The Archetype of the American Adam

What is an Archetype?A recurring pattern,

character, theme, symbol, story

The pattern is repeated yet altered to depict each group who portrays it

The archetype connects with a common human experience or emotion

Unusual circumstances of birth; sometimes in danger or born into royalty

Leaves family or land and lives with othersAn event, sometimes traumatic, leads to adventur

e or questHero has a special weapon only he can wieldHero always has supernatural helpThe Hero must prove himself many times while o

n adventureThe Journey and the Unhealable WoundHero experiences atonement with the fatherWhen the hero dies, he is rewarded spiritually

Classical Hero Traits

1955 published the book, The American Adam: Innocence, Tragedy, and Tradition in the Nineteenth Century, identifying the “true

American” in literature as

an Adam figure.

the plain old Adam, “the

simple genuine self

against the whole world.”

(took this from Emerson)

Identity of an initiatory

protagonist who was

“morally prior” (128-9) to

the world in which he

lived.

nineteenth century

American Literature:

Hawthorne, Melville,

Thoreau, Emerson,

Whitman, Cooper, and

Henry James.

RWB Lewis and The American Adam

To Europeans, the New World was a fresh start

American was “unsullied” by historySociety could be remadeIndividuals could start freshAnything was possibleThis idea is what begins the idea of “The

American Dream”

The myth of America as the new Eden

Traits of the American AdamHe is a social outsiderNo family tiesInnocentSeeks his own “sense of

self” or identityMoves west into the

frontierClose ties to natureNaïve nature leads him to

trouble and/or a fallHe will make many

mistakes but this is what creates his “self”

The American Adam is closely tied to nature, he may live in the rough natural landscape or just have an affinity for nature

He moves through the dangerous wilds, towards an understanding of self

The geographies of the United States often present the Adam with trials and lessons that cause him to fail yet also propel him forward

By the end of the story, he will shun society and head for a new frontier

The American Adam and the American Landscape

The American Adam’s QuestHe is searching for a

sense of selfThis can take the form of

finding family or surrogate family

It can be a physically challenging journey where the Adam learns his limits

It can be a search for a place to belong

The Adam thirsts for a place to belong

Huck has raised himself in the woodsHe is orphaned and without familial

bondsHe feels most comfortable in the wildThough rudimentarily educated, he is

naïve about people and the harsh realities of the world

He grows to know himself and his limits as he ventures down the river

He seeks a family and eventually finds that bond

In the end, he cannot be tamed and he “lights out for the territory”

Huck Finn as the American Adam