NCHS AP English Language

Archetype and Ishmael by Jeff Annis

Jung was an eastern philosopher who came up with many new age ideas, one of which was the universal archetypes. You can see his ideas influencing modern western literature, specifically in Moby Dick. Ishmael is a character whose archetype I will talk about as well as what an archetype is.

Firstly, an archetype is a subconcious understanding of the world around us. This is not something we learn or experience. This is something that every human is born with. An example is how a baby loves its mother even though it has no experience with her. It's innate for a baby to know that its mom is going to look after it. Another example is how people on entirely different continents can feel the same presence of a greater being; regardless of what they call this thing they all feel its presence. Our experiences and culture help develop our character, which is inter-related to our archetype. Our character reflects our inner thoughts and desires. Everyone has their own archetype; this should not be confused with a stereotype. Each archetype is the reason why people act the way they do. It's the way they percieve the world around them and will most likely translate into how they act. The archetype is our base understanding of our world. It gets enriched by our culture, but still maintains the original values. Archetypal thinking is the reason why some poeple make better leaders and some better followers- one sees their place as the person in charge while the other does not want to take control, and this reflects the subconcious level of thinking within each individual. It is also the reason why there is an instinctive bond between siblings and other family members.

Ishmael is a Renaissance school teacher who is shy and unsure about his ability outside of his previous environment. An example of his archetype is his fear of Queeqeug ( a strange Native) which can be tied to the instinctive fear of the unknown. We can see how culture affects ones outlook on life when Ishmael shifts from his civilized society to an entirely different one, a whaling culture. In both instances he was an outsider, which further reveals more about Ishmaels character. You see the numinous qualities in his archetype when he feels the presence of an arm draped around him when he woke up in the morning. This is one of he qualities of archetypes defined by Jung- dreams. Religion, another quality of Jungian philosophy, is present in the novel whenever he refers to himself as a Christian man as well as attending church with Queequeg. The third quality of this philosophy is art. The oil painting of a whaling ship expressed Ishmael's innate yearning for freedom. He desires to escape the routine of his previous life by what he considers committing suicide, joining the whaling business. Even though everything about this business is entirely new to Ishmael, he has a basic understanding and respects the unique whaling culture. Jungain philosophy can be seen in Ishamael throughout the book.

posted by NCHS AP English Language III @ 7:46 PM