This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Antagonist (literature) is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (February 2008) |
An antagonist (from Greek ανταγωνιστής - antagonistes, "opponent, competitor, rival"[1][2]) is a character or group of characters, or, sometimes an institution of a happening who represents the opposition against which the protagonist(s) must contend.[3] In the classic style of story where in the action consists of a hero fighting a villain, the two can be regarded as protagonist and antagonist, respectively.[4] Contrary to popular belief, the antagonist is not always the villain, but simply those who oppose the main character.
Writers have also created more complex situations. In some instances, a story is told from the villain's point of view, and any hero trying to stop the villain can be regarded as an antagonist. Such antagonists are usually police officers or other law enforcement officials. In the film K-19: The Widowmaker, an American film about a Soviet Cold War submarine crew, the crew, enemies of the United States, are depicted as protagonists, creating something of a paradox -as very often the American film industry tends to depict the forces of the United States as the people that fight for "good" and "justice", in opposition to Russia (especially the former Soviet Union) being the antagonists who often have maniacal and/or malicious intentions (e.g. world domination). Sometimes, antagonists and protagonists may overlap, depending on what their ultimate objectives are considered to be.
See also
References
 |
This literature-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 14 October 2008, at 05:49.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Antagonist (literature)".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.