Heroes (and Lack Thereof) Heroes come in every shape and form, from the handsome, nobly born to the unattractive, cowardly commoner. These heroes are found in every genre and time period in literature, from centuries-ago stage dramas to the modern day romance novel, from the Aristotelian tragic hero to the antihero. In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, the protagonist, Rodion Romanovitch Raskolnikov, identifies chiefly with the antihero, with qualities that may also be compared to those of a modern hero. An antihero is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a main character in a book, play, movie, etc., who does not have the usual good qualities that are expected in a hero”. In other words, where a hero may be strong, an antihero …show more content…
A modern hero compares to an antihero in the essence that both are ordinary people who have human weaknesses. Raskolnikov is a modern hero in the fact that he is an “everyman” who has human weaknesses, such as poverty and severe anxiety. However, a more fitting example of a modern hero is Guy Montag from Ray Bradbury’s Faahrenheit 451. Montag begins as a seemingly normal “fireman”, but begins doubting himself and society upon meeting a young, insightful girl named Clarisse. Montag carries on with his job, burning books even though he doesn’t agree with it. After a period of intense inner turmoil, Montag eventually rebels against the firemen and stands up for what he believes. Montag is a modern hero in that he is just an ordinary man who struggles to differentiate between right and wrong and is trapped doing a job he disagrees with. Another example of a modern hero is Winston Smith from George Orwell’s 1984. Winston, though miserable, had to pretend he was content with the poor state of society. Eventually he decides to make an effort to find the Brotherhood, a rebel society. Although it turns out to be a ploy to catch thought criminals and he doesn’t succeed in his endeavors, he still possesses qualities of a modern hero. A modern, more easily recognizable modern hero, however, is Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games Trilogy. Katniss is an ordinary resident of District 12 who volunteers as tribute when her younger sister is reaped. Katniss struggles internally to figure out whether she should lead the rebellion as desired by
A hero is someone admired for their courage, achievements, and/or idealized qualities, however; a movie can also portray an anti-hero. An anti-hero is a central character in which lacks conventional heroic characteristics. In every movie, book, or in reality every hero has their ups and downs. Many people undergo many hardships to become a hero. There are many stages a hero has to overcome such as: Separation, Initiation, and Return.
The word "hero" is one with various definitions; a hero can be a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities, a person widely regarded as heroic by their actions, or even a sandwich. Popular opinion depicts a hero as the "superman" type, rushing into battle and saving the less fortunate. This is a character that never makes an appearance in Antigone. The story of Antigone does not fall into the lighthearted, family friendly genre of stories as it illustrates a royal tragedy and the downfall of a family. These factors increase the difficulty of finding the story's protagonist or, in this case, its hero.
The definition of a hero has been moulded and changed over time, but all heroes have shared some qualities, constructing our archetypal hero. Katniss, the 'hero' from Suzanne Collins, 'The Hunger Games' challenges and confirms our views of a typical hero. She has events like a heroes journey and a tough upbringing, but she also has conflicting attributes like simply not being a male. Suzanne Collins has created a complex character, who doesn't strictly fit into the mould of a hero.
We often believe that the protagonist of a story is a hero and possesses heroic qualities such as moral goodness, courage and selflessness. However, this is not true for every story. A story can have a protagonist who is an anti-hero: someone who lacks the traditional qualities of a hero. Anti-heroes are defined in three ways: The Satanic anti-hero, a character who seeks an evil goal through evil means, the Promethean anti-hero, someone who seeks a worthy goal but by unethical means, and the Byronic anti-hero, a character who has undefined goals and are to be achieved through questionable means, in which this character is often unpredictable mysterious, moody, and self-destructive. Both Macbeth from William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth and Pink from the film, Pink Floyd – The Wall, are both anti-heroes. More specifically, Macbeth is classified as a satanic anti-hero who seeks the goal to become king and Pink is a Byronic anti-hero, who has no clear goal other than to escape the ‘wall’ he is trapped in. Some similarities these two characters share are that they are both privileged (with Macbeth being a well-praised warrior and Pink being a famous musician), are supported by corrupting influences and rationalize their worse deeds as needing to preserve their own safety. Although Macbeth and Pink share similar characteristics, I would assert, because of Pink’s childhood traumas, that Pink deserves more sympathy than Macbeth.
An anti-hero in the most common protagonist in the genre of noir who mostly has some negative qualities like aggressiveness and dishonesty, also according to the Wikipedia, “An anti-hero is a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality.” By the definition and reading through James M. Cain’s novel Double Indemnity, we are sure that Walter Huff in this book is the anti-hero, because of his ruthless murder. For example, Walter first uses his knowledge in insurance to kill Phyllis’ husband in order to get money and Phyllis, and he also tries to murder Phyllis since she knows the secret. In addition, at the begging of the story, Walter’s moral choice shows his characteristic; he does not choose to stop Phyllis’s idea but help her finish the murder plan. However, some anti-hero possess positive qualities, like Walter in this book, he loves Lola and can do anything for her, and he even tells his colleague the truth to protect Lola.
The title of Feodor Dostoevsky’s work, Crime and Punishment, leads the mind to think that the book will focus on a great punishment set by enforcers of the law that a criminal will have to endure, but the book does not really focus on any physical repercussions of the crimes of the main character, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov.
In the reading, “Why We Love TV’s Anti-heroes” by Stephen Garrett, he points out that anti-heroes are becoming more popular than the traditional hero. Garrett states, “the word hero is abused in the news, the sports reports, and even in conversation” (318). For example tabloids recognize someone who battles a drug addiction and overcomes it or a substitute kicker for the football game kick the winning field goal (318). You see he argues that traditional heroes are “boring” and that there are no longer any more real heroes (318-321). Anti-heroes are characters or people who are just evil but still get the viewers to like
In Crime and Punishment, Dostoevsky creates a psychological thriller, in which he reimagines his own life through the eyes of Raskolnikov. Whereas the Russian government sentences Dostoevsky to Siberia as punishment for sedition, Siberia serves a means of atonement for Raskolnikov. This type of religious undertone reinforces the novel’s existentialistic messages that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It holds the view that humans define their own meaning in life, and try to make rational decisions despite existing in an irrational universe. Thus, humans create their own purpose in life and their choices define who they are. Dostoevsky utilizes figurative language, specifically biblical allusions, as a way of conveying and clarifying these themes to the reader. By connecting to Bible, the author universalizes the intention, allowing the reader to apply the text to their own lives, and granting the audience further insight into the novel. Thus, biblical allusions help enrich the themes of Crime and Punishment while also cementing the central message of salvation- anyone, even murderers, have the potential to redeem themselves.
In the novel “Crime and Punishment”, the author, Fyodor Dostoevsky gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of a tormented criminal, by his guilt of a murder. Dostoevsky’s main focal point of the novel doesn’t lie within the crime nor the punishment but within the self-conflicting battle of a man and his guilty conscience. The author portrays tone by mood manipulation and with the use of descriptive diction to better express his perspective in the story, bringing the reader into the mind of the murderer.
To be a modern hero a character’s has to fit certain principles. The character Eben Flood from the narrative poem “Mr. Floods Party” is a perfect example of a modern hero, for it has all the criteria needed. His character is very realistic and relatable, for he was lonely because all of his friends and loved ones had past, and at the time many people had lost loved ones to the war. He also coped with the pain in a sensible way, for many people turned to alcohol as a coping mechanism. He was also flawed, which is a main characteristic of a modern hero.
Raskolnikov lives an ordinary life as an ordinary man. He is a good man and has a good heart, but he soon commits a crime that will forever change his life. Raskolnikov is a good man; I believe he is kind, generous, and selfless. Now, how are all of these positive traits found in a murderer? I think was caught in a psychotic moment, his mental state was not all there, and he had a dream, he made a plan, and he committed this terrible crime. A good example of Raskolnikov being a kind hearted person, and selfless is when he sees a young girl at the end of the street, he sees by her a rough looking man staring at her. He starts to get very worried what this man might do to this young girl. He goes down the street to get this young girl, and he pays for a taxi to get her home. This was so generous, and small yet so impactful. Raskolnikov cared about what might happen to this young girl, and did something about it. This showed how selfless Raskolnikov is, and what a kind heart he has. I think this shows Raskolnikov’s true character. From here, he makes some terrible decisions, and is engulfed by guilt, but I believe he is a generous, kindhearted person. In this book, Crime And Punishment, Raskolnikov goes from being an ordinary man with an ordinary life to a murderer, tortured by guilt, haunted by the memory of his crime, and him finding himself again in society after the murders.
Often times in literature, we are presented with quintessential characters that are all placed into the conventional categories of either good or bad. In these pieces, we are usually able to differentiate the characters and discover their true intentions from reading only a few chapters. However, in some remarkable pieces of work, authors create characters that are so realistic and so complex that we are unable to distinguish them as purely good or evil. In the novel Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoevsky develops the morally ambiguous characters of Raskolnikov and Svidrigailov to provide us with an interesting read and to give us a chance to evaluate each character.
Within literature, a Byronic hero is characterized by his/her cunning, arrogant, violent, and often intellectually unstable behavior. First developed in the 19th century by English Romantic poet, Lord Byron, a Byronic hero deviates from the traditional Romantic hero archetype (Byronic). Although both archetypes “rebel against traditional modes of behavior”, Byronic heroes have greater psychological burdens. This results in morbid sensibilities. Dostoevsky 's Crime and Punishment explores a variety of characters’ psyche and creates an anamnesis of their respective traits. Developed by Dostoevsky, Arkady Svidrigailov possesses an imbalance of Freud’s psychoanalytic triad of id, ego and superego, which result in deterioration of his mental
Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment is a psychologically charged novel in which the primary element that plagues the protagonist, Rodion Raskolnikov, is not a person but rather an idea; his own idea. Raskolnikov has an unhealthy obsession with rendering himself into what he perceives as the ideal, supreme human being, an übermensch. Raskolnikov forms for himself a theory in which he will live purely according to his own will and transcend the social norms and moralities that dominate society. Raskolnikov suggests that acts commonly regarded as immoral are to be reserved for a certain rank of “extraordinary” men. Raskolnikov’s faith
In an age where superheroes are idolized for their ability to do no wrong, people tend to forget that their apotheosizing of such figures is unrealistic. In the process, people tend to overlook the more relatable savior: the antihero. With the veneration of the hero, the everyday antiheroes are pushed to the wayside when, in actuality, they should be just as, if not more, popular. As much as everyone likes to feel as though they are the superheroes of their own stories, it is much more likely that we are all much more comparable to the latter. We all struggle with moral grey areas, and sometimes we even give in to our darker desires; that’s simply what it means to be human.