The Princess Bride Essay

781 Words2 Pages

“Life isn’t fair, it’s just fairer than death.” (Goldman 358) That was said by William Goldman at the end of his novel The Princess Bride. The Princess Bride is a book about a girl named Buttercup who learns throughout the book, about the difficulties of life. Buttercup learns about love, adventure, and truthfulness of life, and people. Buttercup lived in a farm in Florin opposite from the land of Guilder. Her family owned a boy she called “Farm boy.” Buttercup teased Farm boy and told him what to do. One day, the Count and Countess of Florin show up at Buttercups families farm, and asks for their cows milk, which was said to be the best milk around. The Countess takes an interest in Westly, the farm boy, and Buttercup realizes her love for him. When Buttercup admitted to her love for Westly, he told her he was moving to America to build a future for the both of them. Soon, Buttercup got a call that informed her of Westly’s death, she was petrified. Later in the book, the Prince of Florin decided he needed a princess because his father, the king, was very ill. Soon, he would become king, and there must be a queen. Prince Humperdinck went to Buttercups farm to gather her so she could become his wife. Buttercup did so and the marriage was soon to be. One day, when Buttercup had been living in the Princes castle, she decided to go for a ride on her horse. Buttercup was kidnapped by three men, Inigo, Vizzini, and Fezzik. They were planning on taking Buttercup to Guilder to kill her so there could be a war between Florin and Guilder. The group was followed by a “man in black” who turned out to be Westly Buttercups love. Westly defeated each man and planned on taking Buttercup to...

... middle of paper ...

...) This archetype is rendered new because the color of black is supposed to be evil or bad, but the “man in black” ends up being Westly who is good and saves the princess. The color of black can actually be good or bad depending on which character is wearing or seeing it. The Princess Bride actually does contain archetypes such as colors (black) that render the story new to be unlike other stories.
The Princess Bride contains many archetypes that render the story new within the color of black, the unhealable wound, and the friendly beast. The story supports the quote “Life isn’t fair, it’s just fairer than death.” Which is shown throughout the book within the relationships with Buttercup, Westly, the prince, Inigo, and Fezzik along with the other characters.

Works Cited:
Goldman, William. The Princess Bride. London: Bloomsbury Children's, 2008. Print

Open Document