Psych 449 Hero & Villain Profiles

World’s Greatest Dad

On the surface, Josef Fritzl appeared to be your average caring, benevolent husband and father. Living in the suburbs of Amstetten, Austria, Fritzl worked as an electrician who was described by his peers as being "intelligent, hard-working and polite." He had even adopted three of his grandchildren in order to provide a more suitable home environment for them to grow up in. It seems the only thing keeping Josef Fritzl from his "Father of the Year" award are his multiple convictions of rape, incest, coercion, enslavement, and murder by neglect.

In April of 2008, Josef's 42-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, testified that she had spent that last 24 years in a concealed, underground prison built for her by her father. During that time, she had constantly been assaulted and raped incestuously, resulting in the birth of seven children. Three of the children were taken from Elisabeth and adopted by Josef and his wife, Rosemarie. The other three children (ages 19, 18, and 5) had never seen the light of day until they were rescued by police. With no medical resources available in the dungeon, one child died shortly after birth from respiratory problems. Fritzl told his wife and police that Elizabeth had run away from home in 1984, and Josef forced Elisabeth to write letters telling her parents not to come looking for her. The police were alerted to the existence of Fritzl's incarcerated family only after the 19-year-old daughter became critically ill, and Fritzl was persuaded to take her to a local hospital. Elizabeth had hidden a note on her daughter explaining her dire circumstances, and the medical staff alerted local police, who launched an investigation which resulted in the discovery of the dungeon. Fritzl is currently serving a life-term in prison and his wife and the rest of his children have since changed their names and moved to different locations in Europe.

Although many Americans would like to believe that this type of monstrous behavior only occurs in distant, Transylvanian Euro-destinations, similar atrocities have been committed in our own backyard. In 2009, the nation was shocked when Jaycee Dugard resurfaced after disappearing for 18 years. Phillip Garrido and his wife, Nancy, had abducted Dugard at the age of 11 in 1991. Dugard was kept in a tent in an enclosed area in Garrido's backyard. Garrido fathered two girls- now 12 and 16- with Dugard during her captivity. Phillip and Nancy have pled not guilty to charges of kidnapping, rape and false imprisonment and the court case against them is ongoing.

There are similar cases found in every corner of the world. Some end with the children being discovered, many do not. Even when the missing children are found and the captors are brought to justice, there is no happy ending for the victims of these crimes. The physical and psychological damage inflicted on these young children is often too severe to hope for a return to normalcy. The worst villains in this world are the ones whose damage cannot be undone. Their enduring malice haunts generations long after they are gone and their stories shake the foundation of our faith in humanity. Their perverse sense of reality is infectious to their victims and we can only hope that their existence is confined to the front pages of distant newspapers, far removed from our own families and friends.

Kanye West: The Arrogant Villain

While heroes are recognized for their greatness, excessive pride is not a quality associated with heroism. For example, Irene Sendler, a woman who saved countless children during the Hollocaust while risking her own life, denies her label as a hero because she believes what she did was ordinary and that she could have saved more lives. In her humility, Irene Sendler is all the more heroic as she exhibits the selflessness that defines true heroism. In contrast, villains are people who crave and demand and the worship of others. Caught up in the egotism that characterizes villainy they are boastful and always hungry for attention. Kanye West is an example of a villain whose huge musical talent is unfortunately eclipsed by his even bigger ego.

Kanye West had a difficult childhood similar to the start of many potential hero narratives. The child of a broken home, Kanye was raised by a single working mother. Kanye was able to overcome childhood adversity and pursue his interests in the arts. By 2002 before the launch of his own solo career, Kanye established himself as a well renowned hip-hop producer, creating beats for artists such as Nas, DMX, T.I and others. In 2002 Kanye was also involved in a near fatal car accident. Kanye used this personal struggle to inspire his music and produced his first hit single "Through the Wire" detailing his near fatal ordeal.

By 2004 Kanye released his first album as a solo artists, The College Dropout, which went triple platinum. By 2008 he had released four albums, which had earned a total of 12 Grammy Awards including best rap album and best rap solo performance. Kany West has also been the recipient of numerous people choice awards both in the US and abroad. Kanye has also had to face further hardship as an adult as his mother, with whom he was extremely close, passed away unexpectedly during complications from cosmetic surgery.

While overcoming adversity and achieving tremendous musical success the question remains why is Kanye West perceived as a villain and not a hero?

Unfortunately, while Kanye has had a career colored with accomplishments it has also been filled with controversies. In 2005 Kanye sparked his first media upset by inappropriately deviating from a script during a Hurricane Katrina benefit to say, "Bush doesn't care about black people" to the live audience of millions of Americans. Kanye has become famous for voicing personal opinions at inappropriate times. In 2006 he went on stage during an acceptance speech by the artists Justice to argue that he was more entitled for the award for Best Video at the MTV European Music Awards. In 2009 at the MTV Video Music awards Kanye went on stage during Taylor Swift's acceptance speech and grabbed the microphone from her to exclaim that Beyonce should have won the award. Kanye has also been on record stating he will "really have a problem" if he is not the recipient of certain awards and will not return to certain award ceremonies if his work is not properly recognized. Altogether, Kanye's excessive egotism and selfish behavior cloud his artistic success. Kanye's example serves as a important reminder that ones merits as a hero may quickly be overshadowed by ones qualities as a villain.

The following is a clip of Kanye West's interruption of Taylor Swift at the MTV Music Awards: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LtSX_6on7g

Aron Ralston: The Survivor Hero

With the premiere of the movie 127 hours the world has been reminded of the incredibly heroic story of Aron Ralston. Ralston's rise to heroism is perhaps one of the most pronounced illustrations of a triumphant underdog. Ralston was Canyoning in Blue John canyon in Utah in May of 2003 when he became trapped by a dislodged boulder that crushed his lower right arm and left him hopelessly pinned against a canyon wall.Ralston remained trapped in the Canyon for five days during which he endured a 127-hour struggle for his life. Having failed to inform anyone where he had gone hiking, Ralston knew his odds of being rescued were slim to none. He was therefore forced to rely on his own recourses, ingenuity, and will to live in order to survive.While trapped in the Canyon, Ralston only had a days hike worth of food and water. Ralston managed to ration his recourses wisely but eventually had to resort to drinking his own urine. Battling extreme temperatures, sever dehydration, and an open wound, it was miraculous that Ralston kept himself alive for five days. By the fifth day however, Ralston had begun to loose hope. He carved his name, birthday and presumed date of death into a Canyon wall and videotaped a farewell to his family.Here in the darkest moments of Ralston's struggle is where his heroism was born. He had been attempting to chip away the boulder that was trapping his arm with a less then equipped knife he received as a free gift with a flashlight. Already of low quality the knife had been severely dulled by his chiseling efforts. Nevertheless, Ralston made the incredible decision to amputate his own arm. Devising a tourniquet to staunch the blood flow, Ralston managed to break both his arm bones with a rock and use the dull knife to cut through his flesh. Already incredibly weak, Ralston managed to stay conscious during his efforts and succeeded in severing his arm. After his makeshift surgery, Ralston had to hike out of the canyon, rappel down a 65-foot drop, and hike out in the sun until two hikers happened to come across him. Ralston was finally rescued by a helicopter six hours later thus successfully concluding the battle for his life.Since his accident, Ralston has made a full recovery and continues to mountain climb with the aid of a paraplegic device. Additionally, he appears as a motivational speaker and explains his near death experience as a turning point that has allowed him to better appreciate his life and the people in it.While Ralston's story is a gruesome tale it is nevertheless heroic as it reminds us of the extreme suffering an individual can endure in order to triumph in the end.The following is a trailer for the movie 127 hours: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDT0wM6aDXU&NR=1

The Boon That Went Boom!

J. Robert Oppenheimer is indirectly responsible for the deaths of nearly 200,000 men, women and children. It is also reasonable to infer that he saved the lives of countless more. Born in New York City to a Jewish immigrant from Germany, Oppenheimer studied at the Ethical Culture Society School and went on to graduate summa cum laude after just three years at Harvard. At the age of 23, Oppenheimer earned his PDH at the University of Gottingen in Germany. In 1927, he returned to America and took a job as an assistant professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. After spending a few years establishing himself as an intelligent, charismatic professor, students from around the world migrated to Berkeley in order to study theoretical physics. Although he was often immersed in his research and somewhat isolated from the political world, Oppenheimer was wary of the rise of fascism in the 1930s, and publicly opposed the authoritarian nationalist ideology. By 1939, Americans learned that German scientists had split the atom, creating the opportunity for Nazis to develop extremely powerful weapons. President Roosevelt subsequently established the Manhattan Project and, in 1942, appointed J. Robert Oppenheimer as its director. Oppenheimer quickly gathered the nation's most brilliant minds in physics and set up a new research station at Los Alamos, New Mexico. There he managed more than three thousand people, and overcame the vast number of mechanical challenges that arose during the creation of the world's first atomic bomb.On July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer witnessed the first detonation of one of his atomic bombs in the New Mexico desert (Trinity Test). In less than a month, Japan would surrender after atomic bombs were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Oppenheimer famously quoted Hindu scripture, saying “If the radiance of a thousand suns were to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the mighty one” and “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” At the End of WWII, Oppenheimer became the head of the general advising committee of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. He opposed the development of the more powerful hydrogen bomb, sensing the repercussions that would surely accompany the advancement of such destructive forces. Oppenheimer did not argue when President Truman eventually approved the research and testing of the H bomb, but his initial reluctance and the tense political climate eventually turned against him. In 1953, at the height of U.S. anticommunist feeling, Oppenheimer was accused of having communist sympathies, and his security clearance was publicly revoked. Despite a lack of concrete evidence that he was indeed a member of the Communist party, this loss of security clearance ended Oppenheimer’s influence on scientific policy long after the Red Scare. He eventually returned to the field of education and took Albert Einstein's position as Senior Professor of Theoretical Physics at the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton. In the last years of his life, Oppenheimer joined a number of noteworthy scientists in protest against nuclear weaponry, stressing mankind's inability to wield the epic power of knowledge in a world that is defined by its political disputes. When defining a hero, there is often a great deal of debate as to whether or not someone is heroic just because they were the first to do something. In this case, Oppenheimer's ability to efficiently assemble and manage thousands of the country's greatest minds led to a swift victory for the allies in WWII. Many consider him to be a villain for fathering one of the most destructive forces of all time and doing so with the knowledge that his work would be used as a weapon. Oppenheimer was a hero because he was on our side, and like so many heroes, his high esteem is a direct result of perspective. Without his help, the United States might have experienced a grim alternate reality were prolonged wartime would have exhausted resources, facilitating the spread of Nazism into the West. For better or worse, Oppenheimer has reshaped the world and given its people a whole new reason to hope and fear for its survival. In the end, we can only hope that this godly power remains under our control, because, in this case, one man's boon has become every man's burden.

Ebenezer Scrooge: A Villain Turned Hero?

Well, it is that time of the year! Therefore, since it is Christmas time, I decided that it would be more than appropriate to write about a beloved, well-known Christmas character – a character that is a surprising representation of the holidays and a perfect example of someone who started out as a villain and became a hero, all for the joy of the Christmas spirit.

We have all heard about the evil villains who do cruel things and have to be stopped by the heroes so as to bring peace and order back to innocent people – but the villain just keeps coming back time and time again, committing the same crimes, creating the same mayhem, striking fear and hatred in the eyes of the public. However, we also hear about villains who reach, for varying reasons, certain turning-points, causing them to come to the decision that they no longer want to do wrong. Instead, they choose to turn their lives around in hopes of gaining forgiveness and redemption. Some people view such "heroes" as not being legitimate "heroes," but more so as clever villains who lure people into their corners by pretending to have become heroic, only to reveal to them that they are still just as villainous. On the other hand, some people do believe that villains are capable of coming to a life-altering realization in the hopes of legitimately redeeming themselves. In the case of this specific blog post, since it has to do with Christmas, we will assume that our villain-turned-hero became a genuine hero.

We are all familiar with Charles Dickens's classic Christmas story, A Christmas Carol – a story that is chock full of magic and wonder, teaching all kinds of valuable lessons and morals along the way. The main character of the story, Ebenezer Scrooge, (whose name alone puts a probable sour taste in the mouths of those who hear it), is first introduced to readers at the very beginning of the story, sitting in his counting-house on Christmas Eve. Constantly described as a "€¦mean-spirited, miserly old man," Scrooge has absolutely nothing in the way of Christmas spirit and reacts to anyone's attempts at wishing him a Merry Christmas with the notorious line, "Bah! Humbug!" Although he, himself, is incredibly wealthy, Scrooge refuses to donate any money to charity during the holiday season and refuses to spend money on heating coals for the fire, thus causing his humble but poor clerk, Bob Cratchit, to work in the wintry cold. Furthermore, Scrooge's lack of Christmas spirit shines when he forces poor Cratchit to work on Christmas Day.

Once Scrooge returns to his cold, empty apartment later that night, he is visited by the ghost of his dead partner, Jacob Marley, who, as punishment for having lived a life of greed and self-indulgence, is forced to wander the earth, whilst being weighted down by heavy chains and locks. Marley forewarns Scrooge that, throughout the course of the night, each hour on the hour, he will be visited by three spirits in the hopes of helping him to turn his life around in order to prevent sharing the same fate as Marley. Scrooge, although startled, thinks nothing of the bizarre visit and drifts off to sleep.

Like clockwork, each hour on the hour, the spirits start to visit Scrooge. The first one, the Ghost of Christmas Past, takes Scrooge back in time to past Christmases. While seeing his childhood, Scrooge starts to realize everything he sacrificed in his life because of his intense greed and unrelenting love for money. Scrooge is especially moved and emotionally-affected as he watches his fiancÃ©e leave his young adult self and sees that he does not go after her. (Scrooge is invisible to all of the people who he sees on his journeys with the spirits). Deeply saddened, Scrooge is returned to his room only to, one hour later, be visited by the next spirit, the Ghost of Christmas Present. It is during this journey that Scrooge views Christmas as it will happen that very year. Scrooge comes face-to-face with Bob Cratchit's large and jovial family sitting down to a Christmas dinner that is far too small and insufficient for the large crowd of people. Scrooge also sees Cratchit's crippled son, Tiny Tim, for whom the family, (because of the small salary that Scrooge provides to Cratchit), does not have enough money for surgery. Scrooge is also brought to the Christmas party that his nephew, Fred is having – and to which Scrooge was actually invited and declined the invitation. He sees how much fun everyone is having and everything on which he is missing out. Lastly, Scrooge encounters the Ghost of Christmas Future, (or the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come). This mute spirit shows Scrooge a variety of different images and events that are all related to the recent death of an "€¦unnamed man" – a man who was rich, but never shared any of his riches with anybody and showed nobody the slightest bit of mercy; therefore, it seemed as though not a single person was mourning this mysterious man's death. Scrooge is soon led to a graveyard only to see a headstone with his name on it – the unnamed, stingy man was him! Scrooge, therefore, begged with the spirit to alter his fate and save him, promising to "€¦renounce his insensitive, avaricious ways" and to honor Christmas and everything for which it stands.

The next thing Scrooge knows, he is back home, safe in his bed, on Christmas Morning. Now, the once bitter, selfish man miraculously becomes grateful and "€¦overwhelmed with joy by the chance to redeem himself." He, therefore, starts performing touching acts of kindness – he donates large amounts of money to charities, attends his nephew's Christmas party, and, sends a giant turkey over to the Cratchit house. (He also decides to give Cratchit the day off and he even makes a personal visit over to the Cratchit house to spread his newfound Christmas cheer). Not only does Scrooge begin and continue treating "€¦his fellow human beings with kindness, generosity, and, warmth," he does so while honoring Christmas "€¦with all [of] his heart."

Not only does the story of A Christmas Carol stress the importance of appreciating what one has, it also emphasizes the value of giving to the less-fortunate and those in need. It is probable that with the creation of such a menacingly selfish character as Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens hoped to illustrate that "€¦change is possible, [no matter how] set we are in our ways." In other words, Dickens was showing that no matter how miserable or "hard-hearted" a person is, there is hope that he or she can be reformed. Therefore, with the creation of Scrooge, Dickens showcased that even the most "€¦self-serving, insensitive people can be converted into charitable, caring, and socially conscious members of society" – and with the inclusion of each of the three spirits within the story, "Warmth, generosity, and, overall goodwill [overcame] Scrooge’s bitter apathy as he encounters and learns from his memory, [understands] the ability to empathize, and, [realizes] his fear of death." In a nutshell, Ebenezer Scrooge is able to go from being a coldhearted, lonely man to a vibrant, charitable man overnight, literally. He received his wakeup call and reached his turning point during a series of life-reflections and a string of dug-up memories. Whether the encounters were real or merely a very vivid dream, they were still enough to spark a desire to change in an extremely rigid man – thus showing that even the most selfish and villainous of individuals have the ability to redeem themselves and change for the better. In this case, this transformation causes a strong desire to help people and make positive contributions in their lives – hence, a "villain-turned-hero."

Below is a video clip taken from the 1999 version of A Christmas Carol, starring Patrick Stewart. This clip is from the end of the movie during which it is Christmas Day and Ebenezer Scrooge begins his new, charitable, and, gratifying life.

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Stanley Kowalski: The Villain Who We Love to Hate

In my opinion, although villains are representative of evil and everything that it stands for, a successful villain still has the ability to reach out to and touch people, in some way or another. Whether it is fear, sympathy, pity, etc., a villain evokes some sort of an emotion within people and, in a way, reaches out to people and affects them. At times, we might even be able to relate, on some level, to villains – or at least have an understanding from where it is that they are coming. Or at other times, we might never form an understanding as to the intentions and the motives of a villain. Regardless, one thing is for sure – villains form a hold on us and cause us to subconsciously react in inadvertent ways. For example, we could, unintentionally, be so incredibly moved by the actions of a villain that we might actually grow to admire him or her, not necessarily because of his or her actions, but more so because of what he or she represents and the image that is produced. That being said, meet Stanley Kowalski from Tennessee Williams' play, A Streetcar Named Desire: Exhibit A.

Taking place during the late 1940's in a run-down, working class district of New Orleans, A Streetcar Named Desire opens with a showcase of Stanley Kowalski as both an egalitarian and the portrait of the perfect male prototype for that specific time period. He is faithful to his friends, proud of his Polish heritage, and, shows a love for his wife, Stella, that is absolutely awe-provoking. However, at the same time, Stanley has, time and time again, been referred to as a character who possesses an intensely "€¦animalistic physical vigor that is [more than] evident in his love of work, of fighting, and, of sex" with his main amusements being "€¦gambling, bowling, sex, and, drinking."

All of these animalistic and brutish qualities of Stanley are especially exposed after Stella's sister, Blanche, decides to make an unannounced visit to the home of Stanley and Stella. Right away, Stanley begins to look down on and form an intense hatred for Blanche because she is "€¦a relic from a defunct social hierarchy" and had an aristocratic past that she still has a tendency to showboat. Also, she was seen as a prostitute in her hometown because of her various liaisons and sexual encounters, not to mention the relations that she had with one of her seventeen-year-old students. Therefore, Stanley sees her as toxic, untrustworthy, and, he by no means, appreciates the fact that she constantly makes it apparent that she thinks that she is better than him and Stella; not to mention the fact that she consistently talks down to Stanley and openly labels him as being primitive, ape-like, and, bestial – all while demeaning his Polish roots by calling him such offensive names as a "Polack." As a result, not surprisingly, Blanche becomes Stanley's target and force to beat for the remainder of the play.

Throughout the play, it is obvious that both Stanley and Blanche are fighting for Stella. Stanley wants his wife to remain on his side and continue being the passive, supportive wife that she is to him. On the other hand, Blanche wants Stella to leave Stanley in hopes that she will return with Blanche back to their childhood days of wealth and luxury. Stanley notices these motives of Blanche and relentlessly stops at nothing to ruin Blanche and win the ultimate prize – Stella.

With alcoholic and abusive tendencies towards his pregnant wife, Stanley, by no means, has the patience for Blanche that Stella has. With the intention of making Blanche's life a living nightmare, Stanley goes to great lengths to make sure that she is not getting her way. He exposes information that he discovers about Blanche's past to both Stella and to Blanche's newfound lover and friend of Stanley's, Mitch, subsequently sabotaging the relationship between Blanche and Mitch. He constantly criticizes her, he buys her a bus ticket back home for her birthday in order to rid her from his home, and, towards the end of the play, he rapes her while he is in a drunken stupor. The most unnerving part about all of this is that, in the midst of all of his fits of aggression and proofs of dominance, he does not show the slightest bit of remorse and sympathy for Blanche. All he wants is to see her squirm.

It is at the very end of the play that the constant battle between Stanley and Blanche comes to an immediate conclusion. The play ends with Blanche falling into a state of extreme psychosis and delirium and, as a result, is taken away to a mental institution – an executive decision unanimously made by the members of the household. This, of course, means that the villain, Stanley, has prevailed. Stella obviously sided with her husband, thus endowing upon Stanley the trophy that he constantly sought throughout the entire ordeal. Not only that, but Stanley also succeeded because he had won the prolonged war against his enemy and was able to proudly retain his position as the dominant, "€¦social leveler," that he had always been. The play so poignantly comes to an ultimate end with an image of Stanley, Stella, and, the new baby – the seamless American family in the 1940's, or so one might think.

It is pretty obvious and can easily be argued that Stanley Kowalski is a villain. From his constant string of verbal and physical abuse, to the ultimate extreme act of raping his sister-in-law, Stanley is infamously known as one of the most aggressively dominating characters in American theatre. However, Stanley's ability to do a complete 360-degree rotation and all of a sudden turn on the charm and win-over Stella, (no matter how aggressive he might be towards her), makes him a villain who, in my opinion, has the potential to be rather lovable. Or maybe my admiration for Stanley Kowalski purely stems from the fact that I have a tendency to associate the character with the stunning Marlon Brando. Regardless, Stanley Kowalski will always be a villain who, with the tiniest smile and faintest bat of the eye, could become an image of desire. The title of the play does not lie.

Below is a video clip from the 1951 film, A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Marlon Brando as Stanley Kowalski, Vivien Leigh as Blanche, and, Kim Hunter as Stella. The video really does a great job showcasing the rollercoaster ride of Stanley's moods – charming and pleasant to aggressive and abusive, not to mention how the smallest push could be enough to completely set him off. The hateful relationship between Stanley and Blanche is also very well-represented while he completely ignores her presence at the dinner table.

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Timothy McVeigh: An American Terrorist

Often when one person sees a villain another person sees a hero. However, there are some individuals whose actions are so heinous that most if not all of society views them as evil. One example of this is Timothy McVeigh. McVeigh was the mastermind behind the Oklahoma City bombing, which was one of the worst terrorist attacks in the United States of America.

McVeigh was a withdrawn child. He was frequently bullied in school and had only one girlfriend his entire life. He struggled academically although he did show promise in computer programming. McVeigh joined the army at the age of twenty. He served during the first Gulf War and was honorably discharged in 1992. McVeigh had a strong interest in guns, which had lead him into the army. He would write letters to local newspapers and congressman opposing firearm regulations. He would also rail against taxes and the government in general. These ideas would later surface and be the main catalyst for his attacks.

As time progressed McVeigh's ideas about firearms became more and more radical. He quit the National Rifle Association, the nation's premier gun lobby, because he felt their stance was too weak. He also traveled out to Arizona to look for property that would be safe from nuclear attacks. McVeigh started to learn how to make rudimentary explosive devices with the chemicals found in common household products. As his paranoia toward the government increased so did his rhetoric. It was only a matter of time before he would take action against what he thought was a tyrannical government.

On April 19, 1995 McVeigh shifted from words to actions. He attacked a federal office building in Oklahoma City because he saw federal officials as soldier trampling the Constitution. He loaded a truck full of 5,000 pounds of explosives and drove it to the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. McVeigh set the fuse and fled. The bomb exploded about five minutes later. The explosion killed 168 people and injured 450, including 19 children who were at a day care in the building.

Perhaps beyond the devastation that McVeigh caused was his cold and often callous attitude toward the victims and their families. He stated "To these people in Oklahoma who have lost a loved one, I’m sorry but it happens every day€¦.I’m not going to go into that courtroom, curl into a fetal ball and cry just because the victims want me to do that." McVeigh was sentenced to execution for his crimes but he still showed no interest in repenting. He seemed to welcome death saying that even with his execution the score would be "168 to 1″, meaning this his kill count would be higher. McVeigh is truly evil and a prime example of a villain. He was cold, calculating, and ruthless. Not only did he cause the death of over one hundred innocent people, but he continued to justify is actions up until his death. You would be hard pressed to find many who do not see him as villain.

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Napoleon: Revolutionarily Villainous

Although there were many major contributors to the French Revolution, none have contributed more to it and yet few, if any, revolutionaries have destroyed more of its central ideals than Napoleon Bonaparte. He started training in military school as an artillery officer and the French Revolution was his first test. He saved the Convention from insurrection and was, in result, promoted and given command of the French army that was fighting in Italy against Austria. Napoleon took even greater power by the 1799 coup d'etat€”that of a military dictator. But Napoleon, in his greed, wanted more. So in December of 1802, he crowned himself emperor of France. During his time of rule of France, Napoleon showed that he was a child of the revolution because he upheld many of its ideals. While Napoleon was a child of the revolution because he restored the early revolutionaries' economic and social policies, he destroyed the ideals by nullifying the people's voice in politics, in newspapers, and in other forms of expression and for this, he can be considered a villain of the Revolution's ideals.

Napoleon, while giving the people what they desired, also took away the freedom of speech, press, and their voice in politics. Napoleon elected himself to the position of emperor in 1802. This provided France with a strong, centralized government. Although it seems like he was doing this for only the benefit of France, he also dominated as the emperor. Napoleon's declaration of emperor gave him supreme power with no governmental checks. He took away the peoples' voice in politics, something that the people strived for during the revolution. Napoleon also severely limited the peoples' voice through press controls. In 1799, the number of newspapers in France was over 60, but in 1814, that number dropped to four. All printers and booksellers had to swear oaths of allegiance to Napoleon. People could not express their negative ideas about France because of this. Napoleon destroyed the revolutionaries' dreams of having free speech and press and can be considered a villain as a result.

The Code Napoleon provided many people with benefits but the workers, for the most part, were denied certain rights. The Napoleonic Code denied collective bargaining, which cheated the workers out of money because they could not negotiate wages. The Napoleonic Code also outlawed trade unions. These two laws prevented the workers from joining together. Napoleon wanted supreme rule over everyone and the fact that the workers cannot change their wages or hours proves this. Napoleon wanted nothing to change or fluctuate during his rule. The Napoleonic Code prevented workers form joining together and thus destroyed the chance of people making more money and the revolutionary ideal of advancing through society.

Napoleon Bonaparte was most certainly a child of the French revolution and kept many of the revolution's ideals such as improving economy and putting an end to serfdom; but he also destroyed the ideal of a completely free people. Napoleon Bonaparte increased the economy through improvements with bank and in commerce. He created social equality through the classes with meritocracy and abolished of serfdom. He kept these ideals of the revolution but he destroyed many others such as the ideal of freedom of speech and press. Napoleon Bonaparte was a child of the revolution in so many ways, yet he destroyed many revolutionary ideals during his reign as emperor. He is also notorious for leading the French into many wars, which resulted in millions dead and a bankrupt France. For all of these reasons and his greed for power, Napoleon may be considered a villain.

Violence, like Clockwork

Violence is something that most sane people disagree with. Violence does not solve problems rather it creates them. Alex, in Anthony Burgess's A Clockwork Orange, is a troubled teen who sees violence as a way of life. At first, a reader might think that Alex is a horrible human being with no moral code what-so-ever and thus the reader grows to hate Alex. Anthony Burgess, however, makes Alex a little bit friendlier through Alex's use of slang, Nadsat. This Nadsat is the way that Alex and his hoodlum friends speak. This slang is very juvenile with words like "tolchok" that translate to mean knife. This language gives the reader the sense that Alex and his "droogs" (gang members) are not 15 and 16 years old but five or six. This language has an interesting effect on the reader. Without the Nadsat, Alex would be perceived as a menace to society and readers would feel that he should be punished with a slow and painful death. But with the Nadsat, the reader sympathizes with Alex and feels that he just needs some guidance. The Nadsat makes the horrific violence seem like a game. Alex, while showing his love for violence in his participation of repulsive acts, is given pity by the reader because of Nadsat. Nonetheless, Alex is a cruel villain who shows no remorse for his actions.

Alex loves violence and this love for violence is shown through his use of Nadsat. The greatest glory in violence for Alex is when he is attacking and mauling someone, not fighting competitively against him or her. Alex enjoys the slaughter, rape, and otherwise massacre of his victims. This infatuation with violence can be shown through his language during these attacks. When Alex and his gang find an older man with books under his arm, Alex and his gang immediately descend upon the old man. Alex shows his passion for violence when he recounts the scene beginning when "Dim yanked out his false zoobies (teeth), upper and lower. He threw these down on the pavement and then I treated them to the old bootcrush€¦The old veck (guy) began to make sort of chumbling (mumbling) shooms (noises) –€˜wuf waf wof'-so Georgie let go€¦and just let him have one in the toothless rot with his ringy fist€¦and then Pete kicks him lovely in his pot (mouth)" (7). The language that Alex uses is very entertaining and he is definitely having fun doing what he is doing. When people have fun doing things, they usually describe it with as much detail as possible, trying to relive the moment and allow the listeners to live the moment as well. The same holds true for Alex. He describes these acts with great detail, showing his pure enjoyment of the violence.

His love for violence is also shown in his description of blood. Blood is the goal that Alex tries to reach each time he commits an act of violence. During the same scene when Alex attacks the old man, Georgie punches the man in the mouth and "then out comes the blood, my brothers, real beautiful. So all we did then was to pull his outer platties (clothes) off, stripping him down to his vest and long underpants" (7). Another instance of the glorification of blood is when Alex and company are robbing a store and to keep a woman from screaming, "she had to be tolchocked (hit) proper with one of those weights for the scales, and then a fair tap with a crowbar they had for opening the cases, and that brought the red out like an old friend (10). This quote shows how simplistic the horrid violence seems to the reader. When Alex says that the lady was hit with a "fair tap", he makes it seem like he really tapped her, when in fact, he bludgeoned her with it. Calling the blood "beautiful" and an "old friend" shows how obsessed Alex is with the blood. Nadsat glorifies the blood and also shows how important it is to Alex. The Nadsat also makes the violence seem like a game in which Alex is surely having fun. This game that Alex plays is certainly an awful one and exemplifies evil and cruelty in a most villainous form.

Below is a clip from the 1971 film.
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The Wicked Witch of the West: The self-explanatory villain.

The Wicked Witch is one of the most recognizable Villains of movie history. She is one of only nine other females that appear on the AFI's Top 100 Villains list. She is the highest-ranking female villain, and she certainly deserves her rank.

Just by looking at her name, there is little question as to the nature of the Wicked Witch. She has become the archetype for wickedness and is an easily identifiable image of evil. She is cruel, manipulative, and cold – all the features that one would expect from one who is wicked. Most dictionaries defined wickedness as being synonymous with evil, and we can certainly see this reflected in the Witch's behavior in The Wizard of Oz.

In the Wizard of Oz, The Wicked Witch of the West has conquered the Winkies and treats them as slaves. She remains in power by using her army of flying monkeys that do her bidding. She uses the fear of her cruelty in order to stay in power – and prior to Dorothy arriving in Oz, the terrors of the Wicked Witch had simply been a part of life for the citizens of Oz.

But things begin to change when Dorothy arrives in Oz. We get our first taste of the Witch's wickedness when she fails to show any sort of remorse for her dead sister. Instead she simply appears angry to have been cheated out of the enchanted ruby red slippers.

The Witch immediately comes up with a number of plans to steal the slippers and eliminate Dorothy in the process. However, she finds herself foiled time and time again as Dorothy makes friends on her way to see the Wizard. These series of events all reveal the inherent evil and true wickedness of the Witch who craves nothing but power. Greed is her primary motivation.

The Witch is unsuccessful at stopping Dorothy from reaching the Wizard, but in a twist of fate the Wizard charges Dorothy with disposing of the Witch. Dorothy is captured by the Flying Monkeys as she tries to sneak into the Witch's castle. The Witch tries to get the slippers by threatening to drown Toto, but it is soon obvious that the only way to obtain the slippers is to kill Dorothy. Again, this scene reflects the wickedness of the Witch as she uses the life of Toto as ransom to obtain what she wants.

The Wicked Witch doesn't know how best to dispose of Dorothy and take the Ruby Slippers for herself, so she locks Dorothy away instead. During this time, Dorothy's friends attempt a rescue, but they are cornered by the Wicked Witch's guards. The Witch decides that they all must die, but Dorothy will die last. She will watch her friends suffer and suffer in the process. She sets the Scarecrow on fire, and in an attempt to extinguish the flames, Dorothy throws water on the Witch which causes the Witch to melt. Upon realizing what has happened, the guards that had once been under the Witch's control rejoice – another reflection of the true evil of the Witch.

Throughout the film, there is no redeeming goodness in the Witch, as with many villains in film. She is illustrated as truly wicked, and never wavers from this characterization. Of course, for anyone who has seen the musical Wicked, the perception of the Wicked Witch changes entirely, but in the film itself there is no justification for the Witch's evil actions earning her the title of villain.

Then again, perhaps all the Wicked Witch needed was a friend, as illustrated in the video below.

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