Anti-Hero.pdf.pdf

2
TABLE OF CONTENT
1. Introduction
2. What Is Hero?
2.1. Why Hamlet is not a hero?
3. What is absurd?
4. Freud’s effects of Antiheroic Characters
5. Why do we use Anti-Hero?
6. What is the best Antiheroic Characters in Literature?
6.1.1. The Death of a Salesman (Biff Loman)
7. What is relationship between antiheroic characters and Feminism
8. What is the best Feminine antiheroic character?
8.1.1. The Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche DuBois)

3
1. Introduction
I will discuss about hero. When I read about anti-hero, I distinguish to relationship
between hero and anti-hero. In same point, same researchers discuss. So that, I will discuss,
too. İn this point, I will leave up to Hero and I will discuss Villain. Because It is so important
for development of antiheroic characters. Antiheroic characters are carried Villains features.
“Humanity effect all the events”. Meaning of this sentence is creating antihero’s weakness.
They were the best-known heroes of classical mythology and the central figures in some of
the most popular myths. On the other hand, some writers refer to that loop also psychology
of hero. Because humanity effect all the events. And so, they reaction this events. But some
study of psychology-especially psychoanalyses working- change that ideas. Other ways “The
Virgin Birth” is important for hero and antihero. This tale is different culture to culture. One
of this tales is important for antiheroic characters. This tales hero (feminine hero) was
Medea. According to researcher who search about Antihero said that Human has dilemma
and weakness. So I will discuss to weakness both as cognitive and relationship between
antihero and their humanistic characters. Written in the seventeenth century, Don Quixote
(1605) (Cervantes, 2009, YKY) is a parody of chivalric quest, and per Chris Baldrick, a
scholar in the field of literary criticism and terminology, the antihero Don Quixote is
regarded as the exemplary figure for the rogue antihero. In the novels, Fyodor Mikhailovich
Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment (Dostoyevsky, F. M. (1984). Crime and Punishment.
(A. Ekeş, Çev.) İstanbul: Cem Yayınevi) Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov is an important
character for anti-hero or real hero. This “real” is using 20th
century in the working of
literature. If we give a specific year about antihero as academicals, we may give 1940s
(Kadiroğlu, M. (tarih yok) A Genealogy of Antihero). Also, I will discuss other term is
“Absurd”. I will discuss Absurd both Albert Camus and the most important work of absurd
that Waiting for Godot. Because Waiting for Godot is so important for Absurdism and
unmeaning. After then I will analyze antihero and feminism.
I will discuss there under the Hamlet, Death Of a Salesman (Biff Loman) and The
Streetcar Named Desire. I use Hamlet to discuss relationship between hero and epic (new)
hero. (I will discuss on the lecture about epic (new) hero deeply.) Biff Loman is an
interesting person. So, I use Biff Loman for “weakness”. That causes I will talk on the
lecture. Lastly, I use to Tennessee Williams’ one of the most important book that The

4
Streetcar Named Desire. I use a character in this book. Her name is Blanche DuBois. I use
her for feminism and antihero.
2. What is Hero?
Hero is based on the First Ages. When first human generations were living stationary, they
start to pray something. They are called as the god. There are heroes all the old civilizations.
Heroes is affect to Myths. All the people that research about anti-hero firstly speak of myths
create heroes.
There is really no such sharp contrast between the various theories or their advocates, for
the concept of elemental ideas does not interfere with the claims of primary common possession
or of migration. Furthermore, the ultimate problem is not whence and how the material reached a
certain people; the question is: Where did it come from to begin with? All these theories would
explain only the variability and distribution of the myths, but not their origin. Even Schubert, the
most inveterate opponent of Bauer's view, acknowledges this truth, by stating that all these
manifold sagas date back to a single very ancient prototype. But he is unable to tell us anything of
the origin of this prototype. Bauer likewise inclines to this mediating view; he points out
repeatedly that in spite of the multiple origin of independent tales, it is necessary to concede a
most extensive and ramified borrowing, as well as an original community of the concepts in
related peoples. 3 The same conciliatory attitude is maintained by Lessmann in a recent
publication (1908), in which he rejects the assumption of elemental ideas, but admits that primary
relationship and borrowing do not exclude each other. 4 As pointed out by Wundt, however, it
must be kept in mind that the appropriation of mythological contents always represents at the
same time an independent mythological construction; because only that can be retained
permanently which corresponds to the borrower's stage of mythological ideation. The faint
recollections of preceding narratives would hardly suffice for the refiguration of the same
material, without the persistent presence of the underlying motifs; but precisely for this reason,
such motifs may produce new contents that agree in their fundamental themes, even in the
absence of similar associations. (Rank, 1914)
Myth, defined simply, is a fictitious story or half-truth, but it goes much deeper than that.
Scholars of mythology have struggled to pinpoint an exact definition that encompasses all the
attributes contained within a myth. It's funny how such a small word holds the weight of defining

5
and giving purpose to lofty ideas such as the meaning of life. It's no wonder an accurate definition
has not been settled on! (Bolton, Lesley, (2002), United States of America, Adams Media
Corporation)
In addition to this, some heroes created by
civilizations. These are mostly on Roman and
Greek myths. Other researchers that Though a
hero today can be practically anyone who proves
his sense of bravery, the ancients had set rules for
what made a hero. (JONES, 2010, New Heroes In
Antıquıty, Harvard University Press, London).
Joseph Campbell said that heroes created by our
telling tales. That Loop is called by the nuclear unit of the monomyth. He gives an example about
a tale. This tale is called Frog Prince. He mentions about a loop. This loop is drawing this style:
Shape 1.1 (Campbell, J. (1949) The Hero with A Thousand Faces, London: Oxford Establishing)
According to Joseph Campbell, first phases of hero is The Call to Adventure. Second Refusal of
The Call. Third Supernatural aid. Fourth the Crossing of The First Threshold. Fifth the Belly of
the Whale. Not only Joseph Campbell all the academician who research about hero are refer that
five phases and heroes’ loop. That shapes and character are referring to mythological adventure
of hero. This loop is called “separation- pubescence- return” Joseph Campbell is said that “Long
ago, when wishing still could lead to something, there lived a king whose daughters all were
beautiful, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun itself, …” (Campbell, J. (1949) The Hero
with A Thousand Faces (pp.45), Princeton Unıversıty Press) about first hero phases. It is called
by The Call To Adventure. In first phases, Hero is living as an event. It is so simply for definition
of first phases. Researchers said that Freud analysis’ so important for definition of Hero.
Especially, Joseph Campbell said that As Freud has shown, blunders are not the merest chance.
The story is told, for example, of King Arthur, and how he made him ready with many knights to
ride aunting. On the myth, every good character seen as a hero. Second phase is Refusal of The
Call. Often in actual life, and not infrequently in the myths and popular tales, we encounter the
dull case of the call unanswered; for it is always possible to turn the ear to other interests. Refusal
of the summons converts the adventure into its negative. The literature of psychoanalysis
abounds in examples of such desperate fixations. What they represent is an impotence to put off
the infantile ego, with its sphere of emotional relationships and ideals. Often when the call is
given, the future hero first refuses to heed it. This may be from a sense of duty or obligation, fear,

6
insecurity, a sense of inadequacy, or any of a range of reasons that work to hold the person in his
or her current circumstances. Our –as a human- sensations are important for definition of hero.
Our sensations create our way of looking our life. Third phase is Supernatural Aid. In this point, a
supernatural aid created by someone. Someone who help the hero is help due to adventure.
Joseph Campbell is explaining this style. “For those who have not refused the call, the first
encounter of the hero journey is with a protective figure (often a little old crone or old man) who
provides the adventurer with amulets against the dragon forces he is about to pass.” In this phase,
the hero go out to adventure. Also, it token helped by mentor. So, per all the researcher who
working hero this phase is so important. Because the adventure is start in this phase. Fourth phase
is Crossing the Threshold. Hero go to adventure reluctantly. This is the point where the person
crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into
an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known. Fifth “The belly of
the whale” represents the final separation from the hero's known world and self. By entering this
stage, the person shows willingness to undergo a metamorphosis. When First entering the stage
the hero may encounter a minor danger or set back. In this phase, Hero’s pass to Special World
from Ordinary World. And so, Hero’s Adventures loop is turn Special World. In other words,
Our Hero is start to adventure. At the same time, In this phase other researchers are called
differently names. But All the researchers are begun hero’s adventure ın this point. So that this
point is very important. Sixth phase is Tests, Allies, Enemies: Now finally out of his comfort
zone the Hero is confronted with an ever more difficult series of challenges that test him in a
variety of ways. Obstacles are thrown across his path; whether they be physical hurdles or people
bent on thwarting his progress, the Hero must overcome each challenge he is presented with on
the journey towards his ultimate goal. The Hero needs to find out who can be trusted and who
can't. He may earn allies and meet enemies who will, each in their own way, help prepare him for
the greater ordeals yet to come. This is the stage where his skills and/or powers are tested and
every obstacle that he faces helps us gain a deeper insight into his character and ultimately
identify with him even more. Approach To The Inmost Cave The inmost cave may represent
many things in the Hero's story such as an actual location in which lies a terrible danger or an
inner conflict which up until now the Hero has not had to face. As the Hero approaches the cave
he must make final preparations before taking that final leap into the great unknown. At the
threshold to the inmost cave the Hero may once again face some of the doubts and fears that first
surfaced upon his call to adventure. He may need some time to reflect upon his journey and the
treacherous road ahead to find the courage to continue. This brief respite helps the audience

7
understand the magnitude of the ordeal that awaits the Hero and escalates the tension in
anticipation of his ultimate test. Seventh phase is Ordeal. The Supreme Ordeal may be a
dangerous physical test or a deep inner crisis that the Hero must face in order to survive or for the
world in which the Hero lives to continue to exist. Whether it be facing his greatest fear or most
deadly foe, the Hero must draw upon all his skills and his experiences gathered upon the path to
the inmost cave to overcome his most difficulty challenge. Only through some form of "death"
can the Hero be reborn, experiencing a metaphorical resurrection that somehow grants him
greater power or insight necessary to fulfill his destiny or reach his journey's end. This is the
high-point of the Hero's story and where everything he holds dear is put on the line. If he fails, he
will either die or life as he knows it will never be the same again. Ninth phase is Reward (Seizing
The Sword). After defeating the enemy, surviving death and finally overcoming his greatest
personal challenge, the Hero is ultimately transformed into a new state, emerging from battle as a
stronger person and often with a prize. The Reward may come in many forms: an object of great
importance or power, a secret, greater knowledge or insight, or even reconciliation with a loved
one or ally. Whatever the treasure, which may well facilitate his return to the Ordinary World, the
Hero must quickly put celebrations aside and prepare for the last leg of his journey. Tenth phase
is The Road Back. This stage in the Hero's journey represents a reverse echo of the Call to
Adventure in which the Hero had to cross the first threshold. Now he must return home with his
reward but this time the anticipation of danger is replaced with that of acclaim and perhaps
vindication, absolution or even exoneration. But the Hero's journey is not yet over and he may
still need one last push back into the Ordinary World. The moment before the Hero finally
commits to the last stage of his journey may be a moment in which he must choose between his
own personal objective and that of a Higher Cause. Eleventh phase is Resurrection. This is the
climax in which the Hero must have his final and most dangerous encounter with death. The final
battle also represents something far greater than the Hero's own existence with its outcome
having far-reaching consequences to his Ordinary World and the live soft hose he left behind. If
he fails, others will suffer and this not only places more weight upon his shoulders but in a movie,
grips the audience so that they too feel part of the conflict and share the Hero's hopes, fears and
trepidation. Ultimately the Hero will succeed, destroy his enemy and emerge from battle cleansed
and reborn. Twelfth phase is Return with The Elixir. This is the final stage of the Hero's journey
in which he returns home to his Ordinary World a changed man. He will have grown as a person,
learned many things, faced many terrible dangers and even death but now looks forward to the
start of a new life. His return may bring fresh hope to those he left behind, a direct solution to

8
their problems or perhaps a new perspective for everyone to consider. The final reward that he
obtains may be literal or metaphoric. It could be a cause for celebration, self-realization or an end
to strife, but whatever it is it represents three things: change, success and proof of his journey.
The return home also signals the need for resolution for the story's other key players. The Hero's
doubters will be ostracized, his enemies punished and his allies rewarded. Ultimately the Hero
will return to where he started but things will clearly never be the same again. But same writers
and researchers do not use that loops while creating a hero. For example, William Shakespeare.
2.1. Why Hamlet is not a Hero?
William Shakespeare was not that loop while creating characters. He uses psychology and
characters weaknesses. Not only the most famous novel is Hamlet, but also many novels have
weakness and psychological problems. So, this loop not use antiheroic characters. And so
Antiheroic characters give up rescue world. If we discuss Hamlet, Hamlet overtake very bad
events. This causes, he does not to try rescue to world. In fact, nobody give a supernatural aid(s)
to Hamlet. His heroism their own inside. He is only a man. Also, He has some problems. He
wants to solve these problems. Therefore, there are not any loop or rescue something and so the
hero’s meaning is changed. Not only Shakespeare, many authors after Shakespeare are use this.
Because The anti-hero succeeded in attracting attention and managed to influence people directly.
The reasons for hamlet are;
Hamlet's negative characteristics also include his rudeness towards others,
including the fair Ophelia. Young girls are vulnerable, and his cold
disposition towards the woman who loves him is not reflective of a hero. He
personally lists his bad qualities and refuses to marry her: “I am very proud,
revengeful, ambitious, / with more offenses at my beck than I have thoughts
to put / them in, imagination to give them shape, or time to act them / in. . . .
Go thy ways to a nunnery” (131-136). Such heartless abandonment pushes
Ophelia to commit suicide. To further his offenses, Hamlet has the nerve to
confront her grieving brother, Laertes, claiming that he suffers from her loss
more than Laertes. Hamlet states that he loves Ophelia: “Forty thousand
brothers / Could not with all their quantity of love / Make up my sum” (265-
267). Along with the two current deaths that involve Hamlet, he later arranges
for the deaths of his former friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and again
has no guilt or acknowledgement of blame: “They are not near my

9
conscience. Their defeat / Does by their own insinuation grow” (62-63).
Throughout the play, Hamlet takes no responsibility for his evil actions, yet
curses the rest of the world for their faults. When Horatio offers to make an
excuse so Hamlet will not need to spar with Laertes, Hamlet ironically states,
“Not a whit, we defy augury; . . . / If it be now, ‘tis not to come; / if it be not
to come, it will be now; if it not be now, yet it / will come: the readiness is all.
Since no man has aught of / what he leaves, what is ’t to leave betimes” (209-
213). In other words, Hamlet says that it is the will of God and the plan of
destiny that determine when a person dies, so one should not try to prevent it
or be upset when it comes. If he were true to his words, he would not be as
upset with his father’s murder, because obviously since it happened, it is
God’s will. Before starting the sparring match, Hamlet follows his mother’s
good advice and apologizes for his actions at Ophelia’s funeral, yet it is a
hollow apology because he once again takes no blame. Instead, he blames his
“madness. / . . . Never Hamlet” (221-222). In the climactic final scene,
Claudius plants poison in Hamlet’s drink, Hamlet inadvertently kills Laertes,
Gertrude drinks the poison meant for Hamlet, and Hamlet fulfills his promise
to his father’s ghost by slaying Claudius. During Elizabethan time, revenge
was widely accepted. Knowing the audience would empathize with Hamlet,
Shakespeare uses revenge to justify Hamlet’s actions, thus making him a
sympathetic protagonist and for many a hero. On the other hand, Hamlet kills
three people in the play, encourages Ophelia’s suicide, and arranges the
deaths of another two people. Hamlet kills Polonius, mistaking him for
Claudius; he also arranges Rosencrantz’s and Guildenstern’s death; and at the
end of the play, accidentally kills Laertes and kills Claudius out of revenge. In
place of remorse and guilt, this anti-hero has denial and apathy. Though he
blames the victims themselves or the will of God, he adds insult by hiding
behind others’ assumptions that he is mad. (Hamlet: Anti-Hero, TyaCamellia
Allred, 1999, Delta Winds: A Magazine of Student Essays a Publication of
San Joaquin Delta College 2012).
In this paragraph, Hamlet’s all the living is examined. Hamlet’s mother and uncle are
wedding. Even though his dad was killed by Hamlet’s uncle. By the way, Hamlet study abroad.
And he is a literate person. Hamlet has many soliloquies, which allow the audience into Hamlet’s

10
state of mind. Hamlet is a quiet, brooding, passive man. Even when he begins his plan of
revenge, he is still the thinking hero rather than the acting hero: until the end of the play. On the
Other hand, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is not a hero, too. Also, “This Absurd Hero” is a
female. In this point, it is changed to Feminine Hero. So, Hero is called “Absurd Hero” or “New
Hero”. Therefore, our discussion another important concept with this point is Absurd.
3. What is absurd?
What does Absurd mean? Absurd In Aristophanes' 5th century BC comedy The Wasps, his
protagonist Philocleon learned the "absurdities" of Aesop's Fables, considered to be unreasonable
fantasy, and not true. Plato often used "absurdity" to describe very poor reasoning, or the
conclusion from adopting a position that is false and reasoning to a false conclusion, called an
"absurdity". Plato describes himself as not using absurd argumentation against himself
in Parmenides. In Gorgias, Plato refers to an "inevitable absurdity" as the outcome of reasoning
from a false assumption. Absurdity may be communicated via surrealism, anthropomorphism,
allegory, and hyperbole. Alcuaz (1984) proposed that surrealism is associated with dream
imagery, imaginative worlds, and physical distortions. Surrealism is expressed by combining
images in surprising ways. Surrealism tries to break every rule of photography and of editing so
that final graphics become a visual surprise. Homer (1986) conducted an experiment
investigating the effects of 3surrealistic design, involvement, and strength of message arguments
on the effectiveness of print advertisements. Results indicated that the surreal ad with strong
message arguments, under high involvement, induced the most effective information processing
of the ad's content in terms of recall, recognition, attitudes, affect toward the ad, and behavioral
intentions. Another literary descriptor that falls within absurdity is anthropomorphism.
Anthropomorphism is defined as an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of
human or personal characteristics (Webster Dictionary). Although the literature on
anthropomorphism is scant in the marketing field, in advertising we find frequent use of absurd
images that enlist an anthropomorphic character to communicate meaning e.g., "Joe Camel." A
third literary descriptor that fits under absurdity's rubric is allegory. Allegory involves the
description of something under the veiled pretense of something else (Stern, 1990).
The absurd works seem to be meaningless, but they carry great meaning. For Ages, the absurd
works are affected humanity. But absurd was not use as a high-culture (literary) in firstly ages.
4. Freud’s effects of Antiheroic Characters
Freud is explaining human effect this style:

11
“Every attempt that has hitherto been made to solve the problem of dreams has dealt
directly with their manifest content as it is presented in our memory. All such attempts have
endeavored to arrive at an interpretation of dreams from their manifest content or (if no
interpretation was attempted) to form a judgement as to their nature based on that same manifest
content…” (Rivkin, Ryan, 1998)
In some research about Antihero refer to Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalysis. Due to we talk
about Sigmund Freud and this theory. First, He searched about knowledge and causes of human
behaviors. His theory Libido constitute basis of antihero. The theory of infantile sexual trauma
as a general explanation of how all neuroses originate to one that presupposes an autonomous
infantile sexuality provided the basis for Freud's subsequent formulation of the theory of
the Oedipus complex. Since we have already shown how the theories of Freud and those of lung
are closely related let us begin by making an important distinction between the two. Freud’s
these ideas develop humanities search and lecture. Anti-hero can also play the part of an
outsider or loner—a “little man.” This kind of anti-hero often possesses a fragile self-esteem,
has often failed at love, and is sometimes estranged from people from his past. This parts
improving of antihero and so anti-heroes are characters who take controversial situations into
their own hands, often breaking rules and engaging in perilous behavior to make ends meet.
Therefore the Antihero represents the subconscious of the Hero himself and as a result can
never truly be eradicated without destroying the Hero in the process. The Angel forces the Man
to give in, to accept her existence and her terms for living, and it is the Man who benefits from
her victory. If we look at Antihero as an example of this we can see this in the struggle over the
key that takes place between the Man and the Angel. The Angel eventually forces the man to let
go of the key, but in doing so the key is lost. The Man is freed by his defeat and the Angel,
though victorious, is left locked in the basement room. The Antihero is successful in attaining
change but must once again stay in the shadows. Another important distinction to make is that
the Antihero, though a dark and negative character, is not necessarily representative of evil. The
Antihero is simply the unknown potential of the Hero; it imposes no moral structure upon that
potential and this ambiguity is sometimes misconstrued as evil.
"Being evil is being "not moral"... resisting tradition, however reasonable or stupid tradition
may be," (Kaufmann, 2000)
In fact, the era which being two world war was changed thinking type of humanity. This
time, Human behaviors was searched by Sigmund Freud. His explaining of dream and libido was
so different from other searches. His searches affect all the things. Also, Freud’s telling were so

12
hard and effective. It was Sigmund Freud who first promoted the idea of universal symbols by
observing the recurring symbols found in dreams. It was his belief that the interpretation of these
symbols was a link to the subconscious and that they were the result of the expression or
repression of sexual energy that was common to all individuals.
5. Why Do You Use Anti-Hero?
As a definition, Anti-Hero is “Modern Hero”. Additional, Günay Ertekin said that Character
that carries human characteristics and comes to the forefront with its weaknesses.
In this point other critic writer was Henrik Ibsen (Ertekin, 2016). In this point we have to
tell an effect. In fact, this effect not a direct effect. “Absurd” is so important for Antiheroic
Character. But meaningless is effect. Per researcher who search about Antihero said that Human
has dilemma and weakness. When we use Joseph Campbell or other researcher who work Hero
definitions, we see a loop. İt is meaningless but not have a solution. In this point antihero make
a solution about meaningless. If we an example about antihero, It is doesn’t have to mean the
opposite of a hero, such as a villain. Anti-hero can mean a character that is heroic, but in ways
that are different from traditional definitions of heroes such as Odysseus. According to this
loop, a hero has to be an important issue. But Anti-Heroic characters do not use this loop or
important issue. In fact, they are not important for humanity. They have basic problem. For
Example; Vladamir and Estragon do not have big targets in Samuel Backett’s Waiting for
Godot. For Instance Vladimir and Estragon not do anything from the beginning until after in
Waiting for Godot. They only nap under a tree. Always want to do somethings but they do any
action.
In fact, anti-hero is the hero again interpreted. This situation was
discovered by dramaturgy 19-20 century. Anti-hero the Creator the thing is
Absurd. At this point, the hero is important. Written in ancient Greece heroes
in tragedy are above average. Comedy is below average. Above average work
is an idealist. Tragedy in tragedy in the family always has been. To give the
example of this topic of King Oedipus Oedipus is a king, a nobleman. To
solve a big social problem in the game (plague) is engaged in. And to say that
this problem will solve itself. In other words, people falling while walking on
the road is considered at a time when the mood of the person falling. (Aykılıç,
2016)
Also, he believed that Here, the concept of "revenge", which is an
important concept about Anti-Hero, emerges. Human feelings include hatred,

13
hatred, and love. These reasons are due to Modern Heroes. Because today
there are no kings. I suppose it is the most correct concept to say "a hero of
hereditary nature".
So they are seen as a “little hero”. In this point, we can said that antiheroic characters do not
have a big problem. When I interview with Günay Ertekin. She said that Ferhad is a hero in
Ferhad With Shirin. So He punctured a mountain for loving. His power is not a natural power. It
is a supernatural aid. In this causes, As a Modern Hero is basic of Anti-Heroic Characters. In
this point we can talk about “little hero” or “the hero who do not a hero.”. Because tragedy is so
important for antiheroic characters.
“Why is the anti-hero so much held?” If we answer this question, we see that these people
are actually "loosers". In other words, they are lost. Moreover, anti-heroism works on the
contrary when there is opposition to the written way of existence that exists in the hero.
For Example Henrik Ibsen's "Nora (A Baby's House)" game has caused great criticism at
the social point at that time. (Ertekin, 2016)
Addition, as a characteristic we accept that modern heroes. Because;
For example, when we deal with the "Behzat Ç." Series, Behzat actually
strikes the eye of a person who is ordinary, blasphemous, angry, loving, showing
and experiencing human emotions. I mean, Behzat is not a good person, yeah,
but nobody’s is his man. In his case a civil polyster. In this point, psychological
studies gain importance. We also identify and internalize ourselves with him as
followers. Although we have "bad" habits (alcohol, violence, etc.) we accept it in
ourselves. Because what you're doing arabesque is doing it on your own. And
while human beings tell human beings, they tell by way of man. (Aykılıç, 2016)
Researchers said that anti-heroic characters are a looser.
6. What is the best Antiheroic Characters in Literature?
With All this information, we can see a lot of anti-heroic characters except Hamlet.
Especially I exclude to Hamlet. Because He was a climacteric character. To some Hamlet
researchers, Shakespeare wanted to extend the game and so create a tragedy. So, this play
was 5 chapters. So, that researchers seen as a hero. But there are a lot of searcher who seen
as an anti-hero. Due to Hamlet’s weakness. So, I exclude to Hamlet.
Firstly, Oedipus was important for anti-hero. So, his weakness is created lots of
problem. Also, He resisted his fate but this is not good.

14
Secondly, we will discuss Henrik Ibsen. His whole games characters are antiheroic
characters. For Example; 1850 Catiline (Catilina), 1882 An Enemy of the People, 1884 The Wild
Duck, 1886 Rosmersholm (Rosmersholm), 1888 The Lady from the Sea, 1890 Hedda
Gabler (Hedda Gabler), 1892 The Master Builder.
Other important characters are Vladamir and Estragon, Don Quixote’s Sancho Penza and
Don Quixote and especially Later than First World War wrote lots of characters are anti-heroic
characters.
American Lecturer’s the biggest leap’s is this characters. Especially, Arthur Miller was
important about this creating. Also Tennessee Williams was important, too.
So I will discuss Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman in next chapter.
6.1.1. The Death of a Salesman (Biff Loman)
I search Death Of A Salesman (Miller, Arthur, Satıcın Ölümü, Mitos Boyut, 2002, Çev:
Aytuğ – Emre İzat) due to a lot of causes Biff Loman seen as an antiheroic character. Even
so, When I read book, I distinguished that there are some clues about antiheroic character.
First clue that Willy Loman is a god human. But his living area is awful. Especially for his
child. Also, he is a salesman. He is bought something by an old car. For Example Biff Loman
thief a ball in school due to there is not a ball. Rather this he very successful on study. Other
Ways he loves her mom and brother. He want to his goodness.
In fact, while there was fear of God in the previous works, especially with Henrik Ibsen,
the influence of social events was brought to the fore. Here too, social events have a huge share.
Has a substantial job. Quickly has a lowered status due to his ideas of women. Admires His dad
and makes excuses for him. Tends to contradict himself, like his father Introduced as a successful
businessman who was going to work in Alaska but ended up in Africa. Seen as a hero by Willy,
but could be considered superficial and greedy from the audience's point of view. Antiheroic
traits disproving the opening scene However, despite his faults, the audience pities Willy at the
end because of his upbringing, his sad illusions and the treatment he receives from his sons and
friends. He never truly received the option to do what he wanted. Despite this, the many issues
that led up to his suicide left him with the appearance of an antihero. Even his belief that suicide
will benefit his son is cowardly. Teachings are harmful to others, not teaching his sons what's

15
best, valuing appearance over academics in the past. Suggests Cheating versus studying when
Bernard arrives in the past Linda Vs. Biff.
Arthur Miller in his play questions the validity of the classical concepts of
tragedy or tragic hero, derived from Aristotle, as the fall of a man of high rank or a
man of great importance in the world. In fact, the play raises counter example to
Aristotle’s characterization of tragedy as the downfall of a great man. However,
Willy Loman is not of “noble birth”, quite the contrary he is a common man, though
certainly has Hamartia, a tragic flaw or error in judgment, his downfall is that of an
ordinary man (a “low man”). Loman’s flaw comes down to a lack of self-knowledge
like Sophocles’s Oedipus in Oedipus the King. However, Loman’s downfall
threatens not a city unlike Oedipus, but only a single family, the Lomans. In the light
of this perspective, Loman may not be considered as a tragic hero in terms of
classical definition. Still, Miller places his protagonist as a tragic hero: not a classical
but a modern tragic hero. Perhaps one should consider the alteration in the society
and the needs of people adopting themselves according to the changes in an era. In
the 1930s the Great Depression, economics dominated politics and the American
Dream turned into a nightmare. What once was the land of opportunity and hope
became a land of desperation. In other words, the land of hope, optimism, and the
symbol of prosperity became the land of despair. Many farmers migrated to the big
cities in the hope of getting a job. Instead of advancement, survival became the major
problem. By the emergence of the World War II, the situation deteriorated, which
inevitably influenced the lives of ordinary American people in a negative way. The
situation of those people may be observed as a representative everyman, Willy
Loman and his family. Miller being the best-known American playwrights after
WWII draws reader’s attention to the devastating effects of the economics and
politics of the era on a fictional character that mostly represents a member of an
ordinary American family with an American Dream/Nightmare. Loman was
repressed and ignored in the capitalistic society. (Erkan, 2012)
7. What is relationship between antiheroic characters and Feminism
In fact while We search it about relationship between Feminism and weakness, we can see
a lot of characters. For Example Medea (Midia) was a women. She loved a prince who has an
enemy kingdom. And she was escaped important knowledges for her love. In fact, this is a

16
weakness. In mythology has a lot of feminist characters in this type. Antigone was other example
for anti-hero. Later than First World War wrote lots of characters are anti-heroic characters.
In this point we will discuss to be a woman. A woman who knows what she wants to do, is
charismatic, focuses on her goal and can overcome all the obstacles that come up to reach that
goal. The Megalomania is a woman who is constantly whining, obsessed, able to do unexpected
things that are not what she wants. A woman who wears mini-shorts without looking at his pants,
knows what to sit on and what to say. A woman who is undressed only because she wants to, she
has cut her hair in a very unsuccessful way, who does what she wants without looking at what she
says.
Addition,
Anti-heroes are flooding media: some are moving from the page to the big screen-like the
adaptations of Gillian Flynn' s novels-and now films are moving towards creating and featuring
female anti-heroes. The films featured in this chapter star strong female characters in leading
roles: a woman who spends a lifetime running from Nazis, eventually developing a plan to kill
Hitler and his most devoted followers, or a woman who is ward of the state but becomes
determined to catch a serial killer targeting women as his victims. (Seigle, 2012)
8. What is the best Feminine antiheroic character?
American Lecturer’s the biggest leap’s is this characters. Especially, Arthur Miller was
important about this creating. Also, Tennessee Williams was important, too. But in this point,
Tennessee Williams was so important. Due to some characters. There is a woman who has a lot
of weaknesses and problematic issues in his Semi-autobiographic lecture The Glass Menagerie.
Her name is Amanda Wingfield. She has two children. One of men other is women. His name is
Tom. Her name is Laura. She is disabled. Other critic characters are Bridget Jones - Bridget
Jones's Diary, Hermonie Granger- Harry Potter Series, Emma Bovary- Madam Bovary, Little
women- Loisa May Alcott, Marla Singer- Fight Club, Anna Karenina- Tolstoy and Lisbeth
Slander - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
But, we will discuss Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire in next chapter.
8.1.1 The Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche DuBois)
Blanche is visibly heartbroken by her loss, which intentionally evokes pity from the reader.
Evidence also abounds that the traumatic loss of her husband was a driving force for the
downward spiral that leads Blanche to Stella’s doorstep. Williams implies that Blanche is not

17
inherently impious; the disintegration of the loving marriage she once clung to dissipates her
naïve, youthful innocence and leads her to a sordid path. Blanche’s heartbreak following her first
love causes her to descend into the degeneration that becomes her ruin, a fact which lends
empathetic justification and a sorrowful light to her actions.
There have always been real-life anti-heroes, such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid, Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane, and Bonnie and Clyde. Sometimes fast living, sometimes
an outcast, and never superhuman, this character type provides you with lots of latitude in
exploring themes and issues, often amid a true-to-life environment. Anti-heroes can be
obnoxious, pitiful, or charming, but they are always failed heroes or deeply flawed.
An anti-hero character requires a great deal of nuance to arouse complicated
reactions in the reader. As we’ve just discussed, an anti-hero is a character that the
reader roots for, despite his flaws and the bad things he’s done or how he justifies
these misdeeds. Sometimes the anti-hero can toe the line between good and evil, but
often he’s a danger to himself and others. Sometimes an anti-hero also has
remarkable ability to compartmentalize. Like all main characters, understanding an
anti-hero’s character arc is crucial in designating his role in your story. After all,
you’ll need to know if his good behavior is accidental, or if he is redeemed by the
story’s events. One trick to creating an anti-hero is to fashion his primary traits so
that his essential nature and personality are clear to you as you craft each scene he
appears in. Then you need to know the why of these traits and beliefs—in essence,
how he came to be. If your character is lawless, rebellious, or obnoxious, it is likely
that your character will somehow justify these behaviors. An anti-hero is not simply a
bad ass who cannot follow the rules. The reasons for why he acts as he does, along
with his self-concept, are important to the story. Another trick to creating a
complicated anti-hero is to shape his less-than-moral traits and acts into a profound
statement about humanity. As you create anti-hero characters, consider that they: are
not role models, although we secretly would like to kick ass like they do. Can be
selfish and essentially bad people who occasionally are good. Are sometimes
unglamorous and unattractive in character as well as in appearance. Can be motivated
by self-interest and self-preservation, but there is usually a line anti-heroes won’t
cross, which sets them apart from villains. Often have motives that are complicated
and range from revenge to honor. Forced to choose between right and wrong, will
sometimes choose wrong because it’s easier. Can play both sides with good guys and

18
bad guys, profiting from both. Can sometimes be coerced to help underdogs,
children, or weaker characters, and they sometimes do so voluntarily. Can embody
unattractive traits and behaviors, such as sexist and racist attitudes, and violent
reactions when wronged. Can show little or no remorse for bad behaviors. Are
usually a mess of contradictions. Other definition that the rise of the anti-hero and the
transition into females starring in these lead roles, many critics have commented on
this ability to relate to a character who is morally compromised. Shriver, a fiction
writer, acknowledges this concern but discredits the idea that authors should only
write characters who can be easily received. Shriver states:” ‘Unattractive' main
characters alienate the audience, so commercially canny authors are obliged to write
about nice people." But, novels would be boring, and much easier to write, if authors
only wrote about good people who do good things. Esther M. Jackson traces Blanche
as antihero back to Greek drama. Although Jackson is sympathetic to Blanche’s
plight in this role, several critics are not. June Schlueter’s Feminist Rereading of
Modern American Drama, provides a feminist reading to Blanche’s victimology.
(Seigle, 2012)
In this point, Blanche DuBois is important character. Because her behaviors are disturbing.
But these behaviors as it come from. Can be selfish and essentially bad people who occasionally
are good. Are sometimes unglamorous and unattractive in character as well as in appearance.
Blanche's opposition to the situation in which she is involved, as pointed out by John Gassner,
creates a series of ambiguities. When she first arrives in the Kowalski household she is looking
for a means of escape. She needs protection from a world to which she will not adjust. In seeking
this protection, however, she refuses to realise her incongruity and benefit by her past mistakes.
Joseph Wood Krutch tries to clarify this ambiguity by making reference to a statement by
Blanche in scene two while speaking to Stella about Stanley: "he's just not the type that goes for
jasmine perfume, but maybe he's what we need to mix with our blood now that we've lost Belle
Reve." Blanche’s rape is accompanied by “hot trumpet and drums.” If Blanche represents defunct
southern values, Stanley represents the new, urban modernity, which pays little heed to the past.
If Belle Reve is not going to mean a financial inheritance, Stanley is no longer interested in Belle
Reve.
I would like them to be informed about the various psychological, sociological, and political
forces that made these women what they are, and influence the way the audience sees them. I
hope to enlighten people by exploring the world of Blanche and unpacking her motivations,

19
actions, and intentions, to reach a larger understanding of rape culture and the reasons why
society is unable to completely sympathize with Blanche when she is raped. While equality of the
sexes is a much larger issue, a slight shift in perspective in regards to Tennessee Williams’s plays
would be a great victory and a small step towards full realization of the shared human
condition. (Thayer, 2015)
Except the rape when Blanche meets Mitch, she realizes that here is a strong harbor where she
can rest. Here is the man who can give her a sense of belonging and who is also captivated by her
girlish charms. She deceives him into thinking her prim and proper but Blanche would like
to be prim and proper. And as she later told Mitch: "inside, I never lied." Her essential nature and
being have never been changed by her promiscuity. She gave of her body but not of her deeper
self. To Mitch, she is ready to give her whole being.
Same things are done Blanche’s sister, too. It is Blanche who seems sane and Stella who
appears deluded, when, the morning after his violent assault on Stella, Blanche implores her to
escape him, only to meet with Stella’s insistence that all is well. At the dark climax of the play,
Stella quashes a lingering doubt, by insisting to her neighbor Eunice that she simply can’t afford
to believe Blanche’s allegation of rape against Stanley, as that would be the end of their marriage;
instead she must accept that her sister is mad.
In fact, women were created as sexy, to have to be beautiful etc. Stella was refer to accept
all the things. But Blanche was reject this via not married and other ways. In same time women
anti-heroes are tragic heroes, too. Due to problem of a women. In this point Blanche was an
antiheroic character for our weaknesses and our tragedy.

20
References
ADAMS, P. G. ( (1976)). “The Anti-hero in Eighteenth-Century Fiction”. Studies in the Literary
Imagination.
Allred, T. (2012). https://www.deltacollege.edu/org/deltawinds/DWOnline12/hamlet.html.
Amato, S. A. (2016). Female Anti-Heroes in Contemporary Literature, Film, and Television.
Bolton, L. (2002). L. Bolton içinde, THE CLASSİCAL MYTHOLOGY BOOK.
Campell, J. (1949). Hero. In J. Campell, The Hero With A Thousand Faces (pp. 38-52). London:
Oxford Establishing.
Dostoyevsky, F. M. (1984). Crime And Punisment. (A. Ekeş, Çev.) İstanbul: Cem Yayınevi.
Erkan, Ayça Ülker (2012), Ç.Ü. Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, Cilt 21, Sayı3, 2012, Sayfa
101-110
Indick, W. (2004). Seneryo Yazarları İçin Psikoloji. (E. Y. Karaarslan, Çev.) New York: Agora
Kitaplığı.
JONES, C. (2010). NEW HEROES IN ANTIQUITY. London: Harvard University Press.
Jones, C. (2010). New Heroes In Antıquity.

21
KADİROĞLU, M. (tarih yok). A GENEALOGY OF ANTIHERO. Ankara Üniversitesi, Dil ve
Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi, İngiliz Dili ve Edebiyatı Anabilim Dalı.
Rank,O (1914) The Myth Of The Hero The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease Publishing
Company, New York
Seigle, L. (2012). Blanche Dubois: An Antihero.
Simmons, D. (2008). American Novel.
Simmons, D. (2008). The Anti-Hero in the American Novel.
Stern, Barbara B. (1990), "Marketing as Drama: Theatre of the Absurd," Research in Consumer
Behavior, Vol. 4, 189-209.
Nietzsche, Friedrich On the Genealogy Of Morals, Ecce Homo, Walter Kaufmann ed.,
Walter Kaufinann and RJ. Hollingdale Random House Inc., New York, 1967.

Anti-Hero.pdf.pdf

More Related Content

Similar to Anti-Hero.pdf.pdf

More from Michelle Shaw

Recently uploaded

Anti-Hero.pdf.pdf