|
After discovering a God-given talent, a young boy struggles to
achieve his only dream; to become the best there ever was. Baseball is
all he has ever known, so he prevails through the temptations and
situations laid before him by those out to destroy his career. His
hopes and dreams outweigh all the temptations along his journey. These
hopes, dreams, and temptations are depicted through archetypes in the
movie The Natural.
An archetype is a universal symbol. It is also a term from the
criticism that accepts Jung’s idea of recurring patterns of situation,
character, or symbol existing universally and instinctively in the
collective unconscious of man. Archetypes come in three categories:
images (symbols), characters, and situations. Feelings are provoked
about a certain subject by archetypes. The use of the images of water,
sunsets, and circles set the scene of the movie. Characters, including
the temptress, the devil figure, and the trickster, contribute to the
movie’s conflicts that the hero must overcome in order to reach his
dream. However, to reach his dream, the hero must also go through many
situations such as, the fall, dealing with the unhealable wound, and
the task. By using archetypes in the movie, the viewer can obtain more
than just the plot and better understand the true theme of the movie:
to never give up on dreams.
Archetypal imagery in this movie is abundant, but the most obvious
and repetitive archetypes are those of water, sunsets, and circles.
Prior to Roy Hobb’s, the hero’s, arrival to the major league, the
coach, Pop, comments, “Wouldn’t you think I could get a fresh drink of
water after all the years that I have been in this game.” At this point
in the game, his team is losing miserably and Roy’s arrival only seems
to make the situation worse because his first impression is an overage
rookie. When Roy finally gets a chance to prove himself as a ball
player and does, the water from the fountain begins to taste good. The
water changing from bad to good shows a birth for the team. Since water
is necessary for growth, it also symbolizes a growth stage for the team
from the worst to a competitor. Roy appears to be “the fresh drink of
water” that Pop has been wanting.
The sunset also emerges into view several times in the movie,
archetypally representing death. When Roy is attempting to strike out
the Whammer at the carnival, Max Mercy says, “Let’s hurry up now. The
sun is gonna set soon.” Roy strikes out the Whammer, symbolizing the
death of his youth and the opportunity to begin his new life as the
best baseball player. The sunset may also represent the end, or death,
of the Whammer’s reputation as the best now that he has been beaten.
The archetypal definition of a circle is wholeness and unity and
that is exactly what shines through in the baseball team. Because
baseball is the only sport where the runner ends up at the same place
he started, thus making a complete circle, the team experiences it
daily and more than anyone else. Roy is the missing link to form the
circle. The team uses teamwork throughout the movie, therefore showing
unity amongst themselves. Also, the movie begins with Roy’s playing
ball in a field with his dad, and ends with him playing ball in a field
with his son. This shows Roy’s journey as a circle, which shows
wholeness of his soul. In the beginning, he is very thirsty for fame,
but in the end, he is complacent.
Many of the characters that Roy confronts in the movie are only in
his life in order to use him. Roy must overcome the enticements of the
temptress, the devil figure, and the trickster. The temptress in the
movie is Memo, the very attractive niece of Pop who works along with
the devil figure to promote Roy’s downfall. The Judge, or the devil
figure, must make sure the team loses the pennant in order to gain
complete control of it. He offers money to Memo to help him assure the
loss. It is Memo’s job to lure Roy into the scandal, and the Judge
makes it official by offering him a large amount of money. The
temptress is a woman whom the protagonist is physically attracted and
who ultimately brings about his downfall. Memo is obviously the
temptress because of her exceptional appearance and her motive to
destroy Roy’s dream. Even though he refuses, Memo does try to tempt him
into the deal. Memo’s name itself is also symbolic. Memo or memorandum
may remind Roy of Harriet Byrd, the woman who attempted his murder. In
fact, Memo does say once on the beach, “Ever since the hotel, I have
felt like we’ve met before.” The Judge is considered the devil figure
because he offers riches to Roy in exchange for him losing the game. He
is constantly surrounded by darkness, which can represent evil or
death. Both Memo and the Judge attempt to use Roy to get what they
want, even if it means destroying Roy’s career and dream.
Another antagonist encounter is Max Mercy (the trickster), who
surely shows a very minimal amount of mercy when he uncovers Roy’s
past. The trickster has rebellious energy and enjoys questioning the
status quo. When Roy surfaces, Max knows no limits in finding the facts
about his concealed past. After finally discovering parts of the truth,
he threatens Roy by telling him he will run a story incriminating him
and thus causing him to lose all the respect and admiration of his
fans. This act shows no morals, another characteristic of the
trickster. Although he knows the story is not true, he indicates that
he will run it if he doesn’t get what he wants; the real story behind
Roy Hobbs.
The situations that Roy faces become the challenges he conquers to
achieve his dream of being the best. The archetypal fall, is a descent
form a higher to a lower state of being. Roy’s fall from an up and
rising ball player to an unknown man occurs when Harriet Byrd attempts
his murder, but ends up only giving him a stomach wound. Roy cannot
play ball after suffering a wound like that. His innocence his lost as
the bullet enters his body. However, Roy does overcome his fall when he
returns to the game.
Not only does the bullet interrupt his career, but also it leaves
him with an unhealable wound. His stomach is forever in pain, even
after a doctor discovers it has been in is stomach since the event and
removes it. When Roy is in the hospital, Roy comments, “Some mistakes
we never stop paying for.” This shows he knows he is an endless cycle
of pain from the bullet. He knows that his wound his unhealable. The
wound drives him to desperate measures, a characteristic of the
archetype, when he plays ball despite the risk of death.
Roy’s task is to identify himself so that he may reassume his
rightful position as the best baseball player in the game. He earned
the position the first time when he struck out the Whammer. After
returning to baseball, Roy must again prove himself as the best. First,
Roy must earn the respect from his coach and the players before he can
attempt to make a name for himself. Once that is accomplished by
showing off his hitting talents, Roy Hobbs easily becomes a household
name. It takes awhile, but he does become the persistent front-page
story.
The movie The Natural obviously benefits from using the images of
water, sunsets, and circles, the characters of the temptress, the devil
figure, and the trickster, and the situations of the fall, dealing with
the unhealable wound, and the task. By using these archetypes in the
movie, the plot is not all the viewer sees. The movie becomes more in
depth. More feelings can also be provoked by the use of archetypes,
which will involve the viewer more in the movie and allow them to
connect with the characters. Roy’s dream to become the best becomes
enhanced by the continuous use of archetypes in the movie.
|
|
|
(0 vote)