October Prompt: Are Villains and Anti-Heroes Necessary?

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

October is a month of changes. Summer slides into fall and fall deepens with rich colors on the trees and grass disappears under the avalanche of fallen leaves. The thing about seasons is, in addition to marking the changes of the year, that they provide a contrast to each other (well, except where seasons are the exception and not the rule).

What about books, and stories? How would it be in our books if we didn't have the villain or antihero in the story providing a contrast to our hero/heroine? What would be different? For example, in the Harry Potter books, we have Lord Voldemort, a classic villain. Can you imagine the books without Voldemort? How would they be? Would they still be enthralling?

Then there are the books of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and specifically, Professor Moriarty. Sherlock Holmes confronts him in The Final Problem (and he is mentioned in other stories). Are the stories about Mr. Holmes as great without having that villain in them?

What book, or books, do you think of, where the Villain (or Anti-Hero) play a very important part in the story. Are they needed in the story or could it go along fine without them?

Your write-up needs to be at least 200 words to count towards Beans (and any possible award)! If you post a graphic, please keep it to 600x600 or smaller, and write a brief description underneath what the graphic depicts.

You will receive 20 Beans when you post. Any replies in here, through the school year, will be credited towards a possible award. As always, please keep to HOL appropriate sources for your post.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces).

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[River Fenwick]

The first book that came to my mind for this was Matilda by Roald Dahl. The deemed villain in this book has been described as a "gigantic holy terror" in the book, being the headmistress of Crunchem Hall Elementary School, Miss Agatha Trunchbull. Miss Trunchbull was ruthless in overseeing the school, expecting young children to behave with discipline and punishing those who did. In fact, there was a device used in some of these punishments. It was a tall but narrow cupboard with nails and glass embedded in its walls and door to force children to stand in the small space without being able to sit or lean against these walls. The device was called The Chokey. Miss Trunchbull seemingly had it out for Matilda from the very beginning, ignoring Matilda's high intelligence and potential to be moved to a more advanced class that would've better suited her needs due to Matilda's supposed mischief-making. Luckily, Matilda is an extraordinary character who manages to take all the negativity from the headmistress and turn it into motivation. She exponentially grows as a character in her strengths and abilities due to Miss Trunchbull's mistreatment. While many of those in the story would be better off if Miss Trunchbull didn't exist, it was needed to aid Matilda's growth in the story.


4.9.2025 - Beans sent - Tarma