I had a hard time deciding what Antagonist to write about—there
are just so many great ones. But the more I thought about it, the more I
narrowed in on the antag that always makes me feel the most hopelessness…
The corrupt society antagonist. This antag shows up in
almost every dystopian novel. The reason it’s so chilling is because—EVERYTHING
is against the protag: the government, the way people think, the entire
culture, usually their families, etc.
The man vs. society dynamic is so daunting. How will the
protag beat an entire culture? The conflict is huge! I think this antag resonates
because we have all felt like the entire world was against us. Heck, I felt
like that just this week :)
Here are some of my favorites:
Matched by Ally Condie—For Cassia to be with the boy
she loves, she is must find a way to fight through a corrupt system that won’t
let her choose.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins—Katniss can’t
protect the people she loves unless she can find a way to take down the Capital.
The Uglies by Scott Westerfeld—Tally must make a
choice that in her world will make her an outcast forever.
I wanted to pick more great Antags, but here are a few honorable
mentions: Sauron (Lord of the Rings), Professor Umbrage (Harry Potter), the
White Witch (Narnia), and Saint Dane (Pendragon).
What about you? Who are your favorite Antagonists?
-Angie
If you want to check out the other Killer Character entries—click here. Thanks Deana and Emily
:) This was so fun.
28 comments:
That's not fair, you picked three (not to mention the honorable mentions).LOL. I agree with and love all of your choices. You are so right, there is something to be said about a character having to take on the entire world or government etc. The corrupt society antagonist really intensifies the conflict. I not only like your choices, I like the reason behind the choices. Good picks.
Excellent choice. When I read those books I am always amazed how the protagonist can rise above such a daunting antagonist. I guess a lot of the time they don't:(
Oooh, man v. society is always fascinating. But I might have to pick Professor Umbrage as my fave antagonist. That whole book, I wanted to punch her in the face. :)
Awesome! That whole one against everyone dynamic makes for a lot of hurdles to cross. I've felt that in a very real way and it does feel pretty hopeless.
Oh, this is a fascinating choice, and so creative. I think what is so frightening about the corrupt society is you can see so many parallels to the real world and history, very chilling. Great post!!
Wow! What a great choice! I have to agree with everything you said. In societies like this, the protagonist has everything to lose. Family, friends, his or her way of life if she chooses something other than what the society wants. Makes for an amazing story. Thanks for sharing!:D
A few months ago, I read THE HOMECOMING OF SAMUEL LAKE and it was the first time in a long time where I really wanted the "villain" to die a horrible death. He was so vile I wanted to throw the book against the wall (but in a good way, if that makes sense.) :)
Awesome Antags. My skin is crawling and my stomach is tightening just thinking about the conflicts! Argggg!
Those are some of my favorite dystopians too! I was an immediate fan the first time I read Uglies! So creepy.
I haven't participated in the Killer Characters Fest ... I will just say that Saruman is my top choice. For all the hopeless reasons that you listed above and the fact that he was once a White Wizard. I think it's always devastating when one who was good -- really good -- gives up and gives in to the Dark Side. Anyway, those are my two cents worth. :)
Such a good idea! Society tends to work against us in some way, whether we care to admit it or not. And in literature there's nothing scarier than watching your beloved protagonist being threatened by an evil cause. I like your choices a lot. Thanks so much for participating! : )
Oh, great choices! I think I need another cup coffee before I travel to the dark side :)
Good choice, society is definitely the bad guy in those stories. I LOVED Matched, can't wait to read the second one!!
Great Choice. It really is the ultimate Angtag. And because we may not ever come against a real bad guy, but we do feel like the government is something we might come up against, we connect with these books.
I almost changed mine to the White Witch yesterday. LOL. She is so great!
Good choices! Those antagonist really do make everything feel soul crushing, don't they?
Such a great post! I like that you picked a type instead of one specific antagonist. So chilling!
Fabulous choices! I love dystopians for precisely that reason! All the ones you mentioned are great, except (I must confess) I haven't read CROSSED yet. Urg! I am dying to tho. It's on my TBR list!
All great choices! I agree-- the corrupt society antagonist is the most scary!
mc against the world!
how much harder can it get?
great submission!
Oh Big Brother! Great choices.
It's what you can't fight properly that's always the most frustrating and scariest. And corruptness is even worse because we can see it all the time.
It's been so fun to see what people come up with!
The uglies has been on my list for a while.
This is a great one :D
Even though I'm not IN this, it's been fun to check out what everyone has said.
Brilliant choice! Corrupt society is actually the scariest antagonist.
So true! It hits so close to home, because in reality, it could very well happen. I think it's why dystopian is so popular. It's very believable in a really scary way!
Along these same lines, I'd have to say Big Brother is one of my favorite antags -
Great idea! I agree with Kim -- Big Brother is one of the best!
I left you an award on my blog :)
http://readingwritingandlovinit.blogspot.com/2011/10/versatile-blogger-award.html
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