Re-reading character archetypes in Luis Valdez's mummified deer

Abstract EN

An archetype is generally defined as "a universal symbol that cuts across geographical, cultural and chronological boundaries to present a human experience that evokes a similar response regardless of time and place" (McQuien 8).

It is a term that was first coined by Carl Jung, one of the principal founding fathers of modern psychology.

He recognized that there were universal patterns in all stories and mythologies regardless of culture, time or place.

Joseph Campbell employed some of Jung's ideas and applied them to world mythologies.

He contended that the myth provides sufficient access to the unconscious; it is a kind of psychological therapy because it uncovers the secrets hidden in this unconscious to the conscious.

Using Jung and Campbell's definitions as a backdrop, this paper argues that Luis Valdez, the leading Chicano playwright, in his play Mummified Deer (2000) has twisted common archetypal patterns in Yaqui mythology to urge his audience to reconsider Chicano's socio-political conditions.

Generally, Valdez's plays have always been examined from a postcolonial perspective; therefore, this paper adopts a different approach by exploring selected character archetypes in Mummified Deer.