Donkey's Use Of Archetype In Shrek

While the hero of any story may appear to be the sovereign protagonist, heroes cannot succeed without support from one or more sidekicks. Sidekicks are the characters who support heroes through the their journey; they often complement the hero’s weaknesses and build upon their strengths. Throughout history, the sidekick archetype has evolved: ancient sidekicks were minor characters who only existed to assist the hero, but modern sidekicks are complex, developed characters increasingly similar to heroes.

Ancient sidekicks were static characters who existed for the sole purpose of advancing a hero’s story. A great example of this can be found in the 22nd century BC, Mesopotamian Epic of Gilgamesh. As punishment for King Gilgamesh’s abuse of

power the goddess Aruru creates Enkidu, an unruly man raised by wild beasts, to kill Gilgamesh. Aruru’s plan backfires in the only example of Enkidu’s character development; Enkidu befriends Gilgamesh instead of killing him. Later Enkidu sees the Gods punishing him in a dream and he becomes sick and dies. This is a critical plot point for Gilgamesh, and shows the audience that Enkidu’s purpose was to develop Gilgamesh’s story. As stated by Ancient-Literature.com, “Gilgamesh is devasted by Enkidu’s death” (sic.) so he decides to “make the perilous journey to [discover] the secret of everlasting life” (Mastin). The ephemeral relationship between Enkidu and Gilgamesh is used as a plot device to advance Gilgamesh’s character development; over the course of their relationship, Gilgamesh grows from an abusive king to a despondent man desperately struggling for immortality. At the same time, Enkidu enters and exits the story with brevity, exhibiting little character development. Gilgamesh then spends the second half of the epic without Enkidu on his quest for immortality, showing drastically more complexity and development of Gilgamesh than Enkidu.

Modern archetypal sidekicks are dynamic characters who have their own stories and character development rather than just sitting in the hero’s shadow.

Donkey, from Dreamworks’s Shrek, fits the modern archetype. When Shrek first encounters Donkey, he is a coward; he is scared of the dark, scared of heights, and often clings to Shrek. However, Donkey’s character develops as Shrek’s story continues. For example, while Donkey is trying to help Shrek save Princess Fiona he befriends and eventually marries the Dragon. Rather than solely affecting Shrek this plot point advances Donkey’s story. Donkey also gains courage as Shrek begins to rub off on him. This is shown toward the end of the movie when Donkey says, “Alright, nobody move! I've got a dragon and I'm not afraid to use it! I'm a donkey on the edge!” (Shrek). The quote illustrates Donkey’s transformation from a jumpy Donkey to a tough character, while still standing by Shrek as a sidekick. Donkey illustrates the modern archetype because he exists not only as a sidekick, but also as an important character who undergoes complex character development during Shrek’s story. Another modern sidekick with a story independent of his hero’s story is War Machine, Colonel James Rhodes from Marvel’s Iron Man series. ‘Rhodey’ is an important Colonel in the US Military giving him an aspect of importance even when he’s not backing up Iron Man. Throughout the three Iron Man movies, he shows that he is a developed character by checking

Stark’s power when Stark acts complacent. In Iron Man II when Rhodey finds a drunken Tony using the Iron Man suit to impress his party guests, Rhodey puts on the War Machine suit and shuts down the chaotic party. This is a big step in character development for Rhodey because in the first movie he was afraid to try using the suit. Then Stark says, “Sorry, pal, but Iron Man doesn't have a sidekick” (Iron Man II) to which Rhodey defiantly responds, “Sidekick this!” and hits Iron Man with a barbell. This event shows that Rhodey isn’t just an obsequious sidekick, but also keep Stark in line, and it also illustrates that War Machine is an important friend in Tony’s life. Rhodey is an exemplary modern sidekick because he consistently acts as more than sidekick: he challenges Tony, he has an important position of power, and he undergoes character development throughout the movies.
Ancient archetypal sidekicks simply aided heroes in heroes’ adventures, and then left the story. On the contrary, modern sidekicks have evolved into complex characters; they have their own backstories, character development, and importance in the story. The archetype’s evolution was caused by modern audiences’ demand for more interesting characters and more complex relationships between characters. Readers or viewers are no longer satisfied by simple characters who make small contributions to stories and then disappear or die. Because of increasing demand for captivating characters, sidekicks have developed from simple, flat assistants to complex, dynamic presences.