An exploration of archetypes in terms of ancient mythology and Neil Gaiman's Sandman.

1. Comparisons of archetypes in the Sandman and various mythologies, in relation to Jung’s theory of the unconscious collective. Marjolein Stevens IB Y1 Psychology

2. What is Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious? Jung’s theory of unconscious collective states that there is “a biologically-based portion of the unconscious which reflects universal themes and ideas, not individual experience. (240)” So basically, nature over nurture: there’re some ideas we’re just born with, no matter where or when we’re from.

3. What are archetypes? Archetypes are images of universal meaning. For example, the cycle of birth and death has been revisited in many religions and philosophies for many years. Carl Jung argued that archetypes were not independent inventions, but rather operated independent of human consciousness, and were in fact an inheritance from the collective unconscious.

4. Desire, despair, destiny, dream, death, delirium, and destruction; also known as The Endless in Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. In the Sandman, the Endless govern the ways of the universe .