In literature, a hero/heroine, or protagonist, is the principal character of a story, which may be known for special achievements. It´s sometimes used to simply describe the protagonist of a story, or the love interest, a usage which can conflict with the superhuman expectations of heroism. [1] Hero and heroine came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice, that is, heroism for some greater good of all humanity. In modern movies, the hero is often simply an ordinary person in extraordinary circumstances, who, in despite the odds being stacked against him or her typically prevails in the end. [2] The villain usually is the antagonist, the evil character in the story, who tends to have a negative effect on other characters or serves as an obstacle the hero must struggle to overcome. In other words, the villain typically a charismatic evildoer who represents, leads, or himself embodies the struggle the hero is up against. [3] Animal Farm is a vivid and eloquent novel written by George Orwell, who aims to prove that human nature and diversity prevent people from being equal. It also successfully presents how the mechanism of propaganda and brainwashing works in totalitarian regimes. Snowball is described as a vivacious pig, which is quick in speech and more inventive. He´s the best at writing; painted out `Manor Farm´ and in its place painted `Animal Farm.´ During he´s short period in the story, Snowball threw his heart and soul into the attempt to spread animalism worldwide and to improve Animal Farm’s infrastructure.
Moreover, Boxer was an enormous beast, nearly eighteen hands high, and as strong as any two ordinary horses put together. [4] He had a white stripe down his nose which gave him a somewhat stupid appearance. That look that he had was also true; Boxer wasn’t the smartest animal on the farm. His lack of intelligence however was all covered up by his brute strength.
Napoleon is described as a large, rather fierce looking Berkshire boar (the only Berkshire on the farm) with a reputation for getting his own way. From the beginning of the story he emerges as an utterly corrupt opportunist who never shows interest in the strength of Animal Farm but interest for his own power.
Snowball and Napoleon were never in agreement. Snowball devotes himself to win popular support through his ideas and his eloquence. He organized the other animals into what he called Animal Committees; however Napoleon took no interest in Snowball´s committees. “The education of the young was more important than anything that could be done for those who were already grown up.” [5] This quote stated by Napoleon clearly shows his controversy against Snowball´s exploits by emphasizing that the education of the young is far more important than training the adults. In addition, Napoleon produced no schemes of his own, but said quietly that Snowball would come to nothing and seemed to be biding his time.
Snowball had a brilliant idea to build up a windmill, which will operate a dynamo and supply the farm with electrical power. Nevertheless, Napoleon declared himself against the windmill. Napoleon argued that the great need of the moment was to increase food production and that if they wasted time on the windmill they would starve to death. [6] In addition, he said very quietly that the windmill has nonsense and that he advised nobody to vote for it. These opinions manipulated the animals making them to support him instead of Snowball, which created a lot of tension on the farm. In consequence, the whole farm was deeply divided on the subject of the windmill.
Snowball´s expulsion from Animal Farm was a very violent scene that many animals experienced. “Nine enormous dogs wearing brass-studded collars came bounding into the barn and dashed straight from Snowball.” [6] These were the puppies that Napoleon had taken away from their mothers and reared privately. This quote implies that Napoleon prefers to work behind the scenes to build his power by secrecy and deception. The use of the attack dogs provides an example of his differences with his rival Snowball and points out Napoleon´s leadership.
Furthermore, Napoleon seemed to oppose the windmill, simply as a manoeuvre to get rid of Snowball, who, for Napoleon, was a dangerous character and a bad influence. Now that Snowball was out of the way, the plan could go forward without his interference. In consequence, the farm was prosperous, better organized and the windmill was successful.
Napoleon became a mature boar of twenty-four stone and was referred to in a formal style as `our Leader, Comrade Napoleon.´[7] He proceed to live in Jones´ house, “smiling beatifically, and wearing both his decorations, Napoleon reposed on a bed of straw on the platform, with the money at his side, neatly piled on a china dish. ” [8] This quote portrays Napoleon´s authority yet he breaks one of the seven commandments (no animal shall sleep in a bed), which were supposed to be an unalterable law by which all the animals on Animal Farm must live for ever after. In addition, every pig received a ration of a pint of beer daily, with half a gallon for Napoleon himself. This action also broke another commandment; no animal shall drink alcohol.
Moreover, Animal Farm was proclaimed a Republic; there was only one candidate for president, Napoleon, who was elected unanimously. [9] This helped even more as Napoleon was officially the only leader on the farm. “Napoleon walked on his hind legs with his dogs gambolling round him. He had a pipe in his mouth and was wearing clothes. He also carried a whip in his trotter; behind him a long file of pigs all walking on their hind legs. ” [10] This was the new revolution, Napoleon continued to break more commandments, such as: no animal shall never wear clothes and whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Many animals were amazed and terrified after this action as Napoleon consolidated his power and totalitarian. “The creatures looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” [11] This implies that the pigs looked very similar to human leaders, although from the beginning the animals saw man as their real enemy.
Napoleon resumed the seven commandments to one: all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others. [12] This clearly portrays the level of egoism on Animal Farm. The pigs clearly envision themselves as this privileged “some”; under their totalitarian regime, the working animals exist only to serve the larger glory of the leadership, to provide the rulers with food and comfort, and to support their luxurious and exclusive lifestyle.
Boxer was the admiration of everybody. He was universally respected for his steadiness of character and tremendous powers of work. [13] It was said that after the rebellion he had the great strength not only two, but now three horses. Since he had this kind of strength, many hard and difficult tasks that required a large amount of strength were usually completed. This is the reason why Boxer held a great responsibility on why he should work so hard. Much hard work was expected of Boxer. So Boxer did all he could so that he could meet the expectation of everyone. There were days when the entire work of the farm seemed to rest upon his mighty shoulder. “Sometimes the long hours on insufficient food were hard to bear, but Boxer never flattered.” [14]This positive attitude towards labour was portrayed throughout the whole story without any complains.
S.E Hinton wrote this remarkable, humorous, passionate novel `The Outsiders´ which embraces tenderness, intelligence, action and, best of all, compassion. This honest story of US teenage gangsterism The Outsiders, tells of the social clashes that occur in a small town in Oklahoma and highlight how teenagers regard themselves and each other.
The novel is narrated by Ponyboy Curtis which allows the reader to adopt him as a kind of folk hero for both his exploits and his dialogue. Ponyboy is a 14 years old greaser who has long light-brown, almost red hair and greenish gray eyes. All his life he was underestimated and looked down upon because he was a Greaser. “We´re poorer than the Socs and the middle class.” [15] This quote clearly shows how Ponyboy is saddened by the limits it puts on his live. For this reason, Ponyboy would have had even more determination to prove he was not limited by his stereotype.
The Greasers always held anger towards the Socs, but Ponyboy looked deeper and realised that people all over have problems. Ponyboy fought to look tough with the gang, but inside he hated fighting and refused to hurt innocent people. “There isn’t any real good reason for fighting except self-defence.” [16] Ponyboy ponders the reasons why he and the rest of the Greasers fight, and comes to the conclusion that they all fight for different reasons. Ponyboy believed that fighting for pride, for fun or for hatred aren’t terribly good reasons to beat someone up. This shows he cared for other people and their safety, a quality of a hero.
Johnny Cade had big black eyes in a dark tanned face; his long hair was jet-black and heavily greased and combed to the side. [17] He proved his heroism by his courageous actions. Throughout the novel, Johnny is described as “a puppy that has been kicked too many times”. Even though Johnny is only 16 years old (the youngest of the greasers), he has already been beaten down by the cruelty of the world. When he isn’t being physically beaten by his father, he is being ignored by his mother. His parents seem to have no concern for him at all. In addition to this, he suffered a brutal beating from his rival group, the Socs, and now lives in constant fear. “I remembered how he had cried when we found him, half-conscious in the corner lot. His face all cut up and bruised. ” [18] This quote stated by Ponyboy highlights the condition in which Johnny was left after being beaten by the Socs.
On the other hand, the Socialites/Socs or the jet set, came from the West side. They are rough and rich. Usually they would gang up on ones or two, or they rumble each other with their social clubs. “You can´t win against them no matter how hard you try, because they´ve got all the breaks and even whipping them isn´t going to change that fact. ”[19] This quote assured by Ponyboy shows how the greasers respect the Socs and points out the power the Socs enclose as the greasers can´t affect authorities because of their social class.
The Socs were emotionless and even fought coldly and impersonally. “Socs were always behind a wall of aloofness, careful not to let their real selves show through.”[20] This quote represents how S.E Hinton displays the Socs to the reader as being cold-blooded, yet the reader is able to acknowledge that the Socs aren’t reserved but only uses this kind of attitude in front of the greasers, to achieve the evil character Hinton wants to demonstrate.
Johnny has always been a hero, simply for living through every obstacle that he’s faced with, but his heroic qualities are first magnified at the park. One night as Johnny and Ponyboy are alone at the park, a group of Socs drives up in their blue mustang. When the drunken Socs take it too far and begin to drown Pony, Johnny pulls out his switchblade and kills Bob, the soc who had been drowning Pony. “They were drowning you, Pony. They might have killed you. ” [21] Though his actions are violent, they portray his love for Pony. He commits murder to save the life of his innocent friend.
Ultimately, this accident ends with the boys hiding out in an old church in Windrixville. When Johnny and Pony return to the church they discover a group of kids trapped in the burning church. Johnny jumps into the building immediately, and rushes to save the kids. With help from Pony, he lifts each kid safely out the church window. “I should be scared, I though with an odd detached feeling, but I´m not.” [22] This quote stated by Ponyboy conveys his braveness and courage by risking his life to help some kids, in order to maintain their lives.
Once all the kids are safely out, he tells Pony to get out. The building caves in while Johnny is still inside, and he has to be pulled out by Dally. This accident causes Johnny to be hospitalized with severe burns and paralysis from the neck down. Before he passes, he states in a letter to Pony, “I don’t mind dying now. It’s worth it. It’s worth saving those kids.”[23] This statement says everything about who Johnny is. Although a gentle boy, he has a profound impact with his unrelenting demand for peace. Johnny Cade is completely selfless; he gives everything he has to help the people around him.
Catching Fire is the second book in The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins, who embellishes the idea that absolute power and perfection cannot co-exist with the modern world for all is vulnerable to corruption. Could you pull of a guise of love in order to not only save your life but also stop an upcoming rebellion? In this astonishing book this is exactly what Katniss and Peeta have to accomplish with the help of their close friend Haymitch. The failure of this task will lead to an epic adventure throughout the land leading to an insane twist ending that nobody could have seen coming.
Katniss or as Panem refers to her, “the girl who was on fire” is our rebellious protagonist who stands up for her beliefs and will do whatever it takes to keep her word and protect her loved ones. Throughout the novel the reader can recognize that she is a Capitol´s target. Firstly she has been a tribute in the Games and, secondly, she had been threatened by President Snow
President Snow is the Capitol’s President and the main antagonist in the story. He proposes ways to keep his power and to have absolute dominance in Panem. “A remainder to the rebel that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the Capitol.” This quotation shows the leadership President Snow embraces which generates scariness in Panem. Nonetheless people were forced to work for the Capitol and are tired of being repressed by famine and poverty. Collins builds his character with fear pounding heart for he carries “the smell of blood…on his breath,” giving the disgust sensation to automatically wanting to repel.
The people from Panem will be expecting the pair of lovebirds who won the Hunger Games. “Our romance became a key strategy for our survival in the arena.” This citation shows that Katniss and Peeta survive because of their relationship; for the first time in history, two tributes were allowed to win. Katniss needs to appear in love with Peeta to diffuse the rebellion or else they are done for. Katniss tricked the Capitol into letting both Peeta and her live. Now the Capitol is out for revenge for this act of violence. “I outsmarted his sadistic Hunger Games, made the Capitol look foolish and consequently undermined his control.” This quote highlights the audacity Katniss embraces, by clearly showing that she isn´t scared of the Capitol and will fight against the evilness. It also points out that the Capitol isn´t as powerful as it seems because Katniss was able to overcome the brutal Games.
Gale Hawthorne opposed the Capitol´s regime and supported the rebellion. In consequence, he was injured but Katniss defended him. “I throw myself directly between the whip and Gale.” Through this action the reader can perceive the heroic attitude Katniss acquire by shielding Gale´s broken body plus she receives a lash across her face.
The Capitol has no end of creative ways to kill people. President Snow has the most ruthless regime and those who are in the Capitol clearly feel anything at all about the people participating in the atrocious Games. “They certainly don´t have a problem watching children murdered every year.” This line stated by Katniss reveals the cruelty of The Capitol as they continue every year to construct a new malicious Game without having any concerns or remorse.
Katniss is good with a bow and arrow, not because she was born that way or struck by lightning, but because she was poor and hunted to survive. When she revisits the Game makers, she uses the moment far more deliberately to draw fire away from her teammate (Peeta) and break through the veneer of the people who “find amusing ways to kill us.” Katniss managed to take down five birds in one round. “Their faces show everything from envy to hatred to admiration.” This quote transmits the feelings the Game makers were experiencing after seeing Katniss´ outstanding skill. Envy and hatred are really dominant words which emphasize the malice the Game makers embrace and points out the natural sentiments a villain will boast.
The result of failure sends Katniss Back into the Hunger Games for an outstanding adventure full of twists, turns, and destruction. Before entering the arena she checked her weapons and said, “I´ll take the lead.” This citation is authoritative and confirms the reader that Katniss is the only hero in the novel because of her determination to prevail over the Capitol´s vile games.