While Islands might seem just like a tropical paradise where one goes to kick off their sandals, drink a few mojitos, and "hang out" with their significant other, they are in fact a very important Archetype in literature.
1. The Heroic Journey/Transformation
2. Non-celestial Heaven
3. Mystery and the Unknown
The Heroic Journey/ Transformation
Islands play a significant role in the heroic journey. the Island does not show its head in the journey until after the departure of our hero on account of our hero only goes to islands on his/her journey after he has crossed the threshold from the security of his homeland into the unknown world. Because of this fact the island nation of Ithaca would not fit into the archetype of an island. Once our hero has departed on their journey, it is a strong possibility that our hero will encounter an island, or an island like entity such as a near endless forest or desert. on a journey an island can represent one of two things. it can either represent an oasis in an ocean of fear and destruction, or it can represent a wild and savage place shrouded in mystery. we will go more into depth of these two types of islands in the proceeding sections of this article. But whether or not it is a blessing or hinderence to be marred on an island, our hero is transformed by the island, and begins to take a new perspective on life.
Once the hero reaches the island, the transformation begins. When our her first reaches the Island, they have less than an open mind to the island and its differences from the "real world". Once the initial shock factor goes down, and our hero realizes that they will be stuck on the island for a long period of time, the hero's stubbornness is replaced by an acceptance of the island lifestyle of fishing, shelter and fire building, scavenging, and lying around lounging and thinking. After some time our hero begins to change his beliefs and his thoughts on the outside world, due to nature touching his or her soul in places that the hero did not know exist. Soon after this transformation our hero is rescued or leaves the island by some other means and eventually finds thyself back in the "real world" where their new perspective on life clashes with the world as they used to know it.
While Odysseus does travel to many islands on his journey back home, i do not believe that he is truly transformed by the islands he travels to, so his journey would not be the best example of islands transforming a hero (this is due to the nature of Odysseus- he is a self centered jerk who refuses to change his ways for anyone or anything) but there are many examples in literature and film that show the transformation of a hero on an island. Examples
· Castaway-the movie
· Lost-the TV show
· Lord of the Flies-the book
Non-celestial Heaven
Sometimes when our hero encounters an island, the island itself represents a heaven like oasis, due to its abundance of fruit, animals, and lack of worries on the hero’s part: like a modern day interpretation of a Garden of Eden. In the Odyssey Calypso’s Island as well as the land of the lotus eaters are prime examples of heaven-like places. It is safe to once our hero comes to one of these abundant islands they rarely want to leave the place. Just like in Odysseus’s case with Calypso-he can either go back into the ocean and get ravaged by Poseidon, or he could stay on the island and have passionate sex with a beautiful nymph whenever he feels the urge-hmmm? I wonder which one he chose.
These sorts of islands do not help the hero along on his journey to finding himself they are more of a tantalizing obstacle that the hero must pass by on his or her journey. Kind of like a seductress a heaven-like island is just one of speed bump that the hero must go over in their travels. We rarely ever find our hero staying on the island living the high life for the rest of their life: there is always something or someone to get back to. A great example of this heaven-like island is the island that Huck runs away to after he fakes his death, and eventually meets up with Jim.
Mystery and the Unknown
While islands can be viewed as a Garden of Eden in some texts, for the most part they exhibit a mysterious persona and our hero is faced with the endless possibilities of the unknown. On islands like these our hero tested physically, psychologically, and spiritually by the entities whether they be real beasts, or pure fabrications from the mind of the hero, These mysterious entities lurking in the forests of the island provide a sharp contrast to the relaxing beaches that our hero is used to living on at the island. These mysterious aspects of island life can be best seen in works like the Lord of the Flies with the beasty, as well as the mysterious mist in the TV show lost