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Antagonist
is not very common, it is often used to challenge a reader's
DEFINITION assumptions about moral choices or storytelling conventions.
What is an antagonist? Here’s a quick and simple definition: • Gr
Group
oup ant
antag
agonis
onistts: The antagonist of a story may be a group of
people rather than just one person. In a war film, for instance, the
An antagonist is usually a character who opposes the antagonist may be an entire country. Or in a movie like Heathers,
protagonist (or main character) of a story, but the antagonist which is a dark comedy about social dynamics in high school, the
can also be a group of characters, institution, or force against antagonist is a clique made up of popular girls who are all named
which the protagonist must contend. A simple example of an Heather (which is why the group is referred to as "the Heathers").
antagonist is the Queen in Snow White and the Seven • Non-human ant antag
agonis
onistt: It's possible for a story to have an
Dwarfs, who opposes and wants to destroy Snow White. antagonist that isn't a human (or a group of humans) at all. In
Jaws for example, the antagonist is a killer shark. In fact,
Some additional key details about antagonists: antagonists don't technically even have to be alive. In the
• Not all stories that have a protagonist necessarily have an "disaster film" genre—which takes an impending or ongoing
antagonist, but an antagonist can't exist without a protagonist. disaster as its main source of conflict—sometimes the natural
disasters themselves serve as the primary antagonists (such as
• The conflict that arises from an antagonist's opposition to a earthquakes, tidal waves, or an asteroid hitting Earth). Some
protagonist might not always appear as an explicit confrontation would even argue that societal customs that thwart a protagonist
(as it does between the Queen and Snow White). Sometimes, an can be antagonists.
antagonist might challenge a protagonist in other ways, such as
through a competitive rivalry that doesn't involve any violence. • Int
Internal
ernal ant
antag
agonis
onistt: Some writers use the term "internal
antagonist" to describe a situation in which it is an internal flaw or
• While the antagonist might frequently be "bad" or "evil," this isn't issue of the protagonist that primarily stands in his or her way. For
always the case. Antagonists can be just as complicated as instance, it's possible to argue that in the Jane Austen novel
protagonists, with nuanced motivations or beliefs. Emma that it is Emma's own confidence in her ability and right to
meddle in the lives of others that primarily stands in her way.
Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt Pr
Pronuncia
onunciation
tion While there are other characters in the novel who inconvenience
Here's how to pronounce antagonist: an-ttag
ag-uh-nist Emma in some way, ultimately the conflicts in the novel are
driven by Emma's own actions and the obstacles she has to
overcome are within herself and not posed by anyone else. That
Types of Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt said, some people might object to the term "internal antagonist"
When most people think of an antagonist, they think of a "bad guy," and instead argue that a novel like Emma actually doesn't have a
like the villains in superhero movies. But there are actually many true antagonist at all and instead just has a dynamic, complicated
different types of antagonist, of which the standard villain is just one. protagonist.
• Villain Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt: The villain antagonist is the most common
type of antagonist. A character who is a villain antagonist has evil Examples of a Complic
Complicaated Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt
or selfish intentions and wants to stop or hinder the protagonist, There are so many different ways for an antagonist to operate that not
who—in a conventional narrative—will likely be "the good guy." every antagonist you encounter will fall into one of the categories
The Queen in Snow White is a villain protagonist. So are the described above. Some antagonists might even fall into more than
antagonists in most superhero and action stories. It's important to one of the categories. One good example of a complicated antagonist
remember that a villain is simply one type of antagonist, and not is the monster in the novel Frankenstein.
all villains are antagonists.
Complic
Complicaated Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt in Mar
Maryy Shelle y'ss Frank
Shelley' ankens
ensttein
• Her
Hero o Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt: A hero antagonist is a character whose
intentions are noble, and their main objective is to stop or The narrative of Frankenstein is about a man named Victor
obstruct the actions of the protagonist—for whatever reason. If a Frankenstein who creates a monster, which is referred to as the
story contains a villain protagonist, chances are good that there Creature. The Creature ultimately turns against his creator and wrecks
will be a hero antagonist attempting to thwart the villain's plans. Victor's life. But the monster is not a simple villain antagonist. As the
The presence of a hero antagonist, however, does not always novel makes clear, the monster acts as he does because Victor first
mean the protagonist must be a villain. Because a hero antagonist abandons the monster after creating it, and then refuses to create a
companion monster to alleviate the monster's terrible loneliness. The

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monster's revenge is to make Victor just as alone, by murdering antagonist types: villains, hero antagonists, group antagonists, and
Victor's loved ones. Further, at one point of the novel the Creature "non-human" antagonists, as well as an example of an antagonist
tells Victor his story of being alone after Victor abandoned him—for who doesn't fit easily into any of these categories.
that portion of the novel, the monster becomes the protagonist of his
own story. Over all, Victor is the protagonist of Frankenstein: the Villain Ant
Antag onistt in Wonder Woman
agonis
audience sees the story through Victor's eyes, knowing what Victor
knows and understanding the consequences of events by what In the 2017 film, Wonder Woman, Diana Prince saves an American spy
Victors feels and recounts. The audience sympathizes with Victor. But and pilot, Captain Steve Trevor, after he crashes near the hidden
the audience also sympathizes to an extent with the Creature, which island where she and the Amazonian race of warrior women live. After
becomes a murderous villain out of its own sense of having been he tells the Amazonians about the destruction happening in the
dreadfully wronged. The Creature is a villain, but an understandable world as a result of World War I, Diana decides to accompany him to
one, and so it is a complicated antagonist. the war's front line. She believes it to be Ares—a villain based on the
Greek god of war—who is responsible, and that if Ares dies the war
will end. It isn't until the very end of the movie that Ares' identity is
Lit
Liter
erar
aryy T
Terms
erms Commonly Confused with Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt revealed, and the two characters battle. While Ares has relatively little
There are several closely related terms that are often confused with time on the screen, and there are plenty of other villains in this story,
antagonist, but there are critical differences among them that are it is clear that Ares' evildoing has been the primary cause of suffering
important to know in order to better understand how to identify an for the protagonist and those she wants to save, which makes Ares
antagonist. the primary villain antagonist in this narrative.

• Villain
Villain: A villain is an evil character in a story. Of course, as we now
know, not all antagonists are evil or villains. You might hear Her
Heroo Ant
Antag onistt in Br
agonis Breeaking Bad
people use the terms "villain" and "antagonist" interchangeably, The protagonist of the TV series Breaking Bad is Walter White, a high
but this isn't correct. Villains are often antagonists but not always. school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. In
In order to locate the antagonist, look for the story's primary order to leave his family on secure financial footing, he begins making
conflict and ask where that conflict originated. and selling the illegal drug known as crystal meth. While White's
• Foil
oil: A foil is a character that contrasts with another character in fundamental desire might be a good one—helping his family—his life
order to better highlight their defining traits. For instance, Draco of crime quickly spirals out of control, and he becomes the show's
Malfoy and Harry Potter are two ambitious characters who make villain protagonist. Meanwhile, White's brother-in-law, Hank, is an
drastically different choices in the Harry Potter series of books. ambitious and fearless agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency who
Harry fights evil, or Lord Voldemort, and Draco joins will go to any length to find a local drug dealer known as Heisenberg
him—comparing these two characters focuses their good and bad (who is actually Walter White). Hank has mostly noble intentions (he
traits. Lord Voldemort is the primary antagonist in this series, wants to keep the public safe), and he continuously foils White's drug-
although the protagonist, Harry, runs into many other obstacles dealing plans, which makes him the hero antagonist.
(including Draco) along the way. While an antagonist will often
appear as a foil to the protagonist, this is not always the case. A Gr
Group
oup Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt in Geor
Georgge Or
Orw ell'ss 1984
well'
protagonist might have many foils and only one primary
Th dystopian novel 1984 depicts a political reality in which the
antagonist.
present-day Great Britain, called Airstrip One in the novel, is
• Antiher
Antihero o: An antihero is a type of protagonist that might do the controlled by a system of government called The Party. The country is
right thing, but they often do so for the wrong reasons. The lack in perpetual war, surveillance systems watch and control the
most of the conventional hero traits (honesty, courage, integrity, population's every move with a brigade of Thought Police (who
etc) and they tend to be driven by their own self-interest and not a punish individualism), and everyone is constantly manipulated
desire to behave morally. An antihero might initially look like the through propaganda. The narrative follows the protagonist Winston
villain, and therefore, one might be inclined to believe they're the as he becomes critical of The Party and begins to keep a journal
antagonist, but the key difference is that an antihero will still drive criticizing it. He begins a surreptitious affair with a woman named
the plot forward and have to overcome obstacles presented by Julia after he discovers that she shares some of his feelings. The pair
other (antagonistic) forces. have to be cunning to avoid getting caught by the Thought Police, but
eventually, they're discovered through a sting operation and tortured.
While the Party in the novel is represented through a character
EX
EXAMPLES
AMPLES named O'Brien who might be identified as the antagonist of the
novel, you could also argue that the true antagonist of the novel is the
Antagonists can come in many different forms. While all stories have a entire group of The Party because it is the broader faceless party, and
protagonist, not all stories will have an antagonist (although most
will). Below, we've provided an example of each of the four main

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not a high-level functionary of the party like O'Brien, that is the action, which makes a narrative engaging. Conflicts brought about by
pervasive force that impedes Winston. an antagonist can also test the morals and beliefs of characters,
which shows the audience who the main characters really are and
Non-Human Ant
Antag onistt in Deep Imp
agonis Impac
actt what they stand for.

The premise of the film Deep Impact is that a comet is heading for
Earth. The narrative mostly follows a young teenage astronomer, who
first discovered the comet, but also weaves among other characters
OTHER RESOURCES
and the ways in which they brace for the comet's impact as it hurtles • The Wikipedia P
Pag
agee ffor
or Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt: A brief overview of the term,
toward the Earth, where it will likely kill everyone. The main conflict is with some examples.
a race against time as scientists, politicians, and the young
• The Dic
Dictionar
tionaryy Definition ffor
or Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt: A basic definition.
astronomer try to thwart the disaster. A group of astronauts in outer
space are able to break up part of the comet, but not all of it—so the • Ant
Antag
agonis
onistts on YYoutube:
outube:
astronauts make the brave decision to crash their ship, along with all
◦ Pr
Prootag
agonis
onistt vver
ersus
sus Ant
Antag
agonis
onistt: A short video with a very brief
its remaining explosives, into the second part of the comet, thus
breakdown of the difference between the two terms.
saving Earth from complete destruction. The central tension of the
film is created by the comet's path toward Earth, which makes the ◦ A video that covers ten archetypes of villains and gives
comet itself an example of a non-human antagonist. examples from film.

WHY WRITER
WRITERSSU
USE
SE IT HO
HOWWT
TO
O CITE
While a protagonist tends to supply a storyline with a person that the
ML
MLAA
audience can identify with or "root for" as they strive to achieve some
goal, the antagonist is who or what creates the tension or conflict that Hogue, Chelsea. "Antagonist." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 5 May 2017.
makes that goal harder to reach. Without an antagonist, many stories Web. 31 Aug 2017.
would seem to lack a sense of drama or action, and the protagonist
wouldn't face any challenges in reaching their goal. The antagonist Chic
Chicag
ago
o Manual
agitates or disrupts the protagonist, and therefore introduces conflict Hogue, Chelsea. "Antagonist." LitCharts LLC, May 5, 2017. Retrieved
to a plot. In a typical narrative this conflict brings about a plot's August 31, 2017. http://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-
climax and generally serves as the premise for much of the story's terms/antagonist.

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