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Who is the Antagonist? 1669 Views
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Description:
This video explains what role an antagonist serves and how to identify the antagonist in a story. Fun fact: the antagonist doesn’t have to be evil, contrary to popular belief. Why? Watch the video to find out.
Transcript
- 00:04
Who is the Antagonist? a la Shmoop Every good book needs conflict, whether it's
- 00:09
a showdown with the scariest, most evil wizard of all time, or the heroine trying to decide
- 00:15
who to take to the big dance. It takes at least two to tango... or to duel...
- 00:21
and conflict just wouldn't be conflict without an antagonist.
- 00:30
How do you identify the Antagonist in a novel? Simply put, the antagonist is the villain
Full Transcript
- 00:35
or otherwise nasty character in the novel that you root against.
- 00:39
You know, the person who stands in the way of the protagonist.
- 00:46
You should know by now, however, that literature is never simple.
- 00:48
Yes, many times, the antagonist is clearly evil. He's the guy who, if you saw him coming
- 00:53
down the street, you'd move to the other side.
- 00:57
Sometimes though, the antagonist is the traditional other figure, the person who finds himself
- 01:01
on the opposite side of the tracks from the person who is lucky enough to have his name
- 01:05
on the cover of the book. And if the protagonist is an anti-hero, the
- 01:11
antagonist might be someone who is traditionally considered a good guy.
- 01:14
In Paradise Lost, Satan is the protagonist, making the big G-O-D the antagonist of the
- 01:21
story. The antagonist doesn't have to be God, Satan,
- 01:24
or the spawn of Satan, either. It can just be a person, or entity, with an
- 01:29
opposing point of view, whether it's a rival sports team, or a rival suitor.
- 01:39
Finally, the antagonist might not even be human.
- 01:46
It could be anything from a maybe-mythical white whale, to unachievable hopes and dreams,
- 01:51
to simply...humanity in general. Whatever or whoever throws up major roadblocks
- 01:58
for the protagonist. So when you have your eyes peeled for the
- 02:02
antagonist, remember the following: The antagonist opposes the protagonist, and
- 02:06
is usually the source of all the conflict. However, the antagonist isn't necessarily
- 02:12
evil. He or she just has a conflicting point of view.
- 02:15
And the antagonist... might not even be human...
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