The+Underdog

=The Underdog=

The archetype of the underdog is set up where they are often being looked down upon, living a bad life to one’s standards, and experiences some kind of valuable ending. In most stories with underdogs, they contain morals that help readers in their own life. Underdogs are in situations where no one believes in them, they aren’t receiving something valuable or they get something life changing, but being an underdog can be used to their advantage in many ways rather than just being negative. Underdogs are looked down upon by their enemies and their friends. Usually, no one believes that the underdog can achieve goals set for them such as in the **__Longest Yard.__** In the movie, a bunch of prisoners have to go against  their prison guards in football to get back at them for unfair treatment, but in social circumstances, they are seen as the bad guys because they are seen as criminals. In most cases, no one roots for the bad guy. A person’s background has a major effect on the audience’s judgment. If they are seen as a helpful person in society, they are favored, but if it’s the opposite, it’s reversed. In **__Avatar, The Last Airbender__ **, Prince Zuko wanted to help the Avatar to restore peace in the world. All of the citizens were very wary about aiding the prince, since he was the prince of the Fire Nation, whose kingdom was the enemy of every region. Being looked down upon sometimes a positive thing. Social morals have taught society to help out those who are in need or are weaker. This can be seen in the story line of **__Cinderella__ **, because she was so nice but didn’t have the power to go against her family to have freedom. The fairy grandmother decided to grant her wishes after seeing her situation. Since most stories and movies are seen through the eyes of the underdog, people are more likely to root for them, but if it was seen through the eyes of the step-sisters, people would think Cinderella was just a dirty servant who wasn’t worthy of the audience’s sympathy, and without that sympathy, Cinderella’s life would completely change negatively. Underdogs are usually perceived with a bad life in their and even society’s standards. Underdogs are pictured to be either poor or dirty, which can lead the audience to pity and favor them. Using Cinderella’s example again, she had the image of a dirty and poor girl who only received love from mice or birds. She was in no shape to become a princess or had the materials because her family would often degrade her. Underdogs were from a lower status or treated bad from the enemies. In the American Revolution, the Americans were nothing compared to the British in their time period. They were known to be low compared to the higher-class and heavily armed Brits. The event just motivated them more to fight and win. The Americans were able to use their resources to hide and build forts to the point where the British were defeated. The underdogs that have a bad life are known to be very hardworking and down to earth, which is seen as a good thing in society. In **__The Water boy__ **, Bobby was very hard-working to perfect his skills in football, so everyone ended up rooting for him because his efforts started to show results. Underdogs usually end their story with an ending that is valuable. Sometimes the ending is different from what the character expects it to be. This one usually happens with the antagonist, but in **__1984__**, the protagonist tried to rebel against the totalitarian government and their oppressive regime, but in the end, he horribly failed and received nothing valuable out of his battle. He tried his best to fight, but his plan wasn’t as strong as the government’s. Another way this can be seen is the ending doesn’t help the character or benefit them at all. This happens in the story, **__Anastasia__**. Bartok tried to help his master achieve his goals, but since his master was a bad guy, and didn’t achieve anything at the end, Bartok’s work didn’t benefit anyone. Even though Bartok was completely harmless, which is a plus for getting pity from the aud ience, he still lost in the end. The valuable ending does happen to other characters such as Cinderella. Cinderella finally meets her prince, and in the end, her peasant life transformed into a noble life that caused jealousy to those around her. Not everyone got a 180 degree transformation as Cinderella had undertaken. In the **__Bible__ **, David had gone against the mighty giant, Goliath, which even the king at that time was afraid of. With just a slingshot and a stone, he was able to kill the beast. His valuable ending consisted of protecting his city being able to gain respect and recognition from his elders and peers. The underdog archetype has many lows and highs that come with the category. It can be known to be seen negative in the media, but usually, if it’s set up right, it can actually help the audience with the morals that come with it. If the archetype is used positively, it can be beneficial in most situations.

=__Citations__=

Bloom, Harold. //The Bible//. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. Print

Anneburg. "Interactives . Elements of a Story . Cinderella." //Interactives. Elements of a Story. Cinderella//. 2012. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.learner.org/interactives/story/cinderella.html>.

A&E Television Network. "American Revolution." //History.com//. A&E Television Networks, 1996. Web. 06 May 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution>.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">"The Waterboy." //IMDb//. Ed. IMDB Database. IMDb.com, May 1995. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120484/>.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sherry, Joe. "Adventures in Reading." //: The Longest Yard//. Blogspot, 12 Sept. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2012. <http://joesherry.blogspot.com/2005/09/longest-yard.html>.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dubowski, Cathy East. //Anastasia: The Movie Novel//. New York: HarperActive, 1997. Print. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Orwell, George. //1984//. Madrid: J.A. Mestas, 2003. Print.

<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">IMDB Database. "The Last Airbender." //Imdb.com//. Amazon.com, 7 July 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938283/>.