Paper 3

Paper #3—Definition Essay

Defining a Universal Symbol (Archetype) in Popular Culture

For your third formal essay, you will identify and define a universal symbol or motif found in literature or film. You may focus your essay on the discussion of symbols as read in Jutta Von Buchholtz’s essay “Archetypal Patterns: Snow-White—She was Quite a Ninny, Wasn’t She?” which discusses the different universal patterns and situations in the Snow White fairy tale. If you choose, you may write about other symbols, such as the character archetype (i.e. Sleeping Beauty as the “damsel in distress” or Superman as the “hero”), the situational archetype (i.e. the The Lord of the Rings and “the Quest”) or the symbolic archetype (i.e. the Terminator films and “Nature v. the Mechanistic World”). Choose a film, book, or other media and determine the universal archetype within it. Define the archetype and describe the characteristics, discussing what the symbols represent, as well as how and why the archetype is portrayed.

An A paper will have a clear thesis that is strong, significant, and interesting. It will demonstrate excellent composition skills including: appropriate and effective structural organization, lively and convincing supporting materials, strong and clear connections, effective diction and sentence skills, and perfect or near perfect mechanics. Your paper should be written in the academic voice, along with moments of personal reflection in the first-person narrative.  An A paper will exceed expectations.

Audience:      A peer who is intelligent and curious about human behavior.

Length:        4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman font 12 pt, MLA format

Due Dates:   1^st draft due Friday, February 24 for writing workshop (turnitin.com & 1 copy)

                        Final polished draft due Wednesday, March 7 (turnitin.com & 1 copy)

Helpful Hints

• There are many types of archetypes in popular culture—define, describe, and explore the one you choose to thoroughly discuss with descriptive examples
• Be willing to read the Buchholtz essay more than once. The more you read, the more in-depth you can go with your observations about the texts. This will make you a more responsible and critical reader/writer.
• When describing people or situations, show more and tell less.
• Visit the LSU Library for questions about symbols, archetypes, and how to identify them!!!
• Remember to cite any quotations in MLA style, and include a Works Cited page at the end of your essay.