CREATIVITY, ARCHETYPES, AND SYMBOLS IN THE FAIRY TALES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Fairy tales, which are among the most significant signs of the collective unconscious, are entertaining and informative, and they transfer social values, fears, hopes, and universal life experiences from generation to generation. Such texts allow individuals to develop creative and symbolic narratives through imagination. In this study, 20 fairy tales were examined based on spatial structure and originality in terms of creativity and based on archetypes and symbols in terms of analytical psychology. In the content analysis conducted using MAXQDA 2024, it was determined that the participants used places with both everyday and fantastical dimensions in their fairy tales, elements of tales and mythological elements were reinterpreted in a modern and authentic manner, and archetypes and symbols were used effectively and creatively. This study demonstrated that fairy tales were an effective tool in the creative thinking, symbolic reading, and emotional-psychological awareness development processes of the participants in an educational sense.