![\"\"](\"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Antagonists-1024x1024.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve covered the antagonist already in my Positive Change Arc series, which you can find here<\/a>, and I\u2019ll be talking about them again during my Flat Arc series. But, today, I thought I\u2019d look at this character from a different angle using examples from the Bible. Be sure to check out my two other posts on antagonists to learn more about their role in a character arc!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common type of character arc for an antagonist is a Negative Flat Arc, which is basically when the character holds to the Lie throughout the entire story. But the antagonist can also be a Negative Arc, which is when the character progressively gets worse in their beliefs\u2014either from the Truth to the Lie, the Lie to a worse Lie, or an easy Lie to a harsh Truth. And they can even be a Positive Change Arc, which means they end up believing the Truth by the end of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter which arc you choose for your antagonist, it\u2019s important that you determine it before you begin your story, and that you stick to it. If you want to learn more about character arcs, you can check out my Plots and Character Arcs series here<\/a>, and my Story of Humanity series here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, we see the perfect example of a Negative Change Arc in Judas. While he does start off believing a Lie, he ends up believing a much worse Lie. This eventually leads to him betraying Jesus and taking his own life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the movie, \u201cIt\u2019s a Wonderful Life,\u201d the antagonist, Mr. Potter, is a strict Negative Flat Arc. He holds to his Lie until the very end, even though George Bailey, the protagonist, ends up prevailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the movie, \u201cTreasure Planet,\u201d Long John Silver is a Positive Change Arc antagonist. Throughout the movie, he struggles to reconcile both his Lie and the Truth. In the end, he has to choose between saving Jim\u2019s life or keeping the treasure he\u2019s spent his life searching for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the most important elements for an antagonist. What they want is their whole reason for opposing the protagonist, so you need to have that determined. Whether it\u2019s something huge, such as world domination, or something small, such as pick-pocketing a wallet, your antagonist needs to want something\u2014and want it badly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, we see the king of Assyria as the antagonist in King Hezekiah\u2019s story. His Want is simple\u2026 he wants to conquer Judah\u2014more specifically, Jerusalem\u2014in order to gain more power and land. This is in direct opposition to Hezekiah\u2019s desire to live at peace in the land and to protect his country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the movie, \u201cThe Parent Trap,\u201d the antagonist, Vicki, wants to marry Sharon and Susan\u2019s father. Ultimately, she wants to do it because of money. This opposes the twins\u2019 desire to get their parents back together, causing them to work against Vicki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is generally the driving force behind the Want\u2026 this is why the antagonist does what he does to get the Want. It will be a misbelief or misconception of the world around them that causes them to make the wrong choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lie can oppose the MC\u2019s Truth (if on a Flat Arc), or it can coincide with the MC\u2019s Lie (if on a Positive Change Arc). I\u2019ve talked about this element many times, so be sure to check out my other posts on the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, we see that the antagonist Haman\u2019s Lie is that he must have power and fame in order to fulfill his life. This drives him to work against Mordecai\u2014and the Jews\u2014who get in his way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the movie, \u201cBig Hero 6,\u201d Professor Callaghan\u2019s Lie is that getting revenge against the man responsible for his daughter\u2019s disappearance will somehow make things better. This actually parallels Hiro\u2019s Lie, which is that getting revenge for Tadashi\u2019s disappearance will help. The fact that these two Lies are so similar eventually leads to Hiro\u2019s realization that he and the antagonist aren\u2019t so different after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as the Lie drives the Want, the Ghost causes to Lie. Whether it\u2019s an ongoing thing or an event that happened in the past, the Ghost is what makes the antagonist believe the Lie. It can be something extremely traumatizing, or it can simply be a small event. Either way, it affects the antagonist enough to fuel his belief in the Lie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, Joseph\u2019s brothers\u2019 Ghost is their unsteady upbringing. They grew up watching their mothers fight for first place in their father\u2019s life, and, later, had to look on as their younger brother grew to be the favorite. This causes them to believe the Lie that everything would be better if Joseph was gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the movie, \u201cThe Incredibles,\u201d Syndrome\u2019s Ghost is his hero\u2019s rejection of him as a boy. Since then, he decided to make his own way in life and to make everyone a superhero so that the real superheroes would no longer be special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve been following my blog for any length of time, you knew this was coming. Despite your antagonist being a bad guy who opposes the MC, they\u2019re still human, which means they still have a few good qualities in them. You want your antagonist to be just likable enough that they\u2019re almost relatable\u2026 which is far more scary than an unrelatable villain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, don\u2019t make them too<\/em> good. After all, they\u2019re still the bad guy, which means there needs to be a line between them and the MC. That line can be thick or extremely thin, but it still should be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the Bible, we do see a few good qualities in Saul, who opposes David. He\u2019s a fierce warrior, and he actually did repent and back off from David a few times\u2014though those truces didn\u2019t last. In his youth, especially, we see that Saul was a much more likable person until the power of the kingship changed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the movie, \u201cMonsters Inc.,\u201d the antagonist, Mr. Waternoose, seems to be quite a nice guy at first. While, towards the end, he reveals his true nature, he still retains a few qualities that are to be admired. His loyalty to the company and desire to provide the city with energy are great things. However, his willingness to kidnap children and extract their screams to fulfill those desires is what makes him evil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few more examples of antagonists in scripture:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And here are some other antagonists from fiction:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Comment below the antagonist from your favorite book or movie!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today, we\u2019re going to talk about the single most important supporting character in your story\u2026 the antagonist. They are one of the main reasons the story is even happening, so it\u2019s vital that you get this character right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,128],"tags":[70,31,24,26,29,138],"class_list":["post-717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-analyses","category-how-to-write-supporting-characters","tag-antagonist","tag-bible-analyses","tag-character-arcs","tag-characters","tag-christian-writing","tag-supporting-characters"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=717"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":719,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions\/719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christianwriter.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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