Giant

The giant is often considered somewhat of a "noble savage, as symbols of nature in the wild, in its primeval state before it was annexed by civilization. The connection presumably lies in the idea that before the coming of civilization only human-like creatures with extraordinary physical powers could cope with the rigors of the environment" (Biederman, 151). In ancient mythology, giants represent the dest ructive forces of nature; they are often clumsy and malicious.

According to Julien, "Giants are the incarnation of fears that tormented ancient tribes: 'faceless, anonymous fears, fears of evil-doing spirits, of storms, of fire from the sky, of high tides, insecurity, bad luck, hunger, and above all, death" (178).

As a gigantic quantity of a person, a giant can be a number of things, such as a chthonic force, a man before the Fall, protector of the common person, enormous wisdom capacity. However, he is capable of being a bad quantitative amplification as well. In Jung he can arise terrible father images in a child. Interestingly, he almost always has some sort of inferiorty to him, often speed, Goliath losing to David.


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