 Action/Adventure: July 06, 2011 Issue [#4485] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Where Have All the Heroes Gone Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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Welcome to this week's edition of the Writing.Com Action & Adventure Newsletter.
Each day is a blank page, an adventure to be written, action and re-action ~ be pro-active when you write and allow your readers to react as they move about the adventure you've created for them.
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I don't mean to be a party pooper,but where have all the heroes gone?
As a kid, I recall rainy Sunday afternoons sitting on the couch with my dad watching Roy Rodgers battle villains on TV, perhaps chase down a stage coach robber and, in the end, be recognized a hero, better off along with the town, for his actions; and he could carry a tune.
More recently, we watch 'Conan' and 'Batman' and Sawyer from 'Lost' and Jack in '24' ~ get the picture. These often-reluctant heroes battle serious enemy forces, his superiors, often covertly, in order to save the day, which they do, ultimately, and are sometimes extolled for heroic actions, always vilified for methods and, most likely, embrace the loss each of his own satisfaction or happiness for the good of others.
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Have the heroic cowboys with their ten-gallon hats; the altruistic knights in shining armor on valiant quests; superheroes intent on truth and justice for all; gone the way of 8-track tapes and analog 'rabbit-ears' TV? When did Superman, the quiet 'man of steel,' give way to Batman, the roguish hero battling his own demons along with assorted villains?
When did the anti-hero, the flawed protagonist, supplant the adventurer's role of the 'good guys' of old?
First, the 'good guys' still have some good adventures. Indiana Jones is the altruistic archeologist who uses his knowledge and skills to find and return an artifact or two to its rightful owners (despite one film where he's accused of seeking 'fortune and glory'). He grows as a person while he makes another corner of the world a safer place.
And just as the 'good guy' is still with us, the 'anti-hero' is not a recent phenomenon. In The Searchers, John Wayne's character has deep seated prejudices which are reinforced by the adventures along the path of his quest, but also undermined by choices he makes along the way, resulting in a serious change in attitude, changing him in the end and causing him to act for the betterment and joy of others.
In literature, adventures featuring an anti-hero protagonist have been with us since at least the time of Ancient Greece, and his/her nature evolved along with customs and mores over the ensuing centuries. So let's come closer to today with popular literature most of us have read for just pleasure.
Think about Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn ~ whose adventures thrust them unwittingly into positions where they perform acts which benefit others and, in so doing, change them as well. Or, the pulp fiction adventurers like Sam Spade, who act at times in opposition to the law and accepted norms in order to effect justice. And consider Kurt Vonnegut, who I think a master of the adventure featuring an anti-hero as protagonist. More recently, Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, thrust into the role of 'hero' by happenstance. He falls into positions where he must choose or react, and he chooses in the end action that is for the greater good of his fellows, if not necessarily his own personal happiness. So, the 'heroes' are still with us, though they may start their adventure by acting not as we'd envision the ideal hero ~ perhaps as an anti-heroic protagonist
So, what defines the anti-heroic protagonist of a story or poem? According to American Heritage Dictionary the antihero is is "a main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage." Now, that doesn't make him or her a coward, but in order to keep him or her from becoming the antagonist, some or all of the following characteristics need be evident in the anti-hero':
 He or she acts heroically, accepting challenges sometimes unwittingly, and acting upon them by means outside conventional norms and customs; often at odds with the law; sometimes with methods underhanded.
He or she has a lack of either identity or determination, but falls into the role of protagonist by happenstance, the pressure of circumstance.
He or she acts in opposition to traditional values or mores.
He or she is flawed in some way, most likely psychologically or socially, and either overcomes or makes use of the flaws in actions taken during the course of the adventure.
He/she has some redeeming quality that readers can either identify with or sympathize with in order to want the protagonist to attain his/her quest, despite apparent flaws or apparently misguided methods.
And, in the end, he or she is changed by virtue of actions taken in the course of the adventure, resulting in the betterment of others - his/her values or beliefs altered, not always for personal gain.
Finally, and this I believe this must be present with or without the above characteristics - you and your reader must have some sympathy or empathy for your anti-hero, else he/she becomes the antagonist in the story. For example, Hannibal Lecter may help uncover the identity of a serial killer, but who can sympathize with his own absolute lack of regard for human life and his own method of disposing of same.
So that's my take on the anti-hero, and as to why so popular today - perhaps it's because many of us can identify with the flawed protagonist who seeks to 'do good' without having to squeeze into the exalted heroic mold.
Write On
Kate
Kate - Writing & Reading
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First, how about engaging these adventures submitted for your reading pleasure by members of our Community
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Now, check out the sometimes dubious routes to 'heroic' deeds
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Why not give it a try ~ see if your muse creative is inspired to an adventure of 'heroic' action
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Thank you for sharing this exploration ~ before we part each on our own adventure, I'd like to share some comments from members of our Community with respect to last month's exploration. I hope you visit with each and share in his/her adventures in verse and prose as you also
Write On!
From: Allyann 
Kate,
Thank you for clearing some issues for me. This summer I'm going to be editing a first draft novel - adventure and love. I think this editing will be much easier this time :)
Intriguing combination ~ adventure and love ~ I hope you give us here a chance at some delicious summer reading ~ Write On!
From: NanoWriMo2018 Into the Earth 
Awesome NL.
 Thank you
From: monty31802
This is a Fine newsletter Kate,
'thou my adventures are nearly done,
This month I turn seventy one...
Brightest Blessings and many happy returns,
ever youthful in lyric verse and prose
you inspire and incite all who hold you close,
Write On! Valiant Muse!
From: Jeff 
I enjoyed your article this week, Kate. I love playing the "what if" game when brainstorming ideas for a story. It's fun (and kind of addicting) to let your mind wonder to all the possibilities of WHAT could happen IF things were a certain way...
I'm glad you found the fun in the exploration ~ I wish you joy in your writing adventures
From: BIG BAD WOLF is Merry 
Always an adventure.
Write On! |
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