Adjust Your Archetype
“Let us from point to point this story know,
To make the even truth in pleasure flow.
”
“I’ll hear you more, to the bottom of your story,
And never interrupt you.
”
Archetypes are universal character types that recur across cultures and time. In stories, archetypes can be used to create a sense of familiarity and connection
In 2008, I represented the appellants in a case before the Tennessee Supreme Court, Martin v. Norfolk Southern Ry. Co., 271 S.W.3d 76 (Tenn. 2008). The appellants were the adult children of a woman killed when a train struck her car at a crossing. The trial court granted summary judgment for the defendants and the Court of Appeals upheld that verdict. The Supreme Court reversed, finding that there were genuine issues of material fact to resolve and vacating the trial court’s judgment.
In my brief, I told the story of a beloved mother and member of her church, who died at a railroad crossing she had traversed many times before, on her way to open up the church for the rest of the congregation. She did not see the train approaching because the railroad company had not cleared foliage blocking the view at the crossing.
I could have just as easily left out the details about who my client was and said simply that a woman was killed by a train in her car. In this case, however, I felt it was important to emphasize the real human stakes in this case, and the deep loss felt by the plaintiffs. While those stakes didn’t weigh on the issue of summary judgment, I wanted the court to identify with the archetype of a mother taken from her family by a negligent company. I wanted to frame the facts through the eyes of the adult children.
The way you frame your story matters. Archetypes can make your argument distinctive and memorable.
Sandra Day O’Connor used archetype in her dissent in Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005). In this case involving a city taking property, O’Connor presented the plaintiff property owners as the archetype of a family with a rich generational history:
Plaintiffs are nine resident or investment owners of 15 homes in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Connecticut. Wilhelmina Dery, for example, lives in a house on Walbach Street that has been in her family for over 100 years. She was born in the house in 1918; her husband, Charles Dery, moved into the house when they married in 1946. Their son lives next door with his family in the house he received as a wedding gift, and joins his parents in this suit.
Id. This framing conveyed more than just the legal issue, but also the people in the story and the real-life impact of the ruling.
In a persuasive brief, it boils down to this: how can you use archetype to present the facts as universal and familiar? If you can, I think it will make your brief more persuasive and compelling.
