The collective consciousness plays a major role in the interpretation and the understanding of literature. Connecting texts with the collective consciousness allows us to link pieces of literature together and better understand what the author is trying to accomplish with a certain passage and/or character. Intertextuality and archetypes are the major products of using collective consciousness.In “The Hobbit” by J. R. R. Tolkien the use of intertextuality and archetypes are abundant. Tolkien’s presentation of the characters Gandalf and Smaug, and the usage of The Ring by Bilbo Baggins are key examples of intertextuality; while the character Bilbo Baggins falls into the category of archetype.
Tolkien perceives Gandalf as the wise and powerful wizard, which he is, but the intertextuality lies not with Gandalf as a character but in what Gandalf does. Gandalf shows up to rescue the company of Thorin at just the right time on multiple occasions like in…show more content… This is almost identical to “The Hobbit” and the dragon in the mountain, Smaug. Smaug guards a large collection treasure that he stole from the dwarfs. This is an example of intertextuality because there is a large collection of treasure with a dragon fearsomely guarding it and the only way to obtain it is to slay the…show more content… Bilbo Baggins uses this ring to his advantage continually throughout the book and is a main reason for most of his success. In “The Pirates of the Caribbean” series main character, Jack Sparrow, possess a compass that points in the direction of what the person holding it most desires. This gives Jack Sparrow a major advantage and is also a reason for his success throughout the movie series. Intertextuality is clearly expressed here because an item of power gives the main character a critical edge that is needed to
