Antagonist
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Antagonist | The term "antagonist" seems a little intimidating at first. But in truth, it is just a big word that refers to a fairly simple concept. To put the matter as simply as possible: the term antagonist can be more or less translated as "bad guy". It is one of many character types that authors use when writing stories. A clear definitionThe antagonist is the character within a story who is trying to stop the "hero" (or protagonist) character from achieving success. These characters are often written about in literature stories. Sometimes, the antagonist himself does not have to a morally bad person per se. But s/he becomes bad within the context of a story because of the simple fact that his/her interests are opposed to the hero's interest. This glossary entry includes the definition as well as examples of them in use. Antagonist examples and usageHere are some examples of the word antagonist used in sentences.
If you are still unclear about the meaning of the term antagonist, here are two key rules you can follow in order to make sure you understand the concept in the right way. 1. Antagonist is a relative term: the antagonist is simply the person who opposes the hero of the story. So, in order to find the antagonist of a story, just find the main character, and then figure out who is getting in his way. 2. Not all stories necessarily have an antagonist who can be clearly defined as a person. For example, the "antagonist" could simply be fate, or society, or some power (like fear or boredom) within the hero's own mind. The protagonist/antagonist comparisonThe contrast between the words antagonist and protagonist is an elegant one: you can notice the opposition between the Greek prefixes "anti" (which means "against") and "pro" (which means "in favor"). The protagonist is in favor of his own actions and interests, whereas the antagonist is against the hero's actions and interests. The concept of an antagonist is probably as hold as the human species itself. This is because since the very beginning, people have had to struggle for their survival, even if just against hunger and cold. In this primitive example, the environment itself would be antagonist that must be overcome. And of course, people have always had to struggle against each other as well. From an infant's perspective, anyone who tries to "steal" his mother's attention away from him would be his antagonist; from the perspective of a love-struck young man, the antagonist would be anyone else who is competing with him for the hand of his romantic interest; and so on. In short, the idea of an antagonist would seem to deeply rooted in the very nature of human beings.
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Synonyms:
antagonist |