With Valentine's Day looming, I would like to introduce an alternative to all the warm and tender hearts and flowers-- The Villainy Awards! We will all posts nominees for Best Villain, Young Villain, Villains you end up rooting for, and well, any other categories you come up with. Once we have our nominees, hosts and hostesses, we will devise a menu and musical program. So, to get the ball rolling, I will begin (as an example of a suitable post):
For Best Villain: I nominate Mr. Lindner from A Raisin in the Sun for his loathsome "offer" to the Younger family.
You may draw from any of our class texts, from 11th grade texts and from your independent novels. No movies/TV shows/works of non-literary merit.
(imagine devilish emoticon here)
I find the "The Holy Grail" in the "Le Morte d' Arthur" and Society in "Fahrenheit 451" the worst villains of them all. In "Morte d' Arthur" everyone who succeeds in achieving the amazing task of finding the Holy Grail and attaining it dies in the most dramatic way possible and the way they chose who to go out and obtain the grail is hilarious. Teeheeheee!!!
ReplyDeleteThe world in "Fahrenheit 451" I need no reason to say why, their villainy is evident. The only thing missing in that book is the evil laugh "Muh ha ha ha, I just burned the last Molire!!! Teeheehee" PURE EVIL!!!
For best Young Villain Abigail Williams from The Crucible. for her part in the cause of the murder of many.
ReplyDelete"Society" doesn't count. We need individual villains who can collect trophies and make speeches....
ReplyDeleteWoo hoo! I second Franska's nomination of Abigail for Young Villain!
ReplyDeleteFor Best Villain: I would like to nominate Claudius for his work poisoning his brother, stealing the throne of Denmark, conspiring against his nephew, marrying his sister-in-law, banishing the Prince of Denmark and attempting to have him killed, lying, spying, and starting a chain of events that eventually led to the demise of the country and the entire royal family.
- Katie
Okay.......... Morgan Le Fay for "MOST EVIL FEMALE VILLAIN".
ReplyDeleteFor Best Villain: Grendel's mother! She is an ugly hag who lives in a home near a lake. She deliberately attacks Heorot to bring honor to her son's name. She then moves on to attack Beowulf. Nothing can get worse than an unattractive, bold, monster....no wonder she was never given a name.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claudius and Grendel's mother who are both equally wicked but...
ReplyDeleteFor Best Villain: (I nominate) the Misfit from the short story "A Good Man Is Hard To Find."
He is a serial murderer and he murders the mother, father, children and elderly grandmother without shuddering more than slight remorse at his actions.
They do not actually say he is a serial killer I do not think but he is known to be the most dangerous of criminals, and recently escaped. However if he is not a serial killer than it is even more cold that he takes their lives.
ReplyDeleteI find the dean in the Invisible Man, Bledsoe, to be a villain because he stands by the facade of black men being inferior to the white race while attempting to conform to the standards of higher society although always aware as to their inferiority on the basis of color. His life choice alone does not make him a villain however his attempts in forcing the narrator to be penalized for viewing life differently, makes him the worst of villains.
ReplyDeleteFor villains you end up rooting for, I nominate Edmond Dantes as Villains You End up rooting for. Even though Dantes is the protagonist of the story, he takes it upon himself to exact bloody, merciless revenge onto those who have wronged him, and thus classifies as an "evil character", or a "villain". And even though he murders all these people, one can't help but to feel sympathy for him and root for his cause, because frankly, those people were bastards.
ReplyDeleteJust for clarification, Dantes is from "The Count of Monte Cristo"
ReplyDeleteI think the best villain is clearly Lady Bracknell.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff chaps! But a reminder: Be sure to include not only the character, title and author but your RATIONALE for your choice. See Jael's, Mehgan's, and Marcela's excellent posts... But you can also beg to differ. I am going to throw a question in here regarding Grendel's mom. Is she pure villain, or does her motivation to avenge her only son's death make her any less heinous?
ReplyDeleteI think a good villain is Tom from the Great Gatsby because he hates Gatsby for loving his wife and his vengeance caused Gatsby to die.
ReplyDeleteHis name is Tom right? ")
I believe that she (Grendel's Mom) acts out of natural instinct, however, her intentions are clearly vengeful (plots to kill).
ReplyDeleteI really like German's response, I think we should also add Fernand Mondego (Dantes' rival) too.
Hey Ms. Hurst! That comment you made about Grendels mother reminds me of question #3 from our Jane Eyre envelopes! ^_^
ReplyDelete>>~~Katie~>
Oh, and in a new category.....
ReplyDeleteFor Sweetest Villain (haha, oxymoron): I nominate Miss Prism! Why is she a villain? Well, one of the various definitions of a villain is this: "Something said to be the cause of particular trouble or an evil". I would surely say that Miss Prism is the cause of trouble and evil! Not only was she careless enough to mistake a living, breathing baby for a stack of paper, but she virtually ruined Jack's (Earnest's) whole life and forced him to face massive identity issues. She abandoned a baby in a railway station. He could have died in that closet. I rest my case.
>>~~Katie~>
wow soo i guess i will provide the reasoning behind Lady Bracknell because as soon this assignment was mentioned she entered my mind. A woman so cruel and shallow that she would deny her daughter's happiness to marry the man of her choice, love being questionable, just because he did not pass through her thorough questioning and had sufficient titles to be in her family. ! could not have been happier when she found out that Jack was of her own family. Take that Bracknell!
ReplyDelete-->Diana<--
I Feel as though the Monster from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley should fall into the category "Villain you end up feeling sympathetic for", Or something along those lines. The monster is a villain in that he kills not only people, but specifically members of Frankensteins family on purpose to bring him agony. However, towards the end of the story you grow somewhat sympathetic for the Monster because he was abandoned and unloved and that is really the only reason he sought out to kill people. If Frankenstein would have just been a father to the monster, the tragedy and deaths would have never happened.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Katie's comment. Miss Prism is a perfectly qualifiable character for being the sweetest villain.
ReplyDeleteFor Best Villain, however, I strongly nominate Claudius from Hamlet. He had me cringing and hoping that Hammy would just kill him already. Seriously guys,
-he killed his own brother to claim the throne,
- ^keeps extra quiet about this, thereby lying to his thousands of people,
-he plotted to kill Hamlet (his own step-son...gasp!)
-he does not warn Gertrude when she is about to drink from the poisoned goblet intended for Hamlet, most likely because he cared too much for his image to make any attempt to save her (EVIL!)
....Need I say more?
Since Lady Bracknell is no longer eligible for vilain status I would like to change my nomination to Roger Chillingworth. This man cruel, bitter, and vengeful. His prying into this love he never received from Hester. Chillingworth's excavating of Dimmesdale's soul in search of his secret, his own mark persay, while posing to be a doctor to better the ailing Reverend's failing health he terminated with the Reverend's life. To top it off, he wouldn't let Hester and Dimmesdale be happy together even if they were away from the town and the harsh claws of Chillingworth.
ReplyDeleteFrom the Scarlet Letter by the way
ReplyDeleteFor best villain I nominate Humbert Humbert from Lolita, for the two murders committed for the sake of a much too young Lo.
ReplyDelete- Vanova R.
I can't help but agree with the nomination of Claudius; I would definitely vote for him!
ReplyDeleteBut to be a little bit more creative, I will nominate Milo Minderbinder from Catch 22 by Joseph Heller (my independent novel). He accepts payment from the Germans to bomb his base! He starts off as a funny character but in the end it turns out that he has sold the morphine in the medical kits, just when Yossarian and the kid in the back of the plane most need it.
I completely agree with Diana's nomination of Chillingworth as "Best Villain". Chillingworth makes Dimmesdale's already mortifying pain even greater as he attempts to unravel Dimmesdale's mysterious past.Chillingworth also makes it his duty to prevent Hester's happiness. Not only does Chillingworth act the part, he looks it. I recall his description being gross and repuslive.
ReplyDeleteAside from Chillingworth, I would like to nominate Jane Eyre's cousin, John Reed, as a "Young Villain" because he makes Jane Eyre's life a living hell through his habitual physical and emotional abuse.
--Laura
I will now reveal my reasoning for picking Morgan La Fey (Just for you Mrs.Hurst) as The Most Evil Female Villain. She is the epitome of evil; in The Morte de Arthur she is King Arthur's older sister and in the book she is a sorceress and a seductress. She attempts to gain the English throne with her lover, Sir Accolon by killing her brother, King Arthur and her husband King Uryens. And later continues in attempting in trying to conquer England with her brother's enemies and attempts to weakened him by steal Excalibur.
ReplyDeleteI nominate Claggart from Billy Budd, as he finds flaws in "the handsome sailor" and sets Billy up, which leads to his death. Although Billy is an innocent person, Claggart is out to get him from the moment that they meet to the moment that Billy is killed.
ReplyDeleteI'm thinking he could be "the Best Scheming Villain" possibly?
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ReplyDeleteI nominate Brother Jack from the Invisible Man! This man was truly treacherous in all that he did. He put on a facade of compassion and lured the narrator into joining the Brotherhood only to fuel the progression of his dictatorial and radical schemes.
ReplyDeleteAny other day I'd second TJ's nomination. However, I won't because I'm nominating Pearl from the Shipping News. Although her appearance in the book was brief her callous, socio-pathic, and destructive nature ended up playing a key role in the plot. She feigns attraction to this man, has two kids by him, cheats on him conspicuously and continuously and then jets off with some man she barely knew leaving her husband with the kids, the trailer, and the bills. It makes me angry just thinking about it, lol. What a....
ReplyDeleteIt is quite shocking that my villain hasn’t already been nominated.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth is the best villain of all time. He murdered his own king with a dagger and he plotted to kill his best friend (Banquo) and Banquo’s offspring. Not to mention that Macbeth sends men to kill the Macduff household, which includes an innocent boy being stabbed and a harmless servant getting raped. Please keep in mind that Macbeth was the cause of a mini-war where many lives were butchered. Aside from indirectly being the cause of his wife’s insanity, Macbeth’s actions sent a chain reaction of turmoil throughout Scotland.
Go Macbeth!!!
**Petal, not Pearl.
ReplyDelete