The Individuation Of The Shadow English Literature Essay

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In last chapter, this thesis has analyzed the manifestation of the shadow in Harry Potter series. Not merely the assorted signifiers of archetype image in the novels are given out, but besides the factors for the outgrowth of the shadow from people 's corporate unconscious are summed up. Now, in this chapter, this writer will take three characters in the novels as an illustration to analyze their life classs and so exemplify the relation between destiny and the handling of the shadow, or more exactly, the relation between an person 's fate and his individualization of the shadow.

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As has mentioned before, Rowling 's this series of books is truly non merely about a faery narrative which is full of originative imaginativeness and adventuresome spirit ; it besides has a cosmopolitan significance. From the books, people can happen such a motive, that is, in the morality of human being there is ever a sort of struggle between the virtuousness and the immorality.

Talking from Jung 's shadow theory, this struggle is between the unconscious shadow original and the witting. In people 's corporate unconscious, the shadow which represent people 's evil ego is seeking to lift to the bed of witting, while the moral composite which is like an interior authorization, manage to quash the shadow, doing people experience guilty of it. Merely through the individualization of the shadow, could a individual incorporate his shadow with his witting and therefore organize a balanced personality.

In the narrative, Harry, Voldemort and Snape all have experienced the procedure of the shadow 's individualization.

And as the representatives of the good, the immorality and the contradictory severally, they have undergone rather different experiences and hence had a different procedure for one 's individualization.

4.1 Harry-the integrating of the shadow and the witting

As the first hero of the series, Harry Potter was in fact neither a perfect ace nor the strongest pupil at Hogwarts. He has the failing that most young person may hold, such as did non like survey, ever broke regulations of school, lacking of assurance, lazy and so on. Then, why would Rowling take such a male child as the supporter of her novels and why had so many readers fall in love with this imperfect character? This writer believed that the ground can be attributed to Harry 's successful realisation of his individualization of the shadow.

Though regarded as a hero from his birth, Harry has non experienced rather swimmingly during his growing procedure. What 's more, he had to take more agonies and bear more duty. Lord Voldemort 's failure of killing him non merely brought him with celebrity, but besides sowed the seeds of the biggest shadow for him. It was Voldemort that made him lose his parents and turn up in an unpleasant environment ; similarly, it was Voldemort that left him with a lightning-bolt-shaped-scar which endowed Harry with tonss of Voldemort 's barbarous traits, such as the ability of talking with serpent, and evil ideas. With the embedding of these evil elements, Harry began its individualization procedure of the shadow after his entryway of the charming universe.

Jung believed that the individualization procedure begins with alterations. The biggest alteration for Harry was that he came into the Hogwarts School to larn thaumaturgy. Before his knowing of the charming universe, Harry had already learnt that he could talk with serpents. But at that clip, all feelings he had owned was wonder and amaze. However, after Harry 's coming into the wizarding universe, everything changed and he bit by bit learnt that in the charming universe the individual who could talk with serpent was called the Parselmouth. And in fact in most aces ' eyes, the parselmouth 's ability was instead rare and sinister. Among the assorted figures in the novels, merely there were merely two other celebrated parselmouths, viz. Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin, with the latter as one of the laminitiss of the Hogwarts School. Both of the two individuals had pursued the thoroughbred ideal and they even had tried to either throw out the non-pureblood pupils or purge the aces without a thoroughbred lineage. Therefore, with the cognition of these things, a feeling of diffidence and confusion fell on Harry. In add-on, with the flowering of the narrative, in the fifth of the novels, Harry found himself ever has an urge of assailing people, particularly to seize with teeth Professor Dumbledore. As Jung said, the shadow is a portion of the ego that may do people experience guilty of it, this dark idea besides made him experience dying and guilty. On the whole, all these phenomena could be seen as the marks for Harry 's encountering of the shadow in his unconscious. And at this period, Harry was chiefly ashamed of the shadow and felt leery of himself.

However, this procedure of experiencing eldritch and diffidence did non last for long. Through reading the narrative, readers can happen that, at first, Harry was ashamed of holding those malicious traits or ideas of Voldemort. And He was even rather painful and disquieted about it, because every clip Voldemort approached him or invaded in his head, his cicatrix ached intensely. But bit by bit, he began to confront those shadows and accept them. From the beginning when Harry could merely portion Voldemort 's idea in dream or with vulnerable status to a latter period when Harry could felt Voldemort 's purpose or action with small hard, in fact, this male child has successfully achieved the procedure of seeing the shadow and acknowledging the shadow.

Then, after acknowledging the shadow 's coming into the witting bed, Harry had to larn about the shadow. Jung described this procedure as:

`` You are now more inclined to give attentiveness to a helpful thought or intuitioni??or to detect ideas which had non been allowed to voice themselves beforei?ZPerhaps you will pay attending to the dreams that visit you at such momentsi??or will reflect on certain inner and outer happenings that take topographic point merely at this clip. If you have an attitude of this kindi??then the helpful powers sleeping in the deeper strata of adult male 's nature can come awake and intervene. `` ( Jung, 1999: 2 1 )

In conformance with Jung 's idea, in the narrative, Harry endeavored to acknowledge his shadow of Voldemort 's barbarous idea or purpose in malice of those hurting and painful procedure. And during this self-recognizing procedure, he found that the shadow had non merely the negative side. Sometimes, it could besides play as a positive function. In the 5th book of the novels, the shadow of Voldemort 's idea has played a function of salvaging Mr. Weasley 's life for one clip. Once once more Harry made a dream of the serpent, and he saw the serpent bite Mr. Weasley with his toxicant Fangs. And after the biting, he even felt that he was that serpent himself. Though felt guilty, he informed Professor Dumbledore instantly and therefore made them saved Mr. Weasley seasonably. From here, we can see that after the intuitive repulsive force of the shadow, Harry began to accept it and do usage of it.

However, during the remainder phase of his individualization of the shadow, Harry still has no easiness. He seemed to overestimate the shadow. After salvaging Mr. Weasley, though at foremost he thought he was sinister and harmful to others, he realized subsequently that his shadow bring people more benefit than harm. So he began to allow the shadow come into his witting more often. As a consequence, a calamity happened. Voldemort usage Harry 's fantatic about the shadow to bring on him to the Minister of the Magic. Finally, to salvage Harry, Sirius Black-Harry 's God male parent lost his life due to that error. And this calamity though made Harry experience depressed for some clip, it besides made him to truly larn the character of the shadow. In fact, before this calamity 's happen, Professor Dumbledore has already realized Harry 's job, and he tried to steer Harry by inquiring him to larn the Occlumency ( shuting one 's head against outer incursion ) . However, as Jung has mentioned, one should non stamp down the shadow in one 's unconscious, or it may do catastrophe. The Occlumency merely made Harry go more interested of his shadow. This has one time once more verified Jung 's words: `` The shadow is a tight passagei??a narrow door, whose painful bottleneck no 1 is spared who goes down to the deep well. But one must larn to cognize oneself in order to cognize who one is '' ( Jung, 1999: 21 ) . And after holding gone through this calamity which might be flagitious and painful, Harry was like acquiring a new life. He has learnt the bing every bit good as features of the shadow. In the hereafter, non merely would he allow off the shadow from the unconscious, he would besides larn to incorporate the shadow with his witting, and to equilibrate them.

Of class, we could non state, Harry had no problem in covering with his shadow subsequently. In the undermentioned two books of the series, Harry had to confront more troubles and bad luck, some of which were even more painful to him. And in fact, he has so many similarities with Voldemort, such as: both of them were orphans who grew up in an unfavourable environment before coming to Hogwarts ; both of them took Hogwarts as their places ; and in add-on to the belongingss that Voldemort endowed with Harry, they even used a set of duplicate wands, with each containing of a tail plume of the same Phoenix. However, as what Dumbledore has pointed out to Harry in the narrative: `` It is our picks, Harry, that show what we genuinely are, far more than our abilities '' ( Rowling, 1997: 245 ) . What made Harry a hero instead than a Satan were the picks he had made.

All in all, when encountered with the shadow, Harry foremost felt ashamed of it and instinctively revolt against it, so he began to accept its being and bit by bit allowed it to emerge into the witting bed. At last, after experienced assorted agonies and strivings, he had learnt the true character of the shadow and managed to courageously incorporate it into his witting so as to accomplish the integrity of himself. In a word, the individualization procedure of the shadow for Harry was weaving to some extent but instead successful at the terminal.

4.2 Voldemort-the control of the witting by the shadow

In the Potter books, Voldemort was regarded as a nefarious ace who represented the darkest power. Just a reference of his name may elicit the intense fright of most people. And he was like a black cloud that hanged over the whole charming universe every bit good as most aces ' bosom. However, this is non to state that Voldemort was born to be bad. In fact, harmonizing to Jung, everyone has the light side and the dark side in his bosom. Voldemort was barbarous chiefly due to the ground that his dark side has surpassed his light side. In another words, Voldemort was wholly controlled by the dark side-the shadow in his head.

As is mentioned above, the shadow represents the carnal characteristic of human and it ever shows people 's inherent aptitude. In the novels, the Dark Lord Voldemort, for most of the clip, did things merely harmonizing to his inherent aptitudes. And his inherent aptitudes, or we can state his shadows, in the novels were exemplified in the signifier of prosecuting power and immortality.

As a abandoned male child, Voldemort was turning up in an orphanhood before he entered into the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And since so, he has showed his passion for power. Being cruel, chesty and domineering, he wished to be extraordinary, separate and ill-famed. He hated his featureless name, and he did non desire any friends. Even though have n't got any cognition of thaumaturgy, he tried to research the particular endowment in his organic structure to scare, penalize and command other orphans. Besides, he besides liked to roll up trophies. He stole things from other orphans without experiencing any shame. All in all, the shadow had demonstrated on Voldemort so much at that clip but Voldemort seemed ne'er be clearly cognizant of his shadow and he ne'er let the shadow touch the witting head. So the shadow would merely spread out freely in his unconscious. Though his turning environment might be seen as a factor for the development of his predacity and commanding inherent aptitude, this should ne'er be a major ground. In fact, Harry Potter grew up in an environment which was no better than his orphanhood. But Harry chose to command his evil ideas while Voldemort merely did things harmonizing to his inherent aptitude, at the clemency of the shadow.

Then, after Voldemort went to the charming universe, his desire for power and immorality grew.

`` As he moved up the school, he gathered about him a group of dedicated friends ; I ( the schoolmaster ) name them that, for privation of a better term, although as I have already indicated, Riddle ( subsequently Voldemort ) doubtless felt no fondness for any of them. This group had a sort of dark glamor within the palace. They were a assorted aggregation ; a mixture of the weak seeking protection, the ambitious seeking some shared glorification and the thuggish, gravitating towards a leader who could demo them more refined signifiers of inhuman treatment. ( Rowling, 2005: 338 )

From the above paragraph, it is clear to happen that Voldemort was constructing up his influences during school. Besides, he besides had a great interesting on dark thaumaturgy and even tried to happen the method for immortality from it. He had said: `` I, who have gone farther than anybody along the way that leads to immortality. You know my goal-to conquer decease. '' ( Rowling, 2000: 708 ) Indeed, Voldemort 's strong desire for immortality was to the full exemplified in the novels. First, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone, he cudgeled his encephalons to acquire the Philosopher 's Rock, because it can bring forth the Elixir of Life, which will do the drinker immortal. And so, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, readers could larn that Voldemort has one time made six `` Horcruxes '' rendering himself functionally immortal and soulless. `` A Horcrux is the word used for an object in which a individual has concealed portion of their psyche. '' ( Rowling, 2005: 464 ) Though Professor Slughorn told him that `` the psyche is supposed to stay integral and whole '' and `` splitting of it is an act of misdemeanor '' ( 465 ) , Voldemort still split his ain 1. Furthermore, he even divided his psyche into seven parts, because, in his sentiment, seven is the `` most strongly charming figure '' ( 466 ) . A Horcrux is made by an act of evil-the supreme act of evil, or we can state by slaying. Then six Horcruxes mean that Voldemort has committed at least six slayings. All these have proved that Voldemort was wholly ruled by his shadow and in order to accomplish his ain purpose, he may utilize all agencies, no affair by hook or by criminal.

At last, in the last book of the series, Voldemort tried difficult to happen the Elder Wand, a sort of particular wand with which a individual could be of all time winning when contending against other. This is seemingly another evident to demo Voldemort 's aspiration for power and for immortality.

In a word, from the deserted male child in the orphanhood to the caput male child in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to the powerful dark ace feared by everybody, Voldemort clambered to the supreme power bit by bit by unscrupulous agencies. And merely as Jung believed, there is a shadow projection mechanism in people 's organic structure which enables them to deny their ain `` badness '' and impute it to others ; Voldemort ever projected his ain shadow to other aces. As a totalitarian adult male, he viewed himself as the exclusive standard that fitted everyplace, and he imposed his ain set of thoughts on others. What 's more, he even made persecution toward those non-pureblood aces and enchantresss. This sort of act is merely like what Adolf Hitler had done to those Jews during the World War II. Thus Voldemort could be termed as the unscrupulous leader which Jung had said might pull strings the shadow projection mechanism in whole populations.

The shadow is the negative value on morality which needs to be illuminated by the Sun of witting through the procedure of individualization. However, Voldemort has ne'er let his shadow of unconscious entered into the witting part. To the contrary, he even gave rein to his shadow, and therefore led to the overexpansion of the shadow every bit good as the instability of his personality. In a word, the shadowy original hided in Voldemort 's deep bosom has long been in a province of undifferentiation, and it has ne'er grown and developed healthily. Therefore, the realization of Voldemort 's shadow was wholly failed.

4.3 Snape-hovering between the witting and the shadow

If Harry is the first hero and Voldemort is the first immorality in the Potter books, so Professor Snape must be taken as the most complicated and contradictive individual of the books. First, his true trueness has non been uncovered until the last of the narrative ; so, though he could be regarded as a professor that stood on the side of justness, he ever treated below the belt with pupils of Gryffindor House and left people with the feeling as a scoundrel. In a word, in his interior bosom, there seemed to hold a sort of complicated feeling which led to his contradictory actions. So, the shady single procedure for Snape could be described as complicated and Byzantine, vibrating between the witting and the shadow which was rather complicated and Byzantine.

It was non until the terminal of the whole series did Rowling uncovered the grounds for Snape 's such complicate and self-contradictory behavious. On one manus, Severus Snape owned some traits that shared by the Slytherins, loving dark thaumaturgy, holding a ardor for power and know aparting those non-purebloods. On the other manus, he fell in love with Lily Evans, a Gryffindor miss, and his love was so deep that he even would make everything for Lily. In fact, at the beginning, Snape was taken by Lily as a good friend. However, the shadow began to demo up on Snape when he was sorted into the Slytherin House of the Hogwarts School. At first, the shadow exemplified on him as the signifier of his being fascinated with dark thaumaturgies and ever hanging out with people of similar involvement. Though would experience ashamed and dying when faced with Lily 's reproof, he could non assist let go ofing the shadow. Subsequently, when he found that Lily was floating off from him, he did non impute the ground to himself but to James Potter, so at that clip, the shadow besides took the signifier of green-eyed monster on him. Then, when Lily made an absolute interruption with him, Snape began to indulge himself and did things harmonizing to his shadow. He studied dark thaumaturgy, held the sentiment of keeping thoroughbreds and even joint into the organisation of Voldemort. At that clip, the shadow of Snape took an upper manus in his head, and his witting seemed to wholly subject to the corporate unconscious.

However, Snape loved Lily really much, and even when he was about controlled by his shadow, he still cared about her. And the safety of Lily was like a accelerator which promoted the witting of Snape to recognize the shadow and to pull off to incorporate the shadow. When he found that due to him, Lily 's life might be threatened, he began to repent about his former behaviours and tried to salvage the state of affairs. He asked Professor Dumbledore for aid, and he would even utilize anything he could supply to guarantee Lily and her household 's life. But, the world is that no 1 could hold an easy route on his individualization procedure. It was the same for Snape. Lily and her hubby were still killed by Voldemort finally, with their small boy Harry survived. And to Snape, that small male child was unlovable because his being could remind him of James Potter 's being. However, at last, under Dumbledore 's advice, Snape decided to protect Harry in the hereafter. At this clip, Snape has wholly realized his shadow in the corporate unconscious, and meanwhile, he began to do attempts in incorporating the shadow with his witting head.

Of class, the undermentioned individualization procedure for Snape could non be rather smooth, because the shadow could non be conquered for one time and for all. And to Snape, this procedure would be much tougher for the ground that he had to face Harry, a complex prototype of the 1 he loved every bit good as the 1 he hated. When Snape was acquiring along with Harry, he was in fact covering with his witting and shadow. If the shadow overwhelmed the witting for the minute, Snape regarded Harry as `` mediocre, chesty as his male parent, a determined rule-breaker, delighted to happen himself celebrated, attention-seeking and irreverent '' ( Rowling, 2007: 545 ) . If the witting won over the shadow, he performed his duty of protecting Harry. In the whole series, readers could happen that Snape 's attitude toward Harry was full of contradictions. On one manus, he was finical to Harry and his friends. He sneered at Harry in public and ever tried to happen alibis to penalize Harry. He even ne'er gave a just intervention to anyone who had a small relation with Harry. On the other manus, he saved Harry at every critical clip. With such a state of affairs, Snape 's individualization of the shadow seemed ever to be non rather success, and though he was non conquered by his shadow, he besides did non incorporate his witting with his shadow wholly. And to most people 's eyes, he was like holding a disintegrated personality ; ever did things contradictorily and ever made people have uncomfortable feelings on him.

It was non until the terminal of the narrative when Snape was traveling to decease and when he uncovered his memory to Harry, did people acquire to cognize a true Snape. Though disliked Harry really much, he risked his life lurking in the subsidiaries of Voldemort, acquiring information from Voldemort and supplying Voldemort with information appears to be valuable, but in fact non rather accurate. Without him, Harry would non be alive and the Hogwarts pupils would non be safe ; without him, Dumbledore 's work would non be that easy and Draco Malfoy 's psyche might be ruined. Besides, he thought he hated Harry, but at the clip when he learnt from Dumbledore that Harry had to decease, he was ferocious. In fact, the shadow had already integrated with his witting at that clip. All his green-eyed monster and bitterness toward James Potter and Harry Potter had disappeared without his known. Though slow and turn, Snape individualization procedure of the shadow has succeeded at last and he has gained a balanced personality for himself. The life of his was besides going meaningful.

Through the above analysis of the three chief characters ' shady individualization procedure, a decision could be drawn: the individualization procedure of the shadow was a long and enduring procedure. During this procedure, people must hold the bravery and strong will, like Harry and Snape, who had be rather courageous in handling with their shadow. When brave plenty to accept the shadow and manage to incorporate it with the witting, a adult male can successfully carry through his individualization of the shadow and therefore accomplish a balanced personality. When coward and without doggedness, one will ne'er incorporate his shadow and witting, and hence, will ne'er hold a balanced personality. In add-on, every people 's destiny is closely connexion with his individualization procedure. Like in the novels, Harry was the bravest 1 who had completed his individualization most successfully, so he was populating in a most happy and meaningful life ; while Professor Snape, he conquered to his shadow at first, so he was disgusted by others so. Subsequently, he realized his mistake and began to accept his shadow and even managed to incorporate his shadow. Though still be disliked by many pupils when he was on his individualization route, he was at least non be taken as a scoundrel. And at last when he succeeded in the individualization procedure, his life became meaningful at one time and he was besides respected by others ; as for Voldemort, clearly, due to his denying of the shadow, his individualization procedure was a complete failure. And his failure of integrate the shadow and the witting non merely convey him with bad celebrity and suffering destiny, but besides conveying others with catastrophe and danger. Therefore, he will come to no good terminal.