Abstract
This paper first defines anti-hero and its uses in film. It then discusses Billy Wilder's characterizations of the classic anti-hero in four movies: "Double Indemnity", "Ace in The Hole", "Sunset Boulevard", and "Stalag 17". The author repeatedly shows how Wilder develops characters that have depth and are able to embody both positive and negative qualities.

From the Paper
"Wilder's anti-heroes range from murders to debt collector avoiders and each one is unique. These four films are built around a great anti-hero and the mess that surrounds their mega personalities. Wilder's characters show a fascinating balance of good and bad that make the audience root for the character and sit on the edge of their seat, waiting for the next crazy shenanigan the anti-hero will get in and most likely out of. The anti-hero is a refreshing breath of air in a film industry full of over emphasized heroes."

Tags:movies, film

Abstract
The paper discusses the many contributions of Mao Zedong as a top-notch political leader and military commander, as well as a protagonist for the oppressed class of China. The paper then considers the sly, ruthless, cunning and cruel side of Mao's persona and the mass murder he coordinated. The paper comes to the conclusion that Mao was both an immense contributor to communist China's achievements and a perpetrator of immense losses to the nation and its people.

Outline:
Introduction
Objective of the Paper
Mao-The Hero
Establishment of Soviet Areas in China
The Long March
The Japanese invasion
The Civil War
The Five-Year Plan
Mao-The icon of Chinese welfare
Mao - The anti-hero
The Great Leap Forward
The Great Cultural Revolution
Mao and manslaughter
Revelations of the book Mao: The Untold Story
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Mao Zedong is undoubtedly one of the top-notch political leaders and military commanders that the world has produced to date. His unparalleled prowess in the field of policy and warfare earned him highest laurels within the corridors of communist China, and a dubious certification of a shrewd leader of ruthless efficiency outside China. He was adorned with such lavishing praise as "the Great Leader Chairman Mao" (2007) when he headed the country and its communist party."

Tags:communism, China, Five-Year, Plan, Great, Leap, murder, famine

Abstract
Compares the nature of the anti-hero in three Russian works.

From the Paper
"This study will examine the changing nature of the hero in three Russian works, Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Alexander Pushkin's The Captain's Daughter, and Mikhail Lermontov's A Hero of Our Time. The study will be based on the view that the "hero" of these three works is not a heroic figure in the traditional sense, but is more an anti-hero, a person who in one case (Grinyov in Pushkin) is a weak man who is blown to and fro by circumstances, and, in the other two cases, is far more flawed than such traditional, classical heroes, and far more flawed than the bulk of the readers. By "traditional hero" this study means the classical figure of the Greeks or Shakespeare--an acknowledged leader of men, an honorable and admirable character with far more positive than negative qualities, but also with a fatal flaw (pride, jealousy) which eventually destroys him. What ..."

Abstract
The paper discusses how great heroes are motivated by a higher calling, by the desire to do good in the face of evil and despair, while anti-heroes are propelled from one action to another by their selfish, primordial urges. However, the paper shows how while anti-heroes and villains are driven by the same things, the villain becomes heroic when we see the psychological turmoil and processes through which they become malignant. The paper argues that Fred C. Dobbs, Humphrey Bogart's character in the "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", is an anti-hero while Charlie is a hero. Additionally, the paper looks at how the 1951 film, "The African Queen", fits in nicely with the traditional heroic narrative.

From the Paper
"Great heroes are motivated by a higher calling, by the desire to do good in the face of evil and despair. By comparison, anti-heroes are propelled from one action to another by their selfish, primordial urges. However, while anti-heroes and villains are driven by the same things, the villain becomes heroic when we see the psychological turmoil and processes through which they become malignant (Bonnet, 1). With that in mind, the following paper will argue that Fred C. Dobbs, Humphrey Bogart's character in the "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", is an anti-hero while Charlie is a hero."

Tags:bogart, hero, convention

Abstract
This essay argues that Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" is anti-Semitic in terms of its treatment of the character Robert Cohn. Cohn is painted in a negative light and none of the characters like him. Cohn is the anti-hero, yet he has Jewishness intentionally imposed upon him. In this respect, "The Sun Also Rises" involves anti-Semitism.

Tags:anti-semitism, literature

Abstract
An examination of how pop-culture hero Batman exemplifies traits of the Byronic hero, using Byron's "Manfred" as textual support.

From the Paper
"The both romanticized and flawed character whose presence is seen throughout the writings of Lord Byron, specifically in his poem "Manfred", known as the Byronic hero, has undoubtedly influenced the conception of modern pop-culture heroes. One such example is evinced by the brooding, eternally tormented yet relentlessly righteous character we have come to know and love - Batman. In both terms of his existence as a hero and the events which served as impetus to his decision to fight crime on the streets..."

Tags:Lord Byron, Byronic Hero, batman, anti-hero, gothic fiction

Abstract
J Alfred Prufrock, perhaps Eliot's most famous character, is often referred to as 'the archetypal modern anti-hero'. But what is it that defines him as anti-hero rather than hero? What does Eliot mean by heroism, and how is this evidenced in his early poetry? The paper discusses Eliot's treatment of heroes throughout the course of "Prufrock and Other Observations" and "Poems" of 1920, with particular reference to the way in which he sets his characters against a background of traditional heroism by the use of intertextuality.

From the Paper
"In Gerontion in particular, the protagonist defines himself explicitly in contrast to the Classical idea of the heroic: this poem exists within the framework of the ancient world, and therefore its speaker is able to indicate that he 'was neither at the hot gates/Nor fought in the warm rain', and to convey the fact that, in his own historical context, it is these things that would have rendered him a hero. Instead, he is a tired old man speaking in ramblings of 'depraved May' and 'flowering judas' - the choice of words here, as ever, is of considerable significance, alluding as it does to Judas Iscariot, perhaps the most notorious anti-hero of all time, and who is yet considered by the Gnostic sects as the greatest of all Jesus' disciples for having facilitated His sacrifice. "

Tags:appollinax, classics, gerontion, modernism, prufrock, song, sweeney

Abstract
This paper defines Medea as the anti-hero of the anti-monomyth. The author traces the stages of the myth of Medea and parallels them with the stages in a typical monomyth. By drawing the parallels, the author is able to show that the Medea myth is a parody of the standard monomyth, showing the phases play out in a manner that is antithetical to the typical monomyth.

From the Paper
"Joseph Campbell might well turn over in his grave to hear Medea's final murder of her children described as an example of the monomyth. Certainly, if one were to take into account other moments of Medea's life and her adventures with the Argonauts, it would be possibly --though difficult-- to make such an argument seriously. However, arguing that Medea's tale as told by Euripides is an example of the monomyth at work seems rather blind to the fact that the hero cycle is meant to be about the exaltation, rather than the denial, of life. The problem may be as simple as the fact that Medea is female. Many critics have noted that, "Joseph Campbell is widely acclaimed for his conception of the hero's journey. However it addresses only half the population by excluding females," (Johnson) and that as such a different schema may be necessary for approaching a woman's experience. Medea is not a hero-she is the goddess or temptress without whose aid a hero neither rises nor falls."

Tags:Medea, Jason, Argonauts, Golden, Fleece, Monomyth, mythology

Abstract
This paper is an analysis of Joseph Heller's anti-war novel, "Catch-22". It begins with a look at the character of the anti-hero Yossarian. Characters are looked at in relation to the novel's themes of power and greed, as well as profit. The use of satire is examined. The paper concludes with the writer's view of what Heller was trying to say in his novel.

From the Paper
"Catch-22 is a novel that entirely takes place at war. Even though the book is filled with comedy, it describes the physical and emotional pain of war. The novel shows us how people are changed by war and how their focuses are changed through different experiences. Catch " 22 breaks the rules of a standard anti " war novel, which shocks this statement into the reader. Through different and sudden time changes, the reader is almost tricked to laugh at certain situations that later are revealed to be quite serious and emotional. The reader doesn't realize what they are laughing at until the novel is completed and Heller's true vision is revealed. Catch " 22 is an "alternative, requiring not only a high order of poetic vision but also a willingness to shock, to challenge, to spit in your audience's eye, is what goes currently under the label of the Absurd. This encompasses farce, gibberish, surrealism and even that sub-branch of show-business called "sick humor"." There are many themes in the novel, which frame the anti-war theme. Greed for power and money and the corruption of soldiers in the novel all tell us how evil war really is. Heller uses satire in order to get the point across from a rather comedic standpoint."

Tags:heller, joseph, war, book

Abstract
This paper attempts to define whether Johm Milton's poem "Paradise Lost" can be classified as a true epic or as in fact an anti-epic. It looks at the proper definitions of the terms epic and anti-epic and discusses how each of term could be applied to the poem, supported by quotations from the text. It explores the role of the "hero" in an epic by defining who the true "hero" of "Paradise Lost" is. It also attempts to understand Milton's intentions in writing the poem whether he thought he was writing an an epic or whether he was satirizing and subverting the genre by writing something very different.

From the Paper
"Christ, too, is a hero. The contrast between him and Satan, however, could not be more complete. Whereas the bravery of Christ is directed at the protection of man, Satan's aim is destruction. Which, we must ask, is the true hero of Paradise Lost?
The temptation, when faced with the contrast between the two, is to now decide that Christ is ultimately more heroic; he has, after all, more too lose, and he sacrifices himself in the name of goodness. Satan, on the other hand, has nothing left to loose, and merely wishes to reduce mankind to the same condition he has found himself in, due to his own excessive pride."

Tags:christ, hero, odyssey, satan