Archetypal criticism follows the basic rule of categorizing or relating any literary work into a pre-established framework. It works on a subjective basis, it is used to determine and grasp the ideas of messages of universal truths through the literary work. Universal truths and messages are determined by identifying patterns such as character types, plots, settings, symbols. Cormac McCarthy's The Road is a novel that accurately exemplifies the principles of archetypal criticism. This narrative tale pairs the characters of a young minor and his father to encapsulate the ideas of archetypal criticism. McCarthy introduces the novel by setting the scene of a death-defying journey through a post-apocalyptic wasteland of America. The young boy and his father embark on a long and difficult journey as they seek refuge on the southern coast of America to avoid the impending winter and death. The novel is filled with dangerous encounters with thieves, cannibals, and series of deaths, testing both the father's will and the son's innocence. The novel explores numerous literary aspects and delves into the themes of paternal guidance, good versus evil, and above all death and life. This novel provides an excellent illustration of the essence of archetypal criticism as persistent themes and patterns in humanity are revealed. The origins of archetypal criticism come from the work of Carl Jung, a prominent Swiss psychiatrist, who recognized literary patterns in humanity. Jung suggested that humanity has a “collective unconscious that manifests itself in dreams, myths, and literature through archetypes: persistent images, figures, and story patterns shared by people of different cultures” (Murfin and Ray, 22). Literary imagery and... the center of the paper... can be present in a story because they help the reader perceive the symbolism more clearly. By determining the archetypes in a literature, readers are able to grasp the universal truth and messages that the author is trying to show. With these models and symbols, readers can connect the fundamental ideals of humanity in the real world. Works Cited Jung, CG and Herbert Read. The Complete Works of CG Jung, Vol. 9, Part 1: Archetypes and the collective unconscious. London: Routledge, 1990. Print. Murfin, Ross C., Supryia M. Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms. Boston: Bedford, 1997. Print.Frye, Northrop. Anatomy of criticism. Np: Princeton UP, 1957. Print.Bavota, Carl. "Archetype - Definition and Examples | Literary Devices." Archetype. LiteraryDevices, 3 February 2014. Web. 14 May 2014.McCarthy, Cormac. The road. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. Print.