Anger, selfishness, violent tendencies, the quest for uncontrollable power, and sexual desires are all undesirable traits which are frowned upon by society, and are concealed to avoid scrutiny. These traits can be referred to as one's shadow. The shadow is the repressed unconscious side of a personality (The Shadow Archetype). The shadow is considered to be a dark force because it consists of all the negative emotions and behaviors of an individual that they choose to hide in order to avoid society’s pressing judgment. In literature, the shadow can carry negative or evil qualities, as seen in many texts that revolve around a character’s struggle with some form of a shadow. The shadow, whether a physical being or a darkness within, grows in response to knowledge of culture and experience; it sees the evil in society and uses that information to grow as a threat to goodness. When the shadow builds it is usually repressed because of its threat to humanity. Even though the shadow is usually repressed, fought against, undeveloped and denied, the shadow should be confronted in order to know and understand one's true self. One must be self-aware of his/her physical or inner shadow, learn how to fight against it or deal with it, be prepared to struggle against it’s darkness or prevail against it by finding light, and ultimately find a resolution between himself/herself and his evil side.
Shadows can be a threat because they are opposite representations of an individual’s ideals of himself/herself. Because of this trait, a physical shadow will be the representation of an individual’s concealed evil traits with an actual form. Many people fear what the physical representation of their shadow may be. When concealed within oneself the shado...
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In the novel Grendel by John Gardner, the protagonist is a beastly creature, of whom the title of this novel takes after. Grendel closely follows a monomyth formed by Joseph Campbell. This monomyth is based on the belief that “the mind of each person has inherited archetypes that are either repressed or manifested through the experiences of the individual.” Something incredibly significant in the interpretation of this theory is “The Shadow.” Based on this monomyth, this is the part of the mind that contains our darkest desires and urges. The novel Grendel provides numerous examples of which the protagonist battles this part of his mind.
Each person, whether they realize it or not, has been shaped by their relationships with others. The effects that piercings or family members can have on someone are limitless and often times profound. In many instances, people do not even know that they are being influenced by others. Even if it is in the most subtle manner, all characters in novels are directly influenced by other figures. Authors use rhetorical strategies to demonstrate the different ways in which relationships affect and shape a character’s identity.
...be transformed into anger towards others and the denial of ones evil. The neglected shadow if not projected in another's direction, will surface in oneself to restore the imbalance personality. Evil presents us with a daily struggle between temptations and justice. Like Beowulf, we must battle the evils of our shadow until it has been recognized and defeated.
The question “What makes us who we are?” has perplexed many scholars, scientists, and theorists over the years. This is a question that we still may have not found an answer to. There are theories that people are born “good”, “evil”, and as “blank slates”, but it is hard to prove any of these theories consistently. There have been countless cases of people who have grown up in “good” homes with loving parents, yet their destiny was to inflict destruction on others. On the other hand, there have been just as many cases of people who grew up on the streets without the guidance of a parental figure, but they chose to make a bad situation into a good one by growing up to do something worthwhile for mankind. For this reason, it is nearly impossible to determine what makes a human being choose the way he/she behaves. Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published a novel in 1818 to voice her opinions about determining personality and the consequences and repercussions of alienation. Shelley uses the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau to make her point. Rousseau proposed the idea that man is essentially "good" in the beginning of life, but civilization and education can corrupt and warp a human mind and soul. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (hereafter referred to as Frankenstein), Victor Frankenstein’s creature with human characteristics shows us that people are born with loving, caring, and moral feelings, but the creature demonstrates how the influence of society can change one’s outlook of others and life itself by his reactions to adversity at “birth”, and his actions after being alienated and rejected by humans several times.
Evil is constantly talked about on the news, in history class, and by people in society. But who causes this evil that society is so intrigued by? Author William Golding’s idea of evil in “the darkness of man’s heart” is present in his novel, Lord of the Flies, and in the present world.
In many scenes, dark and opaque shadows are cast onto the faces of many characters. These heavy shadows are symbols used to emphasize the hidden emotions and true self of Charles Foster Kane. Shadows prove to be mysterious in the way that they hide things from the light. In the film, the “light” is the truth about Charles, and shadows symbolize the fact that people can never fully understand the thoughts that make a man who he is. For example, Thompson spends the entire movie searching for the meaning of Kane’s life. However, Welles never exposes the face of Thompson, leaving him in the shadows for the entire movie. This is symbolic of the fact that people are in the dark when it comes to understanding the lives of others. It is impossible to truly know what a person feels on the inside, because everyone has unique past experiences that influence their lives. Charles Foster Kane is one of the most famous men in the whole world. In fact, when he died, he has one of the largest attendances at his funeral in history. Many people love Charles, yet no one was aware of the misery and agony that he feels inside, rooted in his lost childhood. The shadows used on the people around Kane and the people in his life symbolize the difficulty in interpreting the life and feelings of another
Dunstan chose to hide his shadow as he was afraid of the repercussions that would occur if he shared his
The primal instinct inherent in man has been demonstrated historically as well as in written works of literature. These documented accounts and fictional writings shed light on a dark, intrinsic element to man’s consciousness. In the literary works Lord of the Flies and Night, the characters are exposed to adverse conditions that overrule rationality and evoke their inherent desire for survival by recourse of savagery and violence.
...e inner personality in females, while the anima is expressed as a feminine inner personality in males. The shadow archetype consists of repressed shortcomings, weaknesses, and instincts. These archetypes are of the collective unconscious, and not based on people in their daily lives.
As the counterpart of light, darkness is commonly viewed as an evil and dangerous entity which consumes all and leaves nothing. However, Insurgent ignores the old and cliché use of darkness and makes it the symbol of truth and all that wh...
What makes us who we are? Do we make this choice ourselves? Many people are shaped and influenced by the society. We tend to consider social norms and consequences of our actions. In the 1940s, black people were considered less superior than white people. Black people felt powerless so they tried to better themselves among their community. In The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison, Cholly and Junior’s personalities are influenced by their parents’ treatments and the society which makes them become violent towards women.
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Darkness. It pervades every nook and cranny of our human minds and souls, held back by the fragile light of our beliefs, yet encroaching entirely in the eyes of another. The darkness is ignorance and fear. It is the quintessence of imperfection, the corruption of the pure, and tragic irony that stems from incomprehension. It explains and confuses, persuades and dissuades. It is the unknown and the unknowable. Darkness.
Humanity is defined by one major factor: one’s understating of the self. By understanding one’s self, one can understand society and the world that surrounds themselves. There is one thing that can often distort one’s personality, one’s identity. By identifying as one thing a person can often change how they act or do certain things. This is often found to hide one’s true motives or intention, but it can also be used to hide hidden factors that aren’t as prevalent. One’s personality and identity are very closely linked, and tend to play off one another. This fact can be show in within multiple works. To name a few authors who demonstrate this fact: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, and Andrei Toom. Their works seek to dive deeper
Often, archetypes penetrate into the human mind without actual awareness as in dreams, myths or symbols; thus via those dreams the archetype becomes conscious. Subsequently, these archetypes assume a latent role in one's personality, and they become visible through repeated, similar experiences and through interactions with others. Ideally, the collective unconscious with its archetypes play a major role in the development of an individual's persona, one's true identity masked by their social identity. Moreover, it controls the shadows of our emotions that compel us to do wrong. Additionally, it balances the anima and the animus, the opposing sex sides of one's gender, so that the opposite psyches of one's gender do not completely dominate an individual. Another archetype, the self, plays an active role in unifying one's different aspects of personalities to express the best of it. In total, the archetypes, more than the ego, are responsible for an individual's social spot in