An antagonist thesis is an essay topic idea that uses an antagonist (the one who is opposed to the protagonist, or hero) as the focus of the essay's argument Essentially, the thesis of this type of essay will be to explain why the antagonist's actions and opinions are wrong, and why the protagonist's actions and opinions are right. The goal of this essay is to convince the reader that the antagonist is wrong and the protagonist is right, and to discuss how their different views and beliefs contribute to how the conflict plays out.
The five best examples of antagonist thesis essay topics are as follows:
1. Analyzing the Role of Darth Vader in Star Wars: A New Hope: Using the villainous antagonist Darth Vader as the focus, this essay could examine the character and his actions throughout the movie to measure his impact on the success or failure of the protagonist, Luke Skywalker.
2. An Examination of Severus Snape in the Harry Potter Series: This essay could look at how the actions of Severus Snape, one of the main antagonists in the series, create obstacles for protagonist Harry Potter and drive the story's conflict.
3. Exploring the Antagonist Role of Thomas Shelby in the Peaky Blinders: Investigating the actions of Thomas Shelby, the main antagonist of the critically acclaimed Peaky Blinders TV series, this essay could assess how his decisions and beliefs challenge the protagonist (Arthur Shelby) and his gang.
4. A Critical Analysis of the Joker in The Dark Knight: A deep dive into the Joker, one of the most iconic cinematic antagonists of all time, this essay could examine how the character's complex motivations and behavior contribute to the conflict between him and Batman.
5. Examining the Impact of the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland: Taking a critical look at the Red Queen, an antagonist from Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic, this essay could discuss how her actions and motivations shape the story's conflict and impact Alice’s journey.