Archetype

An archetype is a topic or theme that appears over and over in books. It is something that is pleasing to read or hear about, so it is used numerous times in literature and movies, and it is accepted with open arms almost every time.

There are tons of archetypes, but one of my personal favorites is "true love." There are millions of books that involve "true love," whether it's the story of how it came to be, or the struggles that come with it, it is present everywhere. From the time we are born to the time we die, we are fascinated by love: kids hear about it in fairy tales, teens read about it in books, adults spend their life trying to find and keep it.

One book that I remember had a lot to do with true love was Dear John by Nicolas Sparks. It is a story about a guy in the army, stationed in Germany, that comes to the United States for a two week vacation in his hometown, and while he is home he meets his one and only "true love." This love is tricky though, because he is only home for two weeks, then he has to go back to Germany. So to keep their love alive they write letters to each other, hence the name Dear John. It sounds super cheesy and cliche, but because humans are so fascinated with love, it works. Every time.

Thomas Foster truly opened my eyes to the patterns that are in literature. Archetypes are everywhere and I never even knew they existed before Foster.