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The document discusses the history and definition of an antihero. Some key points: - An antihero lacks traditional heroic qualities like morality and courage and acts in self-interest rather than conviction. - The concept has been traced back to characters in ancient Greek literature but the term antihero emerged in the 18th century. - Antiheroes became popular in 19th century literature and were used for social criticism, differing from traditional heroes. - In the 20th century, antiheroes were prominent in works exploring themes of alienation and became a common figure in films noirs and gangster movies.

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26 views

History: (Hide) 1 2 3 4 5

The document discusses the history and definition of an antihero. Some key points: - An antihero lacks traditional heroic qualities like morality and courage and acts in self-interest rather than conviction. - The concept has been traced back to characters in ancient Greek literature but the term antihero emerged in the 18th century. - Antiheroes became popular in 19th century literature and were used for social criticism, differing from traditional heroes. - In the 20th century, antiheroes were prominent in works exploring themes of alienation and became a common figure in films noirs and gangster movies.

Uploaded by

Satheesh Kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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An antihero, or antiheroine, is a protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such

as idealism, courage, or morality.[1][2][3][4][5] These characters are usually considered "conspicuously


contrary to an archetypal hero".[6] Although antiheroes may sometimes do the "right thing", it is often
for the "wrong reasons" and because it serves their self-interest rather than being driven by moral
convictions.[7]

Contents
[hide]

1History
2See also
3References
4Further reading
5External links

History[edit]
The antihero archetype can be traced back as far as Homer's Thersites.[8]:197198 The concept has also
been identified in classical Greek drama,[9] Roman satire, and Renaissance literature[8]:197198 such
as Don Quixote[9][10] and the picaresque rogue.[11]
The term antihero was first used as early as 1714,[5] emerging in works such as Rameau's
Nephew in the 18th century,[8]:199200 and is also used more broadly to cover Byronic heroes as well.[12]
Literary Romanticism in the 19th century helped popularize new forms of the antihero,[13][14] such as
the Gothic double.[15] The antihero eventually became an established form of social criticism, a
phenomenon often associated with the unnamed protagonist in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Notes from
Underground.[8]:201207 The antihero emerged as a foil to the traditional hero archetype, a process
that Northrop Frye called the fictional "centre of gravity."[16] This movement indicated a literary
change in heroic ethos from feudal aristocrat to urban democrat, as was the shift from epic to ironic
narratives.[16]
The antihero became prominent in early 20th century existentialist works such as Franz Kafka's The
Metamorphosis (1915),[17] Jean-Paul Sartre's La Nause (1938) (French for Nausea),[18] and Albert
Camus' L'tranger (1942) (French for The Stranger).[19] The protagonist in these works is an
indecisive central character who drifts through his life and is marked by ennui, angst,
and alienation.[20]
The antihero entered American literature in the 1950s and up to the mid-1960s was portrayed as an
alienated figure, unable to communicate.[21]:294295 The American antihero of the 1950s and 1960s (as
seen in the works of Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, et al.) was typically more proactive than his
French counterpart, with characters such as Kerouac's Dean Moriarty famously taking to the road to
vanquish his ennui.[22]:18 The British version of the antihero emerged in the works of the "angry young
men" of the 1950s.[9][23] The collective protests of Sixties counterculture saw the solitary antihero
gradually eclipsed from fictional prominence,[22]:1 though not without subsequent revivals in literary
and cinematic form.[21]:295
The antihero also plays a prominent role in films noir such as Double Indemnity (1944) and Night
and the City (1950),[24] in gangster films such as The Godfather (1972) and Goodfellas (1990),[25] and
in Western films, especially the Revisionist Western and Spaghetti Western.[citation needed] Lead figures in
these westerns are often morally ambiguous, such as the "Man with No Name", portrayed by Clint
Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965) and The Good, the Bad and
the Ugly (1966).[26]
See also[edit]

Literature portal

Anti-fairy tale
Anti-novel
List of fictional antiheroes

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "American Heritage Dictionary Entry: antihero". Ahdictionary.com. 2013-01-09.
Retrieved 2013-10-03.
2. Jump up^ "anti-hero - definition of anti-hero by Macmillan Dictionary". Macmillandictionary.com.
Retrieved 2013-10-04.
3. Jump up^ "Antiheroine - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-
webster.com. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
4. Jump up^ "anti-hero: definition of anti-hero in Oxford dictionary (British & World English)".
Oxforddictionaries.com. Retrieved 2014-09-06.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b "Antihero - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-
webster.com. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
6. Jump up^ Jonason, Peter K.; Webster, Gregory D.; Schmitt, David P.; Li, Norman P.; Crysel, Laura
(2012). "The antihero in popular culture: Life history theory and the dark triad personality
traits." (PDF). Review of General Psychology. 16 (2): 192199. doi:10.1037/a0027914. Retrieved 5
February 2017.
7. Jump up^ 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.
8. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Steiner, George (2013). Tolstoy Or Dostoevsky: An Essay in the Old Criticism. New
York: Open Road. ISBN 9781480411913.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b c "antihero (literature) - Encyclopdia Britannica". Britannica.com. 2013-02-14.
Retrieved 2014-08-09.
10. Jump up^ "Literary Terms and Definitions A". Web.cn.edu. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
11. Jump up^ Halliwell, Martin (2007). American Culture in the 1950s. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press. p. 60. ISBN 9780748618859.
12. Jump up^ "Literary Terms and Definitions B". Web.cn.edu. Retrieved 2014-09-06.

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