Archetypes In Oedipus Complex

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Archetypes have been around for thousands of years, dating back to at least Plato discussing his “Theory of Forms”. In a literary contexts we think of archetypes such as the hero, the mentor, the journey, or the initiation. When looked at from these perspectives it appears that there is nothing original to write about, but these archetypes are used over and over with much success. The reason is because the writer and the reader empathize with the archetypes. Take for example the Initiation archetype, also called the Coming of Age story, in it is the struggle of the young against the old in an attempt to obtain individuality, and freedom that reflects what Jungian psychologists call, a “father complex”, a type of subset to the oedipus complex, in the authors. What we consider the “Oedipus Complex” in which a man is at odds with his father and idolizes his mother has been around for thousands of years. In Greek mythology we find some of the earliest instances of it. For example in the beginning Gaia and Uranus ruled the universe and …show more content…

In the second paragraph of his memoirs titled, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, he says, “I lived an odd, herky-jerky childhood, raised by a single parent who moved around a lot in my earliest years and who...may have farmed my brother and me out to one of her sisters…” (King 17). Being raised by a single mother and her sisters no doubt influenced King in a significant way, particularly, idolizing and admiring the female sex. This is reflected in Joyland, in that Devin has a father yet does not run to him for comfort when his girlfriend breaks up with him but to a carnival, and eventually a single mother. While Wendy dumped him she meant a great deal to him, and then, he gives his virginity to Annie Ross. All of the important decisions of Devins life revolve around his interactions with women, revealing the high regard King has for

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