Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 30

Thread: Yang Guo: Hero or Anti-Hero?

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
    Posts
    1,530

    Default Yang Guo: Hero or Anti-Hero?

    Which one?

  2. #2
    Senior Member Ren Ying Ying's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    hell in the middle of nowhere
    Posts
    3,240

    Default

    hero...he did have the whole "i must protect" "i must do the right" thing going on

    what a sell-out

  3. #3
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    24,366

    Default

    He was a bit of both. Depending on his state of mind and the particular chapter he's appearing in, he might be being one or the other.

  4. #4
    Senior Member batmankiller's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    444

    Default

    In the end he was a hero.. i don't think we should count his childhood and while he was growing up.. since we count a person's MA at peak.. we should judge a character at the end when they are fully developed and their meaning in the novel is fully expressed.

  5. #5
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    24,366

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by batmankiller
    In the end he was a hero.. i don't think we should count his childhood and while he was growing up.. since we count a person's MA at peak.. we should judge a character at the end when they are fully developed and their meaning in the novel is fully expressed.
    Pretty much all the protagonists look pretty good by the end of their stories. To really give a fair judgment, the entire life must be considered. As a boy, Kiu Fung once murdered a doctor. As a young man, Gwok Jing abetted Genghis Khan in a series of disastrous wars. Got to take the bad along with the good.

  6. #6
    Senior Member sarakoth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Where DO I live?
    Posts
    1,549

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    Pretty much all the protagonists look pretty good by the end of their stories. To really give a fair judgment, the entire life must be considered. As a boy, Kiu Fung once murdered a doctor. As a young man, Gwok Jing abetted Genghis Khan in a series of disastrous wars. Got to take the bad along with the good.
    OF COURSE THEY ALL DO *cough* Wei Xiao Bao *cough*

  7. #7
    Senior Member yittz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    3,943

    Default

    I think what they do later in life is more important than when they are growing up, physically and mind maturity wise.
    Member of HYS fanclub -> click here to join group.

    Member of TC fanclub.

  8. #8
    Senior Member GuGu's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    YunJae Heaven
    Posts
    5,161

    Default

    Hero and the most devoted lover.

  9. #9
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    24,366

    Default

    I maintain: if we don't evaluate each of the protagonists by EVERYTHING we know about them, we only have a partial picture of the characters.

  10. #10
    Senior Member ghostdarTeal'c's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Currently in Moss, Silver. Next stop....still Moss, Silver
    Posts
    4,330

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    if we don't evaluate each of the protagonists by EVERYTHING we know about them, we only have a partial picture of the characters.



    same with Riddick (geesh, i keep bringing him up!) in the end of Pitch Black, he did go back to rescue the others, heck, he even risked his life to save them....but the fact stands that he's an anti-hero.

    Yang Guo? he's a bit of both, IMO. like RYY said, he's still have this 'i must do the right thing', 'i must protect' sense, although sometimes his vengeance eluded this senses, he would still pull thru as the former wins.....am not looking at the end result (if i do, i might as well put Riddick in the hero group!) but throughout the story im thinking he's more of a hero than anti-hero.
    Last edited by ghostdarTeal'c; 04-21-07 at 01:43 AM.

  11. #11
    Senior Member PJ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    18,425

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    I maintain: if we don't evaluate each of the protagonists by EVERYTHING we know about them, we only have a partial picture of the characters.
    I think I will agree. If we only evaluated characters by their final outcome, then Jiumozhi will be a super kind monk, Murong Bo would be a benevolent man, and even Jinlun Guoshi (3rd edition) would be a life-saving hero.

    Since Yang Guo went through some substantial character transformations, from a mischevious child to a heroic adult, it does him justice that we consider the whole package in describing Yang Guo, because each phase of his life WAS Yang Guo.
    忽见柳荫下两个小孩子在哀哀痛哭,瞧模样正是武敦儒、武修文兄弟。郭芙大声叫道:「喂,你们在干甚麽?」武 修文回头见是郭芙,哭道:「我们在哭,你不见麽?」

  12. #12
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    24,366

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by PJ
    I think I will agree. If we only evaluated characters by their final outcome, then Jiumozhi will be a super kind monk, Murong Bo would be a benevolent man, and even Jinlun Guoshi (3rd edition) would be a life-saving hero.

    Since Yang Guo went through some substantial character transformations, from a mischevious child to a heroic adult, it does him justice that we consider the whole package in describing Yang Guo, because each phase of his life WAS Yang Guo.
    Among all the protagonists, Yeung Gor probably struggled the most with the concept of heroism before he finally arrived at it. With each of the other protagonists, one really never has any doubts that each of them will ultimately choose to be heroes. In Yeung Gor's case, the final outcome wasn't decided until rather late in the story. He wavered and stumbled along the path of heroism numerous times before finally settling on the course.

    Some people find this characteristic of Yeung Gor's particularly compelling; he was the only Jin Yong protagonist who really spent most of his story struggling with the ideal of heroism and how far he was willing to commit himself to it.

  13. #13
    Senior Member MrIllusion's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    626

    Default

    Err wait... if you're using the textbook definition of 'Anti-Hero' then YG is definitely an anti-hero. The original definition refers to 'a protagonist or notable figure who is conspicuously lacking in heroic qualities'.

    However, modern usage of the term has been expanded to include generally 'heroic' characters who either use questionable methods (Batman, Wolverine), or have some serious character flaw (Cloud Strife of FFVII, Bu Jingyun in Wind&Cloud).

    YG definitely fits both criteria.
    The Truth is out there
    I say we leave it there...

  14. #14
    Senior Member Bangs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Home sweet home
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    YG is a devoted lover as Gugu1995 said, being a hero is only second priority to him.

  15. #15
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    24,366

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bangs
    YG is a devoted lover as Gugu1995 said, being a hero is only second priority to him.
    That's irrelevant to the discussion, however. Obvious, but irrelevant.

  16. #16
    Senior Member Bangs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Home sweet home
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    That's irrelevant to the discussion, however. Obvious, but irrelevant.
    Not quite, the topic is about YG being a hero or antihero. My post points out that YG is a hero but has a higher priority. This higher priority (being a devoted lover that is) occassionally made him decide to go against good people. But despite having the mind to do such things, he couldn't find the heart to do so. So all in all, YG is a hero.

  17. #17
    Moderator Ken Cheng's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Posts
    24,366

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bangs
    Not quite, the topic is about YG being a hero or antihero. My post points out that YG is a hero but has a higher priority. This higher priority (being a devoted lover that is) occassionally made him decide to go against good people. But despite having the mind to do such things, he couldn't find the heart to do so. So all in all, YG is a hero.
    That's tortured logic, if I've ever seen it.

    It also gives me this mental image of Yeung Gor, saying in a high, Michael Jackson-like voice, "I'm a lovva, not a fighta!"

  18. #18
    Senior Member Bangs's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Home sweet home
    Posts
    1,628

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Ken Cheng
    That's tortured logic, if I've ever seen it.

    It also gives me this mental image of Yeung Gor, saying in a high, Michael Jackson-like voice, "I'm a lovva, not a fighta!"
    Well, that IMO is what YG is. Hehehe. GJ on the other hand is the "This looks like a job for Super Guo Jing!", then he takes off his shirt to reveal that big SGJ logo and a blue shirt inside.

  19. #19
    Member Humplewumps's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    147

    Default

    Never viewed YG as an anti-hero. He is a bit unconventional but not anti-hero in my book.

  20. #20
    Member WuxiaGem's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    164

    Default

    Wei Xiao Bao would be more of an anti-hero than Yang Guo...

    To me, an anti-hero in the wuxia genre should be someone who lacks the qualities that usually make one a hero: courage, physical prowess/fighting skills, and good morals. Yang Guo have all three. While he may not be an idealist who wants to save the world like Guo Jing, he is by no means an anti-hero.

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 5
    Last Post: 03-08-21, 09:43 AM
  2. Is Xiao Feng or Guo Jing an Epic Hero?
    By Dennis Chen in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 22
    Last Post: 06-22-10, 11:35 AM
  3. Any hero that never lied?
    By PJ in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 10-04-05, 03:41 AM
  4. Replies: 15
    Last Post: 07-16-05, 05:40 PM
  5. Yang Guo as Romantic (Byronic) Hero
    By Dennis Chen in forum Wuxia Fiction
    Replies: 29
    Last Post: 12-09-04, 12:35 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •