Archetypes

An archetype is a constant idea or symbol that is universally understood. In literature, this would include things such as witches, gods, or kings. This is compared to stereotypes which are born within a society about a group of people. These can be based off of fact, but are not always true. This includes things such as: Asians are smart, black people like fried chicken, Jews are stingy. When the two are compared, archetypes are more for story telling and getting a general idea across to people while stereotypes are more for talking about people and getting a general idea about them.