Monday, February 27, 2012

Sometimes Nuthin' Can Be a Real Cool Hand - Part II

This entry is for freshmen only.


Let's start off with a new term:  'antihero.'

Think of an antihero as a main character (a protagonist) who, in at least in some ways, is very unlike a typical hero.  While heroes uphold the law, fight for justice, and follow the rules, antiheroes often fight the law, treat the world unjustly, and break the rules.

Some fans of the film have called Luke an anti-hero. Your task is to name another antihero from literature or cinema. Then briefly explain why the character you've chosen is indeed an antihero. In other words, prove it!

Be sure to read all of the responses before yours; remember, no repeats! Grammar and spelling counts. Your responses should be a short paragraph. Post your responses in the comments section bellow.

29 comments:

  1. In the film "Cool Hand Luke", along with Luke being an antihero, his friend Dragline also is too. Even though in the beginning of the movie Luke and Dragline did not get along too well. But as the movie went on they grew to like each other because they had many similar interests and acted the same as one another. I believe Dragline is a protagionist because, everytime Luke would escape, you could tell me wished me was with him. He always wanted to escape but never had the guts. But finally one day when Luke tries to escape for the 3rd time (even though they threatened to kill him) he hopped in the car with him and they escaped together. They voyaged on to freedom. Until, one day Luke came to the realization that they are better off alone. Dragline didnt really want to, but he acted like a man and went along with it. But, not long later they got back together because they knew they could not do it without one another. Thus, this is why i think Luke's friend "Dragline" is also a "protagonist" or "antihero".

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  2. In the book the Hunger Games, Katnis, the main character is the antihero, this is because when she offers to be the tribute for the Games, instead of her sister, she goes against basically all the rules of the Games. She and her partner decide to challenge the system and both decide to take a pill that would kill them both instead of there just being one winner they claim that they will both kill themselves so that the government will allow them both to stay alive. Also, throughout the story she goes against the rules of what you can do durning the game and where you can go. This is why Katnis is an antihero just like Luke was in the movie.

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  3. Like Luke, Jake and Elwood Blues from the movie the Blues Brothers are also antiheroes. In the movie, Jake and Elwood are "on a mission from God" to legally collect $5,000 in order to save the orphanage they grew up in from being closed. So, Jake and Elwood decide they can raise the money by getting the band back together and having a concert. On their journey, however, they get into some trouble. They are being chased by the Illinois State Police for driving with a suspended license, resisting arrest, and destroying the Dixie Square Mall, the Illinois Nazis for spoiling one of their marches, and the Good Ol' Boys for stealing one of their gigs. Jake and Elwood's constant disregard for the law with the right intentions is what makes them antiheroes, just like Luke.

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  4. In the book, The Lovely Bones there is an easily indentified antihero, George Harvey. Harvey quickly becomes the antihero because of his vicious personality, the malign traits he possesses and the brutal actions he performs. First, Harvey is indeed the antihero because he intentionally and maliciously murders innocent 14 year old, Susie Salmon, as she walked home from school, one late afternoon. Furthermore, Harvey does not confess to his unsavory actions. Instead, he acts normally, chatting up with Susie’s parents and proclaiming his grief and sorrow. Last, Harvey visibly learning nothing from his horrendous actions leaves Susie’s home town of Norristown. The choice of his move is driven by the willingness and wanting to kill some more young girls. Thus, Harvey’s actions make him the antihero of this particular book.

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  5. In the hit tv show The Walking Dead, the group leader Shane is stuck in a forest with a teenager named Otis. In order to survive Shane needed to somehow distract the zombies so he could get away. Shane is more valuable to the group of survivors than Otis is, so Shane shoots Otis in the leg and runs out of the forest as the zombies become attracted to Otis' blood and Shane escapes without a sweat. Shane then gets back to the farm where the family lives and tells everyone that Otis fell behind in the forest and the zombies ate him, playing it off cool. When Otis fell to the ground in the forest, he ripped a patch out of Shane's head. Shane got to the farm and shaved his head right away and not a trace was left of how Otis died. Shane was the anti-hero because he helps the group kill zombies and he is very valuable to the group of survivors but he also caused Otis to die which made him the anti part.

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    Replies
    1. very creative peter! Keep it up!

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    2. good job peter! Kepp it up!

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  6. The antihero concept in a film is very famous and normally gives it way more action. The first ever antihero to start it all would have to be Robin Hood. He is a badass who fights to steal from the rich and give to the poor. Meaning that he would have to fight the law and break certain rules. Although that Robin Hood's main goal is to help the common person, he is still the "bad guy" in the movie.

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  7. In the movie John Q, a factory worker, John Q. Archibald, suffering from financial hardships, experiences a real-life dilemma after he discovers his son needs an emergency heart transplant. With all the families financial problems, John is told that his policy does not cover the procedure and cannot go along with the surgery. He goes through many tactics to try to raise money to help, but cannot reach his goal. He is left with no choice but to keep the staff and patients at the hospital hostage. These actions make John an antihero just like Luke.

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  8. In the movie Office Space, Peter Gibbons plays the antihero. In the beginning, Peter was a hard working computer guy who was always stuck doing extra assignments during the weekends. After he gets hypnotized, his actions change. Peter becomes lazy by coming to work when ever he feels like it and taking money from his company. Yet he some how gets away with all of his schemes, including winning over his dream girl. So in the end, Peter becomes the antihero in the movie since before he was an over achiever, but in the end he turned out to be another rebel.

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  9. In the story, " A catcher in the Rye" the protagonist Holden is considered an anti-hero. He is a high school dropout from a well known preparatory school. He failed all of his classes. Holden is a very smart guy, but does not use his abilities wisely. He gets himself into trouble, and makes bad decisions in his lives. He had many sexual problems, but he also drank a lot of alcohol. Another thing he did was get himself into a physical fight with his friend for liking the girl Holden liked. This makes him an anti hero because he gets himself into alot of trouble, when he can become the good character in the story.

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  10. In the novel and movie Fight Club, Tyler Durden could be considered the Antihero of the story. Fight club is about an unnamed narrator dealing with his insomnia in… alternative ways. He begins by going to support groups for people with fatal illnesses and soon end up meeting Tyler. Tyler is a psychotic person who works low paying jobs in order to perform deviant behavior on the job. Tyler and the unnamed narrator create what is called Fight Club. Soon fight club becomes more of an attack on corporate America. Tyler then creates an army-like group the wants to try to bring down modern society. The reasons that Tyler is an Antihero are because he’s not actually separate from the narrator but a separate personality. He does all of the bad things that the Narrator won’t. Like the fact that he plans to blow up what in the book is considered the tallest building in the world. By being as crazy as he is, that is why Tyler Durden from Fight Club is an Antihero.

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  11. Even in the story a man who was almost a man the main character, Dave was the antihero. He begged his mom to allow him to get a gun. After some convincing his mother allowed him to, but to bring it back for his father. He hinds the gun,kills the mule, and denies it. After fear of the punishment he hops on an train and runs away form home.The rebel inside of Dave was the antihero.

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  12. In the movie Law Abiding Citizen, Clyde is considered an anti-hero. His daughter and wife were raped and murdered. One of the killers were released from jail after a short sentence, due to the lawyer making a deal with the murderers. This led to a lot of frustration for Clyde. He wanted justice and had no way to get it. He decided to kill the murderer and others involved in the case. He went after the judge, the lawyer’s family and friends, and others involved in the deal. He has good intentions but he kills many people to prove a point, which is why he is considered an anti-hero.

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  13. In the anime and comic book “Teen Titans” Raven is one of the main characters in the story. Although she is considered a hero; Raven had powers that she received from her demonic father Trigon. She has dark powers that can really endanger people if she is not well meditated. She caused major destruction and death everywhere. She is considered “the portal of Trigon”. She has the ability to create a portal from the void to any planet and transport Triton to cause destruction. Even though she tries to fight her purpose; she finally gets devoured by her own emotions and inner self. Whenever she turns evil, she always turns back into a child and become a “new” Raven. She is basically immortal and has the curse to bring Trigon into planets to destroy it. She is currently in her third form; she has incarnated three times. First she lived in the Temple of Azarath. Then in her second life, she wore white garb, but she only lived for 2 years. Now she wears a purple garb and fights alongside with the Teen Titans.

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  14. In the movie, Harry Potter, Severous Snape can be thought of as an anti hero. He can be thought of this way becasue throughout the series of books and movies Snape does vindictive things, holds grudges, acts meanly to Harry as his teacher, and is portrayed as a villian type. However, later it is learned that some of his acts are noble but the meaning is unseen and hidden. He protects Harry, although Harry doesnt know it. He spends years and years doing things trying to make up for his past mistakes and risks his like to save "The Order".

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  15. One of my favorite movies of all time is Dark Knight. In Dark Knight the main character however is an antihero. The Joker is the main character therefore he is an antihero. The joker is an antihero because he is the bad guy in the movie but still one of the main characters. The movie is based off of what horrible antics the Joker is trying to follow through with and the famous BATMAN trying to stop him from achieving his evil plots.

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  16. As seen in the movie Tower Heist. The main Character is seeking revenge on the Wall Street Swindler and has to hire a criminal to steal $20 million dollars from a man that defrauded them. I think Ben Stiller is the Antihero because he even though he got the money and was able to payback the people who lost thier money, he has to perform illegal actoins to get it.

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  17. In the movie Goon, Doug Glatt is a low life bouncer until his life turns around and he gets an offer to join a minor league hockey team. The reason he is asked to be on the team is because he can fight. They chose him because he can be a goon and enforcer and thats exactly what he does. Doug looks out for all the guys on his team and if anyone they are playing make a cheap hit or something like that doug will go out and simply beat them up. Doug is like an anti-hero because he gets in fights just to stick up for his teammates.

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  18. In the hit series Dexter, the main character and crime scene investigator Dexter, would seem like the protagonist of the show. But by night, Dexter is a serial killer. He is actually an antagonist while appearing like a protaganist.

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  19. In the movie The Breakfast Club, all the characters are put in to a saturday detention for various reasons. None of them are truly bad kids but they all have found themselves in the same place. Even though they are all supposed to be portrayed as the "bad kids", you still find yourself rooting for them and wanting them to have fun and to escape the detention.

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  20. In the movie The Great Escape Steve Mcqueen tries to escape a prison with many other men through an underground tunnel. This makes him an antihero because he is trying to help so many other people while he is not supposed to breaking the law. You definetly want him and all the prison mates to escape to a different coutry. When you see the relationship between the characters and get to know them you understand why Steve Mqueen is such a bosslike antihero

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    Replies
    1. Woops spelling error is country and period at the end of the paragrapgh. Sorry

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