Archetypes of African-American Men and Women in literature, film, and culture

Archetypes: An archetype, also known as universal symbol, may be --a character, --- a theme, --- a symbol or ----even a setting. **Many literary critics are of the opinion that archetypes, which have a common and recurring representation in a particular human culture or entire human race, shape the structure and function of a literary work.

“Collective Unconscious” Carl Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychologist, argued that the root of an archetype is in the “collective unconscious” of mankind. The phrase “collective unconscious” refers to experiences shared by a race or culture. --This includes love, religion, death, birth, life, struggle, survival etc. These experiences exist in the subconscious of every individual and are recreated in literary works or in other forms of art.

Common Archetypes in Literature and Film Archetypes in Characters Example #1--The Hero: He or she is a character who predominantly exhibits goodness and struggles against evil in order to restore harmony and justice to society Example #2--The Mother Figure: Such a character may be represented as Fairy Mother who guides and directs a child, Mother Earth who contacts people and offers spiritual and emotional nourishment, and Stepmother who treats their stepchildren roughly.

Example #3--The Scapegoat: A character that takes the blame of everything bad that happens Example #4--The Villain: A character whose main function is to go to any extent to oppose the hero or whom the hero must annihilate in order to bring justice e.g.

Archetypes in Situations Example #1--The Journey: The main character takes a journey that may be physical or emotional to understand his or her personality and the nature of the world. Example #2--The Initiation: The main character undergoes experiences that lead him towards maturity.

Example #3--Good Versus Evil: It represents the clash of forces that represent goodness with those that represent evil. Example #4--The Fall: The main character falls from grace in consequence of his or her own action e.g.

Function of Archetype The use of archetypical characters and situations gives a literary work a universal acceptance, as readers identify the characters and situations in their social and cultural context. By using common archetype, the writers attempt to impart realism to their works, as the situations and characters are drawn from the experiences of the world. http://literarydevices.net/archetype/

Stereotype: a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. "the stereotype of the woman as the carer"

Idealized notions for slave owners; justified the system of enslavement:

Stereotypes of African-American Men in the Antebellum South Sambo: passive, happy, enjoyed slavery; saw himself as a child of the slave master; docile—projection of the “ideal” slave; this idea was popular in Antebellum South

Coon: harmless, happy-go-lucky; hates work; not a slave

Zip coon: not a slave, well-dressed, “dandy”; uncivilized, barbaric, used sophisticated words incorrectly

The Brute: -After slavery ended, during reconstruction the vision of the black male changed: he is now a brute: violent, sexualized black male, no self-control

Archetypes of African-American Women in the Antebellum South Mammy: compliant; part of the family; motherly, but not sexual; typically a large bodied woman

Sapphire: physical embodiment of maleness in black women; dominate the black male; sexless

Jezebel: hypersexual black women; the seductress; has power only in sex ---she can’t be raped (meant to explain sexual violence)

Celia could not use “rape” as her defense because one had to be In Missouri, October 1855, Celia fought back against master Newsome who had raped her. She was then tried and executed. She had no legal protection from rape or beatings from her master; and because of this, she had to fight back. http://sites.uci.edu/slaverebellionswinter2011/enslaved-women-and-rebellion/ Celia could not use “rape” as her defense because one had to be a woman to be raped and slaves were not human beings---- legal foundation to justify the stripping of “humanity”