Reflecting on the Archetypes of Teaching

Wisdom, Mystery, and Dangerous Knowledge: Exploring Depictions of the Archetypal Sage in Young Adult Literature

“…Our tendency to embody this locked knowledge in someone wrinkled or carewornshows a common assumption that acquiring such knowledge requires time, experience, and sustained, thoughtful engagement with difficult aspects of the world. It also reveals our assumption that lacking wisdom is a characteristic of young people, who must face life's challenges in order to pass out of childhood (Mayes, 1999(Mayes, , 2003. As our myths suggest, we are inclined to believe that full possession of this dangerous knowledge is the provenance of our elders, and such possession is what distinguishes someone as a sage from merely someone who is old.…”

“…This world is bigger than you and it will go on, regardless. (Okorafor, 2011, p. 119) As with other mythological sages (Campbell, 1949;Mayes, 2003;Wilson, 2013), he can see the larger arc of history and, while committed to his students, he is not committed to eliminating the risk. Anatov also promises to provide knowledge of the self, which we see in his teaching them about the special identities accessible to Sunny and her peers as Leopard People.…”

“…Often depicted as old or haggard in appearance, the sage is typically presented as carrying the burdensome wisdom of experience from quests completed ages ago (Mayes, 2003) Additionally, Jack Graham (2013) suggests that our hunger for an elder archetype reflects our desire for knowledge that has hitherto been locked away and rendered largely inaccessible to most people. Our tendency to embody this locked knowledge in someone wrinkled or carewornshows a common assumption that acquiring such knowledge requires time, experience, and sustained, thoughtful engagement with difficult aspects of the world.…”

“…From Albus Dumbledore to Haymitch Abernathy, adult mentors, fulfilling the role of the archetypal "sage," are a staple of many popular novels in the young adult literature (YAL) genre. These characters often seem mysterious, possessing great power and wisdom that reveals itself as they guide an adolescent protagonist across the threshold from the presumed innocence of childhood through the perils of adulthood (Mayes, 1999). For example, Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (Collins, 2008) relies heavily on Haymitch Abernathy for learning how to survive the arena and how to act in public spaces so she might garner tributes.…”

“…Yet, it raises some issues that warrant investigation. Here we employ archetypal inquiry, which is useful for cross-examining characters and relational dynamics for common motifs reflective of a shared ontology (Mayes, 1999(Mayes, , 2003. Our interest is in understanding how sagacious mentorship is depicted in YAL and what messages these depictions may be communicating to teachers and young readers about mentoring relationships, forbidden knowledge, and who has and is slated to receive such knowledge.…”