American Literature

Literature has been known to contain hidden profound messages, meanings and symbolisms that are actually significant or reflective to society. Such symbolisms are the archetypes which frequently occur in the myths of people widely separated from time and place while having a common meaning which tend to elicit comparable psychological responses and to serve similar cultural functions (Guerin et al., 2005, p. 184). In short, archetypes are important because they serve to mirror the collective psyche of a society which is also the same collective psyche of another society or culture. Thus, archetypes are not mere symbolisms that serve to characterize protagonists or antagonists and or not mere descriptions of settings of a literary work but they actually embody something that other cultures are known to possess or portray.
   
An example would be the archetypal atmosphere of romance which is prevalent in the F. Scott Fitzgeralds In This Side of Paradise. The novel focuses on the various love-like relationships that the delusional protagonist experiences through his young adolescent life until the time that he can be regarded as a man of the world. The theme of romance occurs throughout the novel and true enough, the novel concentrates on the world of love according to Amory Blaine. Romance embodies many other notions like irrationality, illogicalness and even being too overly emotional and cruel. This is perhaps why romance or love has always been associated and represented with the color of red, a color which is perceived in archetypal imagery means blood, sacrifice, violent passion and disorder (Guerin et al., 2005, p.185).  Thus, Amory Blaines great passion and the sudden upturning of his life because of the relationship he wanted to build with the women he met (but never got to starting about it) were all caused by romanceand the interpretation and meaning of the archetypal imagery of the theme of romance proves this.