In this response you will focus on archetypal literary theory to respond to what you have read from the beginning of chapter 4 to the end of chapter 8 in “American War” by Omar El Akkad. To guide your reflections on the book you have chosen, below you will find a series of questions to help you think about various aspects of the text.
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– 1. Do any of the characters in your book remind you of any archetypal characters (e.g., the Great Mother, the Mentor, the Trickster, the Hero, etc)?
– 2. Compare the archetypal characters in your book to archetypal characters in other books, movies, or myths. What does this help to reveal about the characters in your book?
– 3. Look for any archetypal symbols that appear in the book (e.g., water, circles, the sun, the moon). What might they represent in the context of your book?
– 4. How does the main character’s journey align with or differ from the archetypal hero’s journey?
– 5. Based on that journey archetype what might you expect from the main character later in the book?
Criteria (follow very closely):
– Your response should be approximately 500-550 words.
It should contain direct references to your text and parenthetical citations from the portion of text you have read (chpts 4-8).
– Write in very well-developed sentences and paragraphs and elaborate on key details.
– Keep your level of language informal but sophisticated. Write in first person.
– Make observations that go deeper than the surface of the text. – Think about the choices the author has made in constructing the text.
– Identify specific stylistic techniques, and conventions and explain why they are effective (or ineffective) when it comes to communicating a particular idea.