Discover

(Redirected from Anti-heroes)

In fiction, the 'anti-hero' is the protagonist who is lacking the traditional heroic attributes and qualities — courage, idealism, fortitude — and possessed of character traits — ineptness, stupidity, dishonesty — that are antithetical to heroism. Typically, the anti-hero acts heroically, in scale and daring, but by methods, manners, and intentions both fair and foul, even underhanded and deceitful.
The word ''anti-hero'', itself, is fairly recent, its principal definition has changed through the years. The 1940 edition of Merriam-Webster New International Dictionary listed ''anti-hero'', but did not define it.^[1] Later sources would call the anti-hero a persona characterized by a lack of "traditional" heroic qualities.^[2]

Contents

Characteristics of the anti-hero

The Anti-villain

History

Contemporary Literature

See also

Notes

References

External links

Characteristics of the anti-hero

The anti-hero, as protagonist in fiction, deals with his flaws and those of the people he meets in the course of the story. The typical anti-hero lives by his own values, and is guided by his personal moral compass, striving to define and construe his values, ''per se'', as opposed to those recognized by the society of his world.

The Anti-villain

An anti-villain is an antagonist who engages in villainous, controversial acts in order to advance heroic goals. To justify their actions, anti-villains claim to be "fallen heroes" or counteragents to an unjust system or world. An anti-villain's actions often contain serious crimes, such as murder, though some actions may only be considered "villainous" because they come in direct conflict with a main protagonist.
Like anti-heroes, anti-villains can be considered to be morally ambiguous and will only act according to their own moral compasses. Sometimes, anti-villains will behave in ways that are altogether merciful, kind, or benevolent compared to other villains. The difference with anti-villains is that they are still considered to be on the side of the villains, despite their sympathetic qualities or good intentions. Anti-heroes, on the other hand, can have significantly more selfish motives but are still often found on the side of the heroes or protagonists. Nevertheless, anti-villains can sometimes be classified as a villain or a hero due to their moral ambiguity, and they may overlap with anti-heroes depending on their characteristics.

History

There is no definitive moment when the anti-hero came into existence as a literary trope. Apollonius of Rhodes's Argonautica portrays Jason as a timid, passive, indecisive man that contrasts sharply with other Greek heroes.^[3] Yet the anti-hero has evolved over time, changing as society's conceptions of the hero changed, from the Elizabethan times of Christopher Marlowe's Faust and William Shakespeare's Falstaff, to the darker-themed Victorian literature of the 19th century, such as John Gay's ''The Beggar's Opera'' or Philip Meadows Taylor's ''Confessions of a Thug''. The Byronic hero also sets a literary precedent for the modern concept of the anti-hero.

Contemporary Literature

In modern times, heroes have enjoyed an increased moral complexity. From this, one could say that the popularity of the anti-hero has seemingly boomed but this is part of the continual evolution and redefinition of the hero. Mid-20th century playwrights such as Samuel Beckett and Tom Stoppard showcased anti-heroic protagonists recognizable by their lack of identity and determination. Pulp fiction and noir detective stories of the mid-20th century presented characters such as Sam Spade, who lacked the glorious appeal of previous heroic figures, became popular. Influenced by the pulps, early comic books featured anti-heroic characters such as Batman (whose shadowy nature contrasted with their openly "heroic" peers like Superman) and Sub-Mariner who would just as soon save humanity as try to conquer it.^[4] Sergio Leone's "spaghetti westerns" showcased a wandering vigilante (the "Man with No Name" played by Clint Eastwood) whose gruff demeanor clashed with other heroic characteristics.
Many modern anti-heroes possess, or even encapsulate, the postmodern rejection of traditional values symptomatic of Modernist literature in general, as well as the disillusion felt after World War II and the Nuclear Age. It has been argued that the continuing popularity of the anti-hero in modern literature and popular culture may be based on the recognition that a person is fraught with human frailties, unlike the archetypes of the white-hatted cowboy and the noble warrior, and is therefore more accessible to readers and viewers. This popularity may also be symptomatic of the rejection by the avant-garde of traditional values after the counter-culture revolution of the 1960s.^[5]
The values surrounding the characterization of an anti-hero have arguably changed. In the postmodern era, traditionally defined heroic qualities, akin to the classic "knight in shining armor" type, have given way to the "gritty truth" of life, and authority in general is being questioned. The brooding vigilante or "noble criminal" archetype seen in characters like Batman is slowly becoming part of the popular conception of heroic valor rather than being characteristics that are deemed un-heroic.^[6]

See also

★ Byronic hero

★ Tragic flaw

★ List of fictional anti-heroes

★ Tragic hero

★ Tweener

Notes

1. ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition'', 2004
2. ''American Heritage Dictionary of the American Language'', 1992
3. Review of ''Infinite Jest'', Haggar, Daley, , , Harvard Advocate, 1996
4. http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2007/07/30/365-reasons-to-love-comics-211/
5. The Search for Self: Everyday Heroes and an Integral Re-Visioning of the Heroic Journey in Postmodern Literature and Popular Culture, Erickson, Leslie, , , Ph.D Dissertation, 2004
6. Apollonius' Argonautica. Jason as anti-hero, Lawall G,, , , Yale Classical Studies, 1966

References

★ Nobel e-Museum: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1976 Presentation Speech by Karl Ragnar Gierow

★ Thomson Gale e-research and educational publishing:Glossary A

External links

★ Salon.com: Anti-heroes (May 15, 2000)

★ The Gallery of Anti-heroes and Villains: What is an Anti-Hero?