Boy next door (stock character)
 | This article possibly contains original research. (December 2007) |
The boy next door is an archetype of storytelling. He is often invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming, or "average" masculinity; he is the male counterpart of the "girl next door." He is a young man who is just discovering his physical and spiritual strengths, and still maintains an innocent wonder about them.
There are a whole set of typical relations he may maintain in the story. The boy next door is often, but not always, the protagonist of a story. As such, his innocence, sincerity, and common origin will often be contrasted with the cleverness, hypocrisy, and privilege of the antagonist. The boy next door may have a sidekick, who shows somewhat less promise than the boy next door; this will serve to heighten his appeal by contrast. When the boy next door is a sidekick himself, he is often employed to contrast his fresh-faced innocence against the more world wise view of the protagonist. In this scenario, he will often do something well-intentioned but daring which puts him at risk, forcing the protagonist into a course of action to save him.
Often a femme fatale or a girl next door will be pulled between love for the boy next door and her desire for a luxurious life offered by the villain. A boy next door may serve as a love interest for a female protagonist. In this case, he is most likely someone the protagonist has known for most of her life, but in the past couldn't appreciate because of her age. As a love interest, the boy next door is always physically close, yet at the same time detached from the protagonist. He is the sweet boy the protagonist sees everyday, a really great friend, or the perfect boy to bring home to her parents. He is often a virgin. Due to his innocent manner, many erotic fantasies use TBND purely as a pretense behind which a real man is secretly very sexual.