Sunday 25 January 2015

Archetypal Approach to Literature



            Archetypes are patterns and models that is first model in anything.  For example in Greek mythology Hercules, as an infant, kills two huge snakes.  Similarly, Krishna, as an infant in Hindu mythology, kills a demon.  In these two mythological stories, the first archetype is an infant of divine origin performing miracles.

            We believe that in infancy myth and experience of common man are incorporated in everyone’s life.  Jung, a psychoanalyst, says that experiences live in the form of archetypes in the unconscious minds of every man.  He invents a phrase called ‘collective unconscious’, which refers to the symbols that are buried in every man.  It is said that these symbols would suddenly erupt in him and would lead to unusual actions.  Sigmund Freud says that these symbols come in the form of dreams.

            Archetypal approach is also called as mythological criticism.  Myth is a fable and not a false tale.  Myths are a storehouse of symbols regulating man’s assumptions about life, death and universe.  Rituals are myth in action.  Myth is also found among tribes.  Archaeologists, anthropologists and linguists affirm the power of myth.  Myth lives in rituals and teaches men morality.

A few examples of universal myth are as follows:
1.      A child though an orphan, of divine parentage, becomes superhuman and becomes the savior of land.
2.      A man driven into exile combats life and becomes a ruler.
3.      A man forced into slavery performs impossible feats of strength, gets his freedom and real stature.

The central pattern of all myth is that they show the rhythm of life – a rise followed by a fall and by a rise.  Sir James Frazer in his The Golden Bough, compares lifecycle with that of the four seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter.  Wilson Knights in his The Starlit Dome talks about myth in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and in Coleridge’s “The Ancient Mariner”.


Greeks and Romans used myth to a great extent.  Elizabethans used it sparingly.  In English literature myths were given utmost importance by writers like T.S. Eliot, W.B. Yeats and James Joyce.  The function of myth in literature is to provide a background familiar to the reader and the writer.  Myths acts as a bridge between the reader and the writer.  Myth in drama is studied extensively.

Summary of R. K. Narayan's An Astrologer’s Day



Introduction
An Astrologer’s Day is a short story by R. K. Narayan.  It is in third person narration.  R. K. Narayan is a famous English novelist.  An Astrologer’s Day is about an astrologer, who overcomes a difficulty from a stranger.  The astrologer is a person with many characters.

The Astrologer as a cheat
The author opens the story by explaining the physical appearance of the astrologer.  He is a man with sacred ash and vermillion in his forehead.  He has a turban around his head.  This costume of the astrologer attracts people towards him.  He does not know anything about astrology.  He does not even know what would happen to him in the next 10 minutes, but he cheats his customers.  He acts as if he knows all about astrology.  He cheats many people by pleasing them and by saying astonishing things.

The criss-cross light around him helps him to cheat those people because they cannot see his face clearly, as he lies.  He is a liar even to his own wife.  He hides the secret of his past life.  Even at the end he says only a little of his past guilt of drinking, gambling and stabbing Guru Nayak.  This shocks his wife and the readers.

The Astrologer as a Stingy Person
The astrologer is a miser.  He does not have a light on his own.  He depends upon the light rays from the shops that are around him.   During nights, he uses the dim green light.  He closes his business when the nuts vendor moves.  This stingy nature is an advantage for him.  He feels happy with the criss-cross light.

The Astrologer as a Brilliant Person
The astrologer, though he is a cheat, is admired for his brilliance.  He faces his customers in an astonishing way.  He tackles all his customers and sends them satisfied.  This quality he has got from his experience.  He says things that 9 out of 10 people would agree.  In case of Guru Nayak, the astrologer is extremely brilliant.  He identifies him with a small light from the match and says all about him in a safe way.  He escapes from him vey easily.  He is very brilliant.

The Astrologer as Cheated
            When the story ends, we see the astrologer as a cheated person.  From the beginning, he cheats others but at the end, he stands cheated.  Guru Nayak instead of giving one rupee gives just 12 and half annas.  The astrologer worries about this.


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madhav - the author of this blog
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