The Underworld Archetypes

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I was sitting on the bright green grass, on a hot sunny day at my best friend’s lake house. There was not a cloud in the sight, and the air was still. I was reading my favorite book “The cellar”, as I got more enveloped in the story, I was starting to connect to the characters and scenery. I felt fifteen year old Summer’s fear as she was snatched from the park, when Clover changed her name to “Lily”, and the pain and suffering of the other captives in that cellar. It seemed like a hell in itself, they had to obey every command, follow an everyday routine, and if they didn’t or they tried to escape they would be killed immediately. Their captive was a man who calls himself Clover who seems to have an extreme case of OCD and childhood trauma. …show more content…
The Underworld archetype is important to storytelling because it shows perseverance and growth of a character. Hardship affects the wealthy and the poor; the young and the old; the corporate CEO and the teacher in a one-room school. “The human condition guarantees that each life will encounter natural and largely unpredictable trauma. . . . Leadership, by its very nature, is entwined with adversity” (Stoner & Gilligan, 2002, p.17). Leadership and resilience comes from facing hardship. Without hardship, we wouldn’t have any need to grow or become stronger. If people led perfect lives then there would be no story to even tell. A good story works like a pyramid, there is a rising action which leads to the conflict which is at the peak of the story, and then the falling action in which the characters start overcome the conflict causing them to rebirth into a new form of themselves. Like in the book the cellar, Summer is an everyday girl with hopes and dreams but is uncareful and naive, the conflict is when she is kidnapped which is at the top of the pyramid, and the rest of the story falls down into her overcoming her situation. In the end, she is damaged but becomes a more aware and careful person. Without the Underworld Archetype, the character would not have any development which is critical in reflecting how us humans face things …show more content…
The hardships changes the person but I want to analyze how people change. Just like in the “The labyrinth” Sarah hates her baby brother and states, “You know Freddie, I heard that the only thing to do with a baby who won't stop crying is to get some goblins to come over and teach him a lesson.” This shows how she is annoyed with her baby brother and wants him to go away. However, when she is faced with the reality of her brother being snatched by goblins, she will stop at nothing to get him back. When she gets him back she hands him the teddy bear that she originally took in the beginning and says, “Here. It’s yours. You earned it.” This shows how someone can start out with a selfish and mean attitude, but once facing great conflict, can be a more giving and stronger character. Without conflict we would never change our old ways, we would go on living with bad qualities because we would never need to learn. Whatever the conflict is, it will contribute to shaping a person’s
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