Notions of the anti-hero (1 Viewer)

[jackal8]

is there a thread for this (notions of the anti-hero), i couldn't find it.

got any reltively simple supplementary tests?

much appreciated

 

[glitterfairy]

What module is this under???

 

[jackal8]

hrmm

to be perfectly honest, im nto too sure, thats why i posted this under extension 1 not the module... but alls i know is that we are doing "notions of the anti-hero"

and i need an analysis of a supplementary text, by monday actually.
any decent suggestion, would be more than welcome

=)

 

[jackal8]

actually..

my bad, just looking at my english course programme

the module is "Testxs, Culture and Value"

 

[McLake]

my bad, just looking at my english course programme

the module is "Testxs, Culture and Value"

That's OK. I have moved the thread for you ...

 

[kimmeh]

Hmm wrong thread mclake. Though looking at your HSC status, (2006) i gather that you're in year 11. Your school makes the decision to study different modules and these modules are usually made up and decided by the school.

You might want to clarify your question

 

[absolution*]

In case you didnt see my post in the other thread you decided to make..

I recommend * Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
or * Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton both of which are brilliant.

But heres some misc info..

Anti-hero
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In literature and film, an anti-hero is a central or supporting character that has some of the personality flaws and ultimate fortune traditionally assigned to villains but nonetheless also has enough heroic qualities or intentions to gain the sympathy of readers or viewers. Anti-heroes can be awkward, obnoxious, passive, pitiful, or obtuse—but they are always, in some fundamental way, flawed or failed heroes. In this use, the term tragic hero is sometimes used. Comic books also feature anti-heroes, also known as "dark heroes", who are characters fighting for the side of good, but either with some tragic flaw (such as a tormented past) or by using questionable means to reach their goals. A good working definition of the anti-hero is a paradoxical character who is, within the context of a story, a hero but in another context could easily be seen as a villain or simply as unlikable.

The concept of the anti-hero has grown from a tendency of modern authors to present villains as complex, even sympathetic, characters whose motivations are not inherently evil and sometimes even good. The line, therefore, between an anti-hero and a villain is sometimes not clear.
[edit]

Types

One type of anti-hero feels helpless, distrusts conventional values and is often unable to commit to any ideals, but they accept and often relish their status as outsiders. The cyberpunk genre makes extensive use of this character-type.

Another type of anti-hero is a character who constantly moves from one disappointment in their lives to the next, without end, with only occasional and fleeting successes. But they persist and even attain a form of heroic success by steadfastly never giving up or changing their goals. These characters often keep a deep-seated optimism that one day, they will succeed. But in the end they still meet the ultimate fate of a traditional villain, failure. A popular example of this is the director Ed Wood, from Tim Burton's famed film of the same name.

An example of this secondary type of anti-hero is F. Scott Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby. Gatsby's one true aim was to gain the love of a woman beyond his social status, Daisy. He, through what Fitzgerald alludes to be illicit means, amasses a fortune in order to make himself acceptable to the married Daisy. He does, for a time, have an affair with her but in the end his character flaws and illusions that he could turn back time destroy him. But through the whole experience, even after Daisy's husband puts an end to her illicit affair, Gatsby still had hope that he would one day prevail.

A third type of anti-hero is an individual with the same end goals as a traditional hero, but for whom "the ends justify the means". This character type is popular in comic books: for example by day Matt Murdock seeks to bring evil-doers to justice as a lawyer. But when the judicial system fails, he dons a mask and instead exacts revenge as Daredevil.

There is also a type of anti-hero who starts the story with a few unlikeable traits such as prejudices, self centeredness, immaturity, cockiness, or a single minded focus on things such as wealth, status, or revenge. Thus, the hero may actually begin the story as a not so likeable character. However, through the course of events, as we get to know the character, they grow and change and may actually become popular. A well known example of this is Han Solo of the Star Wars trilogy. The actor Clint Eastwood became famous by playing the anti-hero in movies such as The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More.

Drama

* Adam in The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute
* Archie Rice in The Entertainer by John Osborne
* Donald in The Philanthropist by Christopher Hampton
* Felix Humble in Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones
* Guy in My Night with Reg by Kevin Elyot
* Laurence in Abigail's Party by Mike Leigh
* Michael Cartts in Japes by Simon Gray
* Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard
* Stephanie Washburn in The Eclipse by Joyce Carol Oates
* Tom and Amy Bates in Brimstone and Treacle by Dennis Potter
* Vladimir and Estragon in Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
* Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Literature

* Alan Sherwood in Altered States by Anita Brookner
* Alex in A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
* Alexander Portnoy in Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
* Alice (as well as some other characters) in King Solomon's Carpet by Barbara Vine
* Artemis Fowl in the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
* Arthur Abdel Simpson in The Light of Day (filmed as Topkapi) and Dirty Story by Eric Ambler
* Arthur Dent in The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams
* Asa Leventhal in The Victim by Saul Bellow
* Barnaby Gaitlin in A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler
* Billy Fisher in Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse
* Case in William Gibson's Neuromancer
* Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
* Des Esseintes in Against the Grain by Joris-Karl Huysmans
* Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula
* Elric of Melniboné in stories and novels by Michael Moorcock
* Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser fictional characters created by Fritz Leiber
* Felix Nasmyth in Budding Prospects by T.C. Boyle
* Gerald Tarrant in The Coldfire Trilogy by C.S. Friedman
* Hamlet in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
* Gollum (Sméagol) in The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
* Hannibal Lecter in Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, and Hannibal by Thomas Harris.
* Harry Paget Flashman in the Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser
* Heathcliff in 'Wuthering Heights' by Emily Bronte
* Heracles in The Twelve Labors in Greek Mythology
* Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
* Jack Skellington in "The Nightmare Before Christmas" by Tim Burton
* Jacopo Belbo in Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
* Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
* Jim Dixon in Lucky Jim, by Kingsley Amis
* Joe Christmas in Light in August, by William Faulkner
* John Wheelwright in A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
* Lestat in the Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
* Long John Silver in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
* Luke Wakefield in Mr Wakefield's Crusade by Bernice Rubens
* Luna Lovegood from J.K Rowling's Harry Potter series
* Marc Remillard in The Saga of Pliocene Exile by Julian May
* Mark Crawley (as well as some other characters) in A Vicious Circle by Amanda Craig
* Martin Brock in 12 Step Fandango by Chris Haslam
* Meursault in L'Étranger or The Stranger by Albert Camus
* The narrator in Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
* Peter Jernigan in Jernigan by David Gates
* Pinkie Brown in Brighton Rock by Graham Greene
* Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower series, by Stephen King
* Samuel Vimes in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books
* Severus Snape in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
* Smith in The Loneliness of a Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe
* Soames Forsyte in the Forsyte novels by John Galsworthy
* Steerpike in the Gormenghast novels by Mervyn Peake
* Stevens in The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
* Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
* Thomas Covenant in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever by Stephen R. Donaldson
* Turin Turambar in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth universe
* Underground man, unnamed narrator in Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoevsky
* Victor Mancini in Choke by Chuck Palahniuk
* Virgil Adams in Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
* Yossarian (John) in Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
* Cheradenine Zakalwe in Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks

Poetry

* Achilles in The Illiad by Homer
* Gerontion in Gerontion by T.S. Eliot
* Henry in The Dream Songs by John Berryman
* Warren Harding in Two Poems About President Harding by James Wright
* Satan in Paradise Lost by John Milton


Film

* Napoleon Dynamite in Napoleon Dynamite
* Ash Williams in Evil Dead, Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness
* Jango and Boba Fett in Star Wars
* The Dude in The Big Lebowski
* Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick and Pitch Black
* Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon
* Shirotsugh Ledatt in The Wings of Honneamise
* Tony Montana in Scarface
* The trader in Waterworld
* Wanda Gershwitz in A Fish Called Wanda
* Alfred J. Kwak
* Dr. Peyton Westlake in Darkman
* Snake Plissken in Escape From New York, Escape From L.A.
* Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver by Martin Scorsese
* Hando in Romper Stomper
* John Constantine in Constantine
* John Murdoch in "Dark City"

Comic books

* Batman (DC Comics)
* Catwoman (DC Comics)
* Cerebus the Aardvark by Dave Sim (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
* Daredevil (Marvel Comics)
* Elektra (Marvel Comics)
* Lady Death (Lady Death Comics) (Chaos! Comics, Crossgen, and Avatar Press)
* Hellboy (Dark Horse)
* The Incredible Hulk (Marvel Comics)
* Johnny the Homicidal Maniac by Jhonen Vasquez (Slave Labor Graphics)
* Namor the Sub-Mariner (Marvel Comics)
* Nexus by Mike Baron and penciler Steve Rude
* The Punisher (Marvel Comics)
* Rayek in Elfquest (Warp Graphics, later DC Comics)
* Rorschach in Watchmen
* Sandman (Vertigo)
* Spawn (Image Comics)
* Spider-Man (Marvel Comics)
* The Thing (Marvel Comics)
* Venom (Marvel Comics)
* Wolverine (Marvel Comics)
* John Constantine from Hellblazer

Television

* Al Swearengen in Deadwood
* Dave Lister in Red Dwarf
* Beavis and Butt-head
* Bernard Black in Black Books
* Edmund Blackadder in Blackadder
* Eric Cartman in South Park
* George Costanza and, to a lesser extent, most of the other characters on Seinfeld
* Doctor Who most notably as portrayed by actors; William Hartnell, Colin Baker, and Sylvester McCoy but many consider the Doctor to be an antihero in general.
* Gendo Ikari and to a different extent Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion
* Homer Simpson in The Simpsons
* InuYasha and to a different extent Miroku in InuYasha
* Kaseidramon in Digimon
* Kerr Avon and, to varying degrees, several of the other characters in Blakes Seven
* Malcolm Reynolds in Firefly.
* Peter Griffin in Family Guy
* Ren and Stimpy
* 'Satan' in South Park
* Timmy Turner from The Fairly OddParents.
* Tintin from The Adventures of Tintin.
* Tony Soprano in The Sopranos
* Vic Mackey in The Shield
* Victor Meldrew in One Foot in the Grave
* Rick Hunter in the animated show Robotech.
* Amuro Ray and to a different extent Char Aznable in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam
* Hawkeye Pierce in M*A*S*H
* Sgt Bilko in The Phil Silvers Show