group faces man obstacles, including a star fight with TIE fighters

Character Archetypes 1) Luke Skywalker: The Archetypal Hero Has overwhelmingly positive qualities First instinct is always to help, even at his own risk e.g. volunteers to attack the Death Star, even though he has just escaped from it

Character Archetypes 2) Obi-Wan Kenobi: The Mentor Trains and guides Luke in his initial Jedi training Offers valuable advice that serves Luke in his quest e.g. shows Luke that he can use the force to sense even what he cannot see

Character Archetypes 3) Han Solo: The Antihero Offers to help Luke save Princess Leia, but only for monetary reward Willing to use violence to solve problems e.g. shoots Greedo, a bounty hunter, out of self- preservation rather than self-defense

Character Archetypes 4) Leia: The Damsel in Distress Though Leia does exhibit some heroic and assertive qualities, her role is ultimately that of a princess in need of rescue e.g. Leia initiates the entire quest by sending out a distress signal to Ob-Wan Kenobi

Character Archetypes 5) R2-D2: The Herald Alerts the hero, Luke, to Princess Leia’s capture, which then sets Luke off on his quest e.g. when Luke removes R2’s restraining bolt, Leia’s hologram distress signal is projected

Colour Archetypes 1) Red: appears as a symbol of anger e.g. Darth Vader wields a red lightsaber, signifying the rage that he himself embodies Rage shown when Vader ruthlessly blows up the planet Alderaan

Colour Archetypes 2) White: appears as a symbol of purity/innocence e.g. both Luke (the innocent and unexperienced hero) and Leia (the innocent damsel in distress) wear white clothing

Colour Archetypes 3) Blue: appears as a symbol of calmness e.g. Obi-Wan wields a blue lightsaber, signifying his calm and serene calmness demonstrated when Obi-Wan calmly accepts death