Literary Gem: "Antagonist"
Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs.” … Mr. Hyde in “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.” … The Joker in “Batman.” Each is an antagonist. When it comes to story-telling, each brings something special to the table.
I’m Jim Lamb … Let’s get started.
An antagonist represents a roadblock, an obstacle, a challenge. He (or she or it) stands in the protagonist’s way, keeping them from reaching their goal. Antagonists are often villains—like the bad guys who take on James Bond: Oddjob, Goldfinger, and Jaws—the towering assassin with steel teeth.
An antagonist doesn’t have to be a person, however. It might be an organization like Spectre, Hydra, or Kaos. Or it could just be a bunch of Flying Monkeys out to ruin the hero’s day.
The prime purpose of antagonists is to bring conflict to the story.
Sometimes the antagonist is a friend, like Iago in Shakespeare’s “Othello.” Sometimes it’s a snake, like Satan in the Garden of Eden.
Sometimes it’s your biggest fan, like Annie Wilkes in Stephen King’s “Misery.” Here are some other examples:
Norman Bates in “Psycho.”
Darth Vader in “Star Wars.”
Mr. Potter in “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
My favorite antagonist is Harry Lime in “The Third Man,” but I also like:
The Alien in “Alien.”
The Terminator in “The Terminator”
And Bonnie & Clyde in “Bonnie & Clyde”
You could say there were two antagonists in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”—the doctor and the monster because (let’s face it) both were monsters … in their own way.
What about Herman Melville’s “Moby-Dick”? Who was the real villain? Capt. Ahab or the white whale?
Speaking of captains, consider Capt. Bligh in “Mutiny on the Bounty,” Capt. Queeg in “Caine Mutiny,” and Capt. Hook in “Peter Pan.”
You may ask … “Why must our hero face so many problems?”
Great question … Here’s why:
Because a good guy like Sherlock Holmes must bump into a really bad “bad guy” like Professor Moriarty to find out just how good he really is.
Know what I mean?
I’m, Jim Lamb and you’ve just learned a little Somethin’-Somethin’ about Antagonists.
Copyright 2021