Every piece of literature has already been written; the reason is the phenomenon of archetypes. Archetypes are ubiquitous symbols, images, characters, ideas, and themes in literature. Carl Joung believed that these archetypes were due to human unconsciousness. He stated that humans all share a collective unconscious, this is where all human experiences are stored, so all humans will draw the same ideas, the same stories from this collective source of memories. This is the reasoning of the archetypes. Since humans all share unconsciousness, any written work will contain similar patterns and meanings. This collective unconsciousness also allows readers to recognize those patterns that will add new meaning and understanding to a piece of literature. No matter how original a piece is, it will always have a similar companion. This is the case with The Handmaid's Tale. Although ostensibly an original concept, The Handmaid's Tale depicts the archetypal journey of a rejected hero attempting to find his freedom. In addition to this, various symbols such as certain colors, flowers, gardens and the Bible bring depth and understanding to the work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayA clear and distinct archetype seen in The Handmaid's Tale is the main character, Offred, as the refused hero. The denied hero is a protagonist whose status and otherness create a feeling of heroism; it can be compared to the story of the "underdog", a hero who has been doubted and beaten down by others but who, in the end, will achieve victory. Offred, due to the creation of Gilead, finds himself placed in a precarious position in society. She is made into a servant, a position of lower rank in Gilead. She faces the task of reproducing for higher-ranking officials, otherwise she will be excluded and labeled "un-woman" or killed. Offred becomes this negated hero stereotype when she begins to release her once repressed rebellious thoughts. Through this, Offred begins to regain small doses of her independence and gain knowledge of the truth behind Gilead. Each hero of each story will participate in an adventure. The archetype of the denied hero of The Handmaid's Tale is associated with the model of "the quest for freedom." This is a quest in which the hero will participate in order to regain his independence. The journey always begins with the departure, it is when the hero is called to adventure, whether he likes it or not. Offred, whose name was originally June before the time of Gilead, was taken from her husband, Luke, and child when she attempted to flee the country, developing Gilead. She was reluctant but was forced to be in this new developing society, forced to embark on this adventure. Then the hero enters through a threshold into a new and dangerous world; This is called initiation. After the attempted escape and capture, Offred is taken to the Red Center, a training area to condition the selected few to become Handmaids (women used for the sole purpose of reproduction). She then enters Gilead's society and carries out her duties without saying anything. The hero then faces various obstacles, undergoing tests of strength, ingenuity and endurance. Offred faces the central conflict of whether she should conform to the society she has been reluctantly placed in or whether she should find a way to escape once again. There were many occasions when she was tempted to break free from seclusion, to break free from her duties and to break freeof constrained intimacy. This was seen at various points, such as when the doctor hinted if Offred wanted an easy path to pregnancy since most commanders were "sterile". [But] the sterile man no longer existed, not officially. There are only women who are fertile and women who are sterile, that's the law. [And she wanted] a baby. (Arwood 61) and even Nick seemed to offer freedom from the lack of intimacy when Nick “[looked at Offred] and saw her looking [at him]. He [started] to whistle. Then he [winked]” (Atwood 18). She continually struggles between being herself, June, and being Offred. The hero then enters the innermost cave, an underworld, where a great ordeal will occur. This ordeal will cause a change in the hero whether physically, emotionally or mentally. In Offred's case, after overcoming many obstacles, she is taken to the deepest cave of Gilead, Jezebel. Jezebel was the underworld of this "holy" city, it was full of commanders and other high-ranking officials having sex with generally forbidden women like lesbians and educated women. It's there that Offred reunites with her long-lost best friend, Moira. Moira is a role model for Offred because she was rebellious, independent, and fought for what she believed in. Offred still wanted to believe it even after they were separated due to the arrival of Gilead. However, after meeting her motivator in Jezebel, she realized that Moira had changed. She no longer has the fighting spirit that Offred remembers. Instead of taking this revelation negatively, Offred feels more liberated and begins to stray from Gilead's restrictive rules. Finally, after the trial experienced in the deepest cave, the hero will return and reintegrate society. The hero will then take advantage of this change in himself to regain his independence. Before the Jezebel incident, Offred had admitted that her "name [wasn't] Offred, [she had] another name, which no one [used] now because [it was] forbidden." (Atwood 84) but after she began to ignore this rule when she "[told Nick her] real name and [felt] that therefore [she was] known." [She acted] like a dunce” (Atwood 270). This little incident marked a big change in Offred; this caused Offred to finally let herself feel intimacy again after being tempted by Nick by sneaking out of the house to see him and it caused Offred to have the courage to mention the rebellion group "Mayday" to the new replacement for her servant friend, Offglen. Instead of being in conflict with the rules of Gilead, she began to take risks and think more freely about her own thoughts. This will ultimately lead to the end of the journey, when the archetypal hero finally finds his freedom. Nick helped Offred escape from the Commander's house and ultimately gain her independence. After all the conflicts, issues, issues, events, trauma, Offred was finally able to decide things for herself and not be confined by Gillead's rules. The rejected hero, who has been placed so low in society, will finally achieve victory in the “quest for freedom.” Color plays a crucial role in the narrative of The Handmaid's Tale. In the dystopian society described in the book, everything and everyone is color coordinated. The people of Gilead are divided into different classes and each class has a set color. Those in high positions are associated with the color black, this refers to commanders and anything that commanders own, such as Offred's commander having "a [very expensive car], a Whirlwind, it's black, the color of prestige or a hearse, andlong and elegant” (Atwood 17). Additionally, government property is also described as black, just as the vans used to transport "criminals" are described as "a van painted black, with the white winged eye on the side." The windows [were] dark tinted and the men in the front seats [wore] dark glasses: a double darkness” (Atwood 21-22). Commanders are also described as wearing a “black uniform” (Atwood 86). Such a dark color is used to create a mysterious, sinister, and controlling aura, showing the reader how unknown the lives and actions of Gilead's authoritative figures truly are. The color black is used as the color of the villains, making it clear to the readers who the antagonists of The Handmaid's Tales are. Beneath one of the authoritative figures of Gilead are the wives. The brides are described as usually wearing "a light blue veil thrown over [their heads]" (Atwood 12) and "sky blue robes with white embroidery around the edges" (Atwood 81). This blue is used to symbolize conservatism, cleanliness and a "spiritual purity", referring to the image of the Virgin Mary dressed in her light blue garments. This ultimately illustrates how wives are considered almost blessed and highly placed in Gilead society. The wives no longer have children but ask someone, the handmaids, to do the task instead, but they will end up receiving the child in the end, almost like the Virgin Mary received a blessed child of God but kept his holiness. The aunts are below. wives in the social hierarchy of Gilead. The aunts are responsible for regulating all the activities of the Handmaids. They are responsible for shaping the minds of the Handmaids to match Gilead's standards and keeping these women focused on their one true duty: to reproduce. The aunts are described as wearing "khaki [dresses]" (Atwood 113) and a "predominantly brown outfit" (Atwood 244). The color brown is used to represent conventional and orderly aunts and how they can easily blend into the background while still maintaining an important figure in society. Aunts are reliable, stable and strong. They are the only women in this society who are given power, so they must use it wisely. Handmaids come next in the hierarchy of Gilead. They are the only fertile women who have only one task: to reproduce. They are sent from commander's house to commander's house to try to impregnate themselves since the wives are no longer fertile. The maids wear “red shoes with flat heels to save the spine [and] red gloves [and] everything but the wings [helmet] around [their faces was] red” (Atwood 8). The color red shows passion and lust. It is also the color of prostitution. The society of Gilead does not necessarily state that they are prostitutes but the idea clearly resonates. The maids go from man to man, receiving shelter and food as payment. Additionally, red is also associated with their sole duty of reproduction. Color is not only found on the Handmaids but Offred seems to be attracted to red objects such as “the tulips [in the garden were] red, a darker purple towards the stem” (Atwood 12). This shows how obsessed the Handmaids have become with the idea of ​​reproducing; they are completely brainwashed into believing that this is their only real task in life, a task that is almost impossible to accomplish. Even below the Handmaids are the Marthas. The Marthas are practically the servants of Gilead, these women.