Essay: Mercy Among the Children

Mercy Among The Children is a novel written by David Adams Richards of a family under the influence of poverty and a vicious fate put forth on them years before the novel's plot. In this novel a boy who's name is Lyle recaps his life under the misfortune of his grandfather and father. He takes reader's through the heart wrenching struggles and experience's he faces while growing up. At an early age of 7 Lyle explains his frustration towards his father and how he never stands up for what is right. Throughout the novel Lyle mentions key people in his life that have impacted the story immensely. This novel is developed with the aid of the archetypal theory and ideology. According to Carl Jung’s views on archetypal theory, our knowledge of legends and dreams have all been developed based upon one another's past beliefs. The beliefs that have been instilled in society are these universal characters and symbols that have been developed and influenced through literature. Lyle and his life deal with many archetypes in which help the reader make other assumptions revolved around the characters and situations. The main archetypal character's in the story are the victim and the mother figure. Lyle struggles with the identity of not only his family but himself which leads to the situational archetypes. Finally the archetypal symbols that continually influence Lyle's life are the symbol of darkness and the image of a safe haven. The significance of the archetypes in the novel describes the development and the final outcome of Lyle's life in which the character discovers the emotion he was unable to uncover on his own, happiness.
The victim in this novel is set as a main contributing factor throughout the story because it is a direct correlation to Lyle himself; his father. Lyle's father Sydney is victimized in his community all the time, this teaches Lyle to have the strength and courage to stand up for his family in situations that could be detrimental. Even though Sydney was

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