Throughout the history of
literature, authors have looked for newer and bigger ways to showcase feelings,
thoughts, circumstance, and how they relate to the main character leading them
often time down the road of the supernatural,. The word supernatural explicitly
means “(of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific
understanding or the laws of nature.” In my opinion the evolution into the supernatural,
was almost natural, what with metaphors, similes and (especially) personification.
(Personification can be seen in “Original Sin: A Short Story” in stanza one
line three “The nightmare stumbles past, and you have heard”, giving the word
nightmare life as if it walking alongside you.) None the less, all three of
these important circles of literature are a comparison to real life, and how
they can be seen. Arguably, another evolution in the telling of the supernatural
is the twelve archetypes created by authors Pearson and Marr. These twelve keys,
from the book “What Story Are You Living?” are carcasses to exploring
characters in a deeper level, especially when decoding the purpose of the
supernatural entity.
In the book Coraline, the Other
Mother is supposed be a representation of Coraline’s biggest and wildest desires,
which was a family that attended to her and paid attention to her concerns. This
“woman” created a world very similar to the one that Coraline comes from, with
exaggerated versions of the neighbors she met, when she first moved into her
new flat. Unfortunately, this beast, masked as a woman was only a “clay figure”
image to that of her real mom, with spider tendencies, who’s only plan was to
take Coraline forever until it happened to get bored. This clearly goes back to
that “be careful what you wish for” line that we have all been taught from a
young age. It also shows how the other mother was playing the archetype of the
destroyer all along. (Page 120; “The whole genre of horror stories, about
monsters, deranged, or villainous people who do unspeakable things to others.”)
Also in this book was the black cat, which plays the archetype of sage
(page144; “stories about teachers and their impact on the young for good or
ill.”) in the story. This cat is sometimes Coraline’s only hope to clarity in
her adventure to finding her parents, and also serves a sense of security for
Coraline in a world where everything has changed all around her.
In the Movie Spirited Away, No Face
was a spirit without a place to be. His archetype would be best described as an
orphan (page 90; Stories in which the dispossessed help one another even though
their efforts may not be successful.”) No Face finds, from the first time
seeing Chihiro, a sense of home which prompts him to follow her to the hotel
she finds a job at. His first scenes are on the wood bridge, and he seems to be
standing there with no one paying any mind to him in anyway. This shows that he
is too an outcast, even in the society that he belongs to. As the movie
progresses he begins to lose control and begins to eat people, in his quest to sole
being with Chihiro (who let him into the hotel.) She to then leads him out of
the hotel and he spits everyone out. He follows her on her quest to the other
side, and eventually finds a home with Granny. The connection between Chihiro
and No Face shows that they were looking for their respective homes, where the
latter was more literal, the former was more interpretive.( Finding a way to
restore her parents, who have been turned into pigs for eating the spirits
food.)
These creatures are symbols and
representations of how the protagonist deals with there on going situation
whether it is a challenge or guiding light. When reading a piece be sure to
read into every character and get to know them so that their purpose is understandable
in the story.
Work Cited
Pearson S. Carol and Marr K. Hugh. What Story Are You Living?. Center for Applications of Psychological Type, Inc. 2009 Print
