What do you think of my World Lit. essay? 100 percent pony related.

[Tenor Clef 112]

Archetypes in the Television Series “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”

 

            The series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic is a television show filled with morals and story lines that contain numerous examples of archetypes. An archetype is a universally recognized theme across literature and can be used to determine the tone of a scene based on the setting and/or character types. The 3 archetypes noticed most in the show are: The Fairy Godmother, Underdog, and The Helping Animals. The Fairy Godmother is supposed to be an old or wise woman who helps the main characters when they face difficult challanges. The Underdog is a character that no one believes can win and all odds are normally against them. The Helping Animals are the animals that help a character achieve a goal, whether it be direct or indirect.

 

            The first archetype noticed by those who watch the show is The Fairy Godmother. The character that best fits this title would be Princess Celestia. She is the alicorn pony (a pony with both Pegasus wings and a unicorn horn) responsible for raising the sun for light to shine over all of Equestria. The only other alicorn in existence is Princess Luna, who is Celestia’s sister and is responsible for raising the moon at night to allow all the ponies to rest. Celestia helps the main 6 characters realize the life lessons that come out of their hardships and gives them advice when they are in an especially bad situation. Taking all of this into consideration, she best fits the role of The Fairy Godmother in the series.

 

            A second archetype that is extremely noticeable in the episode “Dragonshy” is The Underdog. The Underdog in this episode is Fluttershy, the animal loving Pegasus pony. In this episode, the main 6 ponies have been asked by Princess Celestia to go wake up a dragon in a mountain cave and get it to move because of the smoke that comes out of its snout when it snores. Without taking action, all of Equestria would be covered in smoke for a very long time because dragons sleep for several years at once. Before the ponies go up the mountain, Fluttershy makes her fear of dragons much known by repeatedly saying she’s not going. Despite their friends fear, the others were confident that Fluttershy could get the dragon to leave because of her special connection with animals. Eventually, they get up to the cave and when Fluttershy runs away, each of the ponies unsuccessfully try to get the dragon to move. The last pony to try to move the dragon was Fluttershy’s very close friend Rainbow Dash, who was injured during her attempt. After giving up hope, Fluttershy musters up the courage to save her friends and give the dragon a stern talking to that made the dragon leave. Fluttershy is the perfect example of an Underdog archetype because even after everyone gave up hope and the odds were against her, she still got the dragon to move.

 

            The Helping Animals archetype in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic can be personified by the large group of butterflies that saved filly Fluttershy in the episode “The Cutie Mark Chronicles”. In this episode, all of the ponies are telling the stories of how they got their cutie marks (the mark on a pony’s flank that symbolizes their special talent in life). Fluttershy’s story starts in Cloudsdale Coliseum when she is knocked off of a cloud by a gust of wind made by a few other Pegasus ponies racing. Fluttershy, being an exceptionally weak flyer for her age, was unable to save herself and began her rapid descent to the ground below. Although she was certain that she was going to hit the ground, a large group of butterflies down below caught her before she could hit the ground. After she was put on the ground, she discovers that she has a special connection with animals and gets her cutie mark, which is a group of three pink butterflies similar to the ones who saved her. The butterflies are the best example of The Helping Animals because they not only saved Fluttershy’s life, but also helped in the process of receiving her cutie mark.

Edited February 15, 2012 by Dusk Moon

[SrFrog 927]

Most of the antagonist on the show have so far been a mix of the trickster and fool archetypes, as they have yet to show any actual threat to the status quo of their world. Least compared to Tirek of the G.1 series who actually seemed competent in his pursuit of power.

[Twi Rubix 726]

Great essay! Was it for a class assignment or something?

[NewCalamity 3,454]

That's awesome, good work! Might do a pony-related topic in my Writer's Craft class when I get the chance!

[Power Ten 213]

I would get smacked by the teacher for writing about ponies... I wish I went to your school

[Inactive01 5,299]

World Lit. Paper... Are you in the IB program? If you are, then I remember that assignment... It was fun writing a paper about time in A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...

 

EDIT: By the way, I was already impressed with you using archetypes on different characters so accurately.

Edited February 16, 2012 by Derpity Derp

[Pony Joe 583]

I like it for the most part, but...

 

*WARNING: OVERCRITICAL ANALYSIS INCOMING*

 

 

You shouldn't dwell too much on details from the show, and instead keep the essay focused on supporting your thesis. For instance, in the first paragraph, the mention of Luna was a bit unnecessary. I understand how tempting it can be to "write what you know," but there's a very thin line between giving extra details and losing your point. I would suggest removing that sentence altogether, as it makes the paragraph flow much better, and keeps the focus on Celestia's character. As a general rule of thumb: never write about anything that can't be directly connected to the first sentence of the paragraph.

 

Same thing in the last paragraph. Does your reader really need to know what a cutie mark is to understand how the butterflies that catch Fluttershy embody a "helping animals" archetype?

 

Your summary of Dragonshy is another place where you seem to get off-topic. A seven-sentence synopsis isn't necessary and might begin to bore your reader. Keep the summary of the episode to two sentences at most, and spend the rest of the paragraph connecting it to Fluttershy's archetype.

 

As a whole, the essay ends a bit abruptly. It could use a couple sentences to wrap things up, summarize your main points. You could either connect these to your last paragraph or put them in a paragraph of their own.

 

Again, sorry if this seems too critical. That's sorta what 10th Grade English does to a guy.

 

[Tenor Clef 112]

Great essay! Was it for a class assignment or something?

 

yeah it's for my World Literature class. I'm turning it in tomorrow I hope she likes it

 

I would get smacked by the teacher for writing about ponies... I wish I went to your school

 

to be honest, I have no idea how my teacher will react to this.

 

World Lit. Paper... Are you in the IB program? If you are, then I remember that assignment... It was fun writing a paper about time in A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich...

 

EDIT: By the way, I was already impressed with you using archetypes on different characters so accurately.

 

I'm not sure what an IB program is, but I'm in a regular high school World Literature class. And thank you for the compliment, friend