Antihero

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Revisionist Western films commonly feature antiheroes as lead characters whose actions are morally ambiguous. Clint Eastwood, pictured here in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), portrayed the archetypal antihero called the "Man with No Name" in the Italian Dollars Trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns. Clint Eastwood - 1960s.JPG
Revisionist Western films commonly feature antiheroes as lead characters whose actions are morally ambiguous. Clint Eastwood, pictured here in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), portrayed the archetypal antihero called the "Man with No Name" in the Italian Dollars Trilogy of Spaghetti Westerns.

An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) [1] or anti-heroine is a main character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, and morality. [1] Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions that most of the audience considers morally correct, their reasons for doing so may not align with the audience's morality. [2]

Contents

Antihero is a literary term that can be understood as standing in opposition to the traditional hero, i.e., one with high social status, well liked by the general populace. Past the surface, scholars have additional requirements for the antihero.

The "Racinian" antihero, is defined by three factors. The first is that the antihero is doomed to fail before their adventure begins. The second constitutes the blame of that failure on everyone but themselves. Thirdly, they offer a critique of social morals and reality. [3] To other scholars, an antihero is inherently a hero from a specific point of view, and a villain from another. [4]

Typically, an antihero is the focal point of conflict in a story, whether as the protagonist or as the antagonistic force. [5] This is due to the antihero's engagement in the conflict, typically of their own will, rather than a specific calling to serve the greater good. As such, the antihero focuses on their personal motives first and foremost, with everything else secondary. [6]

History

U.S. writer Jack Kerouac and other figures of the "Beat Generation" created reflective, critical protagonists who influenced the antiheroes of many later works. Kerouac by Palumbo.jpg
U.S. writer Jack Kerouac and other figures of the "Beat Generation" created reflective, critical protagonists who influenced the antiheroes of many later works.

An early antihero is Homer's Thersites, since he serves to voice criticism, showcasing an anti-establishment stance. [7] The concept has also been identified in classical Greek drama, [8] Roman satire, and Renaissance literature [7] such as Don Quixote [8] [9] and the picaresque rogue. [10]

An anti-hero that fits the more contemporary notion of the term is the lower-caste warrior Karna, in The Mahabharata. Karna is the sixth brother of the Pandavas (symbolising good), born out of wedlock, and raised by a lower caste charioteer. He is ridiculed by the Pandavas, but accepted as an excellent warrior by the antagonist Duryodhana, this becoming a loyal friend to him, eventually fighting on the wrong side of the final just war. Karna serves as a critique of the then society, the protagonists, as well as the idea of the war being worthwhile itself – even if Krishna later justifies it properly. [11]

The term antihero was first used as early as 1714, [12] emerging in works such as Rameau's Nephew in the 18th century, [7] and is also used more broadly to cover Byronic heroes as well, created by the English poet Lord Byron. [13]

Literary Romanticism in the 19th century helped popularize new forms of the antihero, [14] [15] such as the Gothic double. [16] The antihero eventually became an established form of social criticism, a phenomenon often associated with the unnamed protagonist in Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground . [7] The antihero emerged as a foil to the traditional hero archetype, a process that Northrop Frye called the fictional "center of gravity". [17] This movement indicated a literary change in heroic ethos from feudal aristocrat to urban democrat, as was the shift from epic to ironic narratives. [17]

Huckleberry Finn (1884) has been called "the first antihero in the American nursery". [18] Charlotte Mullen of Somerville and Ross's The Real Charlotte (1894) has been described as an anti-heroine. [19] [20] [21]

The antihero became prominent in early 20th century existentialist works such as Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis (1915), [22] Jean-Paul Sartre's Nausea (1938), [23] and Albert Camus's The Stranger (1942). [24] The protagonist in these works is an indecisive central character who drifts through his life and is marked by boredom, angst, and alienation. [25]

The antihero entered American literature in the 1950s and up to the mid-1960s as an alienated figure, unable to communicate. [26] The American antihero of the 1950s and 1960s was typically more proactive than his French counterpart. [27] The British version of the antihero emerged in the works of the "angry young men" of the 1950s. [8] [28] The collective protests of Sixties counterculture saw the solitary antihero gradually eclipsed from fictional prominence, [27] though not without subsequent revivals in literary and cinematic form. [26]

Soft Hero, Thomas Liu Le Lann, Collection Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain at Art Geneve 2024 Soft Heroe by Thomas Liu Le Lann.jpg
Soft Hero, Thomas Liu Le Lann, Collection Fonds cantonal d’art contemporain at Art Genéve 2024

During the Golden Age of Television from the 2000s and into early 2020s, antiheroes such as Tony Soprano, Gru, Megamind, Jack Bauer, Gregory House, Dexter Morgan, Walter White, Frank Underwood, Don Draper, Neal Caffrey, Nucky Thompson, Jax Teller, Alicia Florrick, Annalise Keating, Selina Meyer and Kendall Roy became prominent in the most popular and critically acclaimed TV shows. [30] [31] [32]

In his essay published in 2020, Postheroic Heroes - A Contemporary Image (german: Postheroische Helden - Ein Zeitbild), German sociologist Ulrich Bröckling examines the simultaneity of heroic and post-heroic role models as an opportunity to explore the place of the heroic in contemporary society. [33] In contemporary art, artists such as the French multimedia artist Thomas Liu Le Lann negotiate in his series of Soft Heroes, in which overburdened, modern and tired Anti Heroes seem to have given up on the world around them. [34] [35]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A hero is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such things for the sake of glory and honor. Post-classical and modern heroes, on the other hand, perform great deeds or selfless acts for the common good instead of the classical goal of wealth, pride, and fame. The antonym of hero is villain. Other terms associated with the concept of hero may include good guy or white hat.

<i>Adventures of Huckleberry Finn</i> 1885 novel by Mark Twain

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a picaresque novel by American author Mark Twain that was first published in the United Kingdom in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sword and sorcery</span> Genre of fantasy fiction

Sword and sorcery (S&S), or heroic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy characterized by sword-wielding heroes engaged in exciting and violent adventures. Elements of romance, magic, and the supernatural are also often present. Unlike works of high fantasy, the tales, though dramatic, focus on personal battles rather than world-endangering matters. The genre originated from the early-1930s works of Robert E. Howard. While there is a chance example from 1953, Fritz Leiber re-coined the term "sword and sorcery" in the 6 April 1961 issue of the fantasy fanzine Ancalagon, to describe Howard and the stories that were influenced by his works. In parallel with "sword and sorcery", the term "heroic fantasy" is used, although it is a more loosely defined genre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Protagonist</span> Main character of a creative work

A protagonist is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a story contains a subplot, or is a narrative made up of several stories, then each subplot may have its own protagonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rakshasa</span> Race in Hindu mythology

Rākshasa are a race of usually malevolent beings prominently featured in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Folk Islam. They reside on Earth but possess supernatural powers, which they usually use for evil acts such as disrupting Vedic sacrifices or eating humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villain</span> Evil character or person

A villain is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines such a character as "a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot". The antonym of a villain is a hero.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abhimanyu</span> Son of Arjuna in the Hindu literature Mahabharata

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karna</span> Warrior in the epic Mahabharata

Karna, also known as Vasusena, Anga-Raja, Sutaputra and Radheya, is one of the major characters in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. He is the son of Surya and princess Kunti. Kunti was granted the boon to bear a child with desired divine qualities from the gods and without much knowledge, Kunti invoked the sun god to confirm it if it was true indeed. Karna was secretly born to an unmarried Kunti in her teenage years, and fearing outrage and backlash from society over her premarital pregnancy, Kunti had to abandon the newly born Karna adrift in a basket on the Ganges. The basket is discovered floating on the Ganges River. He is adopted and raised by foster Suta parents named Radha and Adhiratha Nandana of the charioteer and poet profession working for king Dhritarashtra. Karna grows up to be an accomplished warrior of extraordinary abilities, a gifted speaker and becomes a loyal friend of Duryodhana. He is appointed the king of Anga (Bihar-Bengal) by Duryodhana. Karna joins the losing Duryodhana side of the Mahabharata war. He is a key antagonist who aims to kill Arjuna but dies in a battle with him during the Kurushetra war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurukshetra War</span> War described in the Hindu epic Mahabharata

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karna Parva</span> Eighth book of the Mahabharata

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<i>The Adventures of Tom Sawyer</i> 1876 novel by Mark Twain

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Antihero is a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, or morality.

<i>Ini Njan Urangatte</i> 1973 novel by P. K. Balakrishnan

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References

  1. 1 2 "Anti-Hero". Lexico . Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
  2. ↑ Laham, Nicholas (2009). Currents of Comedy on the American Screen: How Film and Television Deliver Different Laughs for Changing Times. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. p. 51. ISBN   9780786442645.
  3. ↑ Kennedy, Theresa Varney (2014). "'No Exit' in Racine's Phèdre: The Making of the Anti-Hero". The French Review . 88 (1): 165–178. doi:10.1353/tfr.2014.0114. ISSN   2329-7131. S2CID   256361158.
  4. ↑ Klapp, Orrin E. (September 1948). "The Creation of Popular Heroes". American Journal of Sociology . 54 (2): 135–141. doi:10.1086/220292. ISSN   0002-9602. S2CID   143440315.
  5. ↑ Petersen, Michael Bang (2019). "An Age of Chaos?". RSA Journal. 165 (3 (5579)): 44–47. ISSN   0958-0433. JSTOR   26907483.
  6. ↑ Klapp, Orrin E. (1948). "The Creation of Popular Heroes". American Journal of Sociology. 54 (2): 135–141. doi:10.1086/220292. ISSN   0002-9602. JSTOR   2771362. S2CID   143440315.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Steiner, George (2013). Tolstoy Or Dostoevsky: An Essay in the Old Criticism. New York: Open Road. pp. 197–207. ISBN   9781480411913.
  8. 1 2 3 "antihero". Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Wheeler, L. Lip. "Literary Terms and Definitions A". Dr. Wheeler's Website. Carson-Newman University . Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  10. ↑ Halliwell, Martin (2007). American Culture in the 1950s . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p.  60. ISBN   9780748618859.
  11. ↑ Kotru, Umesh; Zutshi, Ashutosh (1 March 2015). Karna The Unsung Hero of the Mahabharata. One Point Six Technology Pvt Ltd. ISBN   978-93-5201-304-3.
  12. ↑ "Antihero". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  13. ↑ Wheeler, L. Lip. "Literary Terms and Definitions B". Dr. Wheeler's Website. Carson-Newman University . Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  14. ↑ Alsen, Eberhard (2014). The New Romanticism: A Collection of Critical Essays. Hoboken: Taylor & Francis. p. 72. ISBN   9781317776000 . Retrieved 20 April 2015– via Google Books.
  15. ↑ Simmons, David (2008). The Anti-Hero in the American Novel: From Joseph Heller to Kurt Vonnegut (1st ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 5. ISBN   9780230612525 . Retrieved 20 April 2015– via Google Books.
  16. ↑ Lutz, Deborah (2006). The Dangerous Lover: Gothic Villains, Byronism, and the Nineteenth-century Seduction Narrative. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. p. 82. ISBN   9780814210345 . Retrieved 20 April 2015– via Google Books.
  17. 1 2 Frye, Northrop (2002). Anatomy of Criticism . London: Penguin. p. 34. ISBN   9780141187099.
  18. ↑ Hearn, Michael Patrick (2001). The Annotated Huckleberry Finn: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade) (1st ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. xvci. ISBN   0393020398.
  19. ↑ Ehnenn, Jill R. (2008). Women's Literary Collaboration, Queerness, and Late-Victorian Culture. Ashgate Publishing. p. 159. ISBN   9780754652946 . Retrieved 7 April 2020– via Google Books.
  20. ↑ Cooke, Rachel (27 February 2011). "The 10 best Neglected literary classics – in pictures". The Guardian . Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  21. ↑ Woodcock, George (1 April 1983). Twentieth Century Fiction. Macmillan Publishers Ltd. p. 628. ISBN   9781349170661 . Retrieved 7 April 2020– via Google Books.
  22. ↑ Barnhart, Joe E. (2005). Dostoevsky's Polyphonic Talent. Lanham: University Press of America. p. 151. ISBN   9780761830979.
  23. ↑ Asong, Linus T. (2012). Psychological Constructs and the Craft of African Fiction of Yesteryears: Six Studies. Mankon: Langaa Research & Publishing CIG. p. 76. ISBN   9789956727667 – via Google Books.
  24. ↑ Gargett, Graham (2004). Heroism and Passion in Literature: Studies in Honour of Moya Longstaffe. Amsterdam: Rodopi. p. 198. ISBN   9789042016927 – via Google Books.
  25. ↑ Brereton, Geoffrey (1968). A Short History of French Literature. Penguin Books. pp. 254–255.
  26. 1 2 Hardt, Michael; Weeks, Kathi (2000). The Jameson Reader (Reprint ed.). Oxford, UK ; Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell. pp. 294–295. ISBN   9780631202707.
  27. 1 2 Edelstein, Alan (1996). Everybody is Sitting on the Curb: How and why America's Heroes Disappeared. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. pp. 1, 18. ISBN   9780275953645.
  28. ↑ Ousby, Ian (1996). The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Literature in English. New York: Cambridge University Press. p.  27. ISBN   9780521436274.
  29. ↑ "Accueil". Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  30. ↑ Reese, Hope (11 July 2013). "Why Is the Golden Age of TV So Dark?". The Atlantic . Retrieved 31 October 2021. A new book explains the link between the rise of antihero protaganists and the unprecedented abundance of great TV (and what Dick Cheney has to do with it).
  31. ↑ Faithfull, E. (2021). How House brought the "savant anti-hero" into the mainstream and changed TV dramas. www.nine.com.au. https://www.nine.com.au/entertainment/latest/house-savant-anti-hero-medical-drama-9now/0e030210-8bfe-424f-b687-f2e36e6f0694
  32. ↑ Pruner, A. (n.d.). Hear us out: Gregory House was TV's last great doctor. https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/hear-us-out-gregory-house-was-tvs-last-great-doctor/
  33. ↑ deutschlandfunk.de (5 March 2020). "Ulrich Bröckling: "Postheroische Helden" - Man hüte sich vor Helden!". Deutschlandfunk (in German). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  34. ↑ "Soft Heroes". Documents d’artistes Genève (in French). Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  35. ↑ "Thomas Liu Le Lann: Wer ist Milo?". gallerytalk.net (in German). 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
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