Character Archatytpe- The Shapeshifter

"I did what I had to do so I could stay in the ocean, concentrating on the salt water healing me, washing over my eye, washing away my birthmark." (Renee Rosen, Every Crooked Pot, pg.15)



My character, Nina Goldman, doesn't really fit into any of the character archetypes. She does, however, take some attributes from the shapeshifter archetype. Nina is a shapeshifter because in the beginning when she was little she always thought she was special and different because of her birthmark over her eye. But as she grew older she was teased to the point of not loving herself and having an unhealthy body image. She eventually shifts back to her old self when she outgrows putting herself down.

Excerpt from Mostly Happy

"The accident happened in the spring of '96. I woke in a sweat. The telephone was ringing. It was Prissy. Cody was dead." Pam Bustin, Mostly Happy, pg.256



Cody was killed in a car accident at age.7, by his father who was drunk driving. The main character in this book, Bean, was Cody's aunt. They had a really close and speical relationship. This hits really close to home, because before I was born, my Aunt Karen was killed by a reckless driver. Karen had a special relationship with each of my family members as well. When Cody died Bean went into a pit of anger and self-blame. Bean carried on with her life, but i'm sure that her nephew never left her thoughts. This relates to me as well. I have never offically met my aunt, but she will always be a part of my family.