Antihero

In literature and film, an anti-hero is a fictional character that has some characteristics of a villain or an outsider, but is nevertheless portrayed somewhat sympathetically. In particular, an anti-hero may have enough heroic qualities and intentions to align them with the heroes in the readers' minds.

Anti-heroes can be awkward, antisocial, alienated, obnoxious, passive, pitiful, obtuse, or just ordinary; but they are always, in some fundamental way, flawed, unqualified, or failed heroes. When the anti-hero is a central character in a work of fiction the work will frequently deal with the effect their flawed character has on the other people they meet. Additionally the work may depict how their character alters over time, either leading to punishment, un-heroic success or redemption.

History

Many modern anti-heroes possess, or even encapsulate, the rejection of traditional values symptomatic of Modernist literature in general, as well as the disillusion felt after World War II.

Previous booms in flawed heroes include: pulp fiction and noir detective stories of the mid-20th century; the darker themed Victorian literature of the late 19th century; and the Elizabethan tragedies of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare.

One archetypical character, the assassin or spy, has changed in literature and popular culture during the course of the 20th century from a villain to the subject of the sub-genre of spy fiction. Some spies and assassins are still villainous, while others are heroic. Some few fall into the middle as one of the established archetypes of anti-hero.

In the late 20th and early 21st century, comic books and graphic novels featured a boom of anti-hero characters (also called "dark heroes") partly as a result of two sub-genres of fiction in the late 20th century: magic realism, originating in South America and cyberpunk, originating in the United States.

The continuing popularity of the anti-hero in modern literature and popular culture may be based on the recognition that he is fraught with human frailties, unlike the archetypes of the white hatted cowboy and the noble warrior, and is therefore more accessible to readers and viewers.

Types

The vigilante

Arguably the most popular type of anti-hero is the vigilante. Usually, these are individuals with the same goals as a traditional hero, but for whom "the ends justify the means". Rather than relying on the proper legal channels, the character "takes the law into their own hands" and pursues justice in their own manner. This character type probably owes some of its popularity to the comic book superhero.

In many works of fiction the vigilante is a law enforcement officer or other official, deepening the conflicting nature of the anti-hero.

Two well-known examples:

• Batman from comic book series of the same name
• Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) in the 1971 film Dirty Harry

The developing hero

A second type of anti-hero is one who starts off possessing unlikeable traits such as prejudice, immaturity, cockiness, a single-minded focus on things such as wealth; status; or revenge or even being a criminal. As the story develops, the character grows and changes, and eventually becomes sympathetic and rises to the occasion to become heroic in every sense of the word.

Two well-known examples:

• Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from the Star Wars films
• Conan the Cimmerian from the stories by Robert E. Howard

The drifter

A third type of anti-hero is one who feels helpless, distrusts conventional values and is often unable to commit to any ideals, but accepts (and often relishes) their status as an outsider. The cyberpunk, western, noir, and jidaigeki genres also make extensive use of this character-type.

Two well-known examples: Shadow the Hedgehog from various Italic textSonic the HedgehogItalic textgames

• Shane (Alan Ladd) from the 1953 film Shane

The failure

Another type of anti-hero is a character who constantly moves from one disappointment in his life to the next, without end, with only occasional and fleeting successes. But they persist and even attain a form of success through persistence and their determination to never give up or change their goals. These characters often keep a deep-seated optimism that one day they will succeed (though usually in the end they still meet with failure, the ultimate fate of a traditional villain).

Two well-known examples:

• Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman.
• Don Quixote, the main character of the novel by the same name, by Miguel de Cervantes.

The flawed everyman

Sometimes, an anti-hero is an ordinary man or woman who completely lacks any particular heroic aspects, and also features one or two highly negative personality traits such as a varying degree of greed, selfishness, cowardice or laziness. While such characters are not nearly despicable enough to be classified as villains, they lack any of the classical heroic traits such as bravery or self-sacrifice that normally distinguish heroes (even flawed heroes) from the general population. Typically, due to circumstances beyond their control, such characters are thrust into extraordinary situations that one would normally expect a traditional hero to deal with.

Such characters often behave immorally or in a cowardly fashion, and do not always have good intentions, which distinguishes them from the typical everyman or reluctant heroic characters, yet they lack the actual malice demonstrated by "villains"

Two well-known examples:

• Homer Simpson (Dan Castellaneta) from The Simpsons
• Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) from All in the Family

The villain

Occasionally the central character in a work has no redeeming features at all. The character seems to be a complete villain but for the fact that the story's focus is entirely upon this character and other characters are so insignificant, weak or flawed that they offer no respite. The reader or viewer is forced to sympathize or relate to a wholly unlikeable character and to directly confront their feeling for this kind of 'hero'.

Two well-known examples:

• Alex DeLarge from Anthony Burgess' novel A Clockwork Orange
• William Shakespeare's Richard III

The noble criminal

Another variation of this approach is a character who is, by traditional sensibility, a criminal, but who is actually an honorable person, exploiting people who are corrupt beyond redemption, sometimes with comic effect.

Two well-known examples of this type:

• Robin Hood
• The Scarlet Pimpernel

The monster

Taking this point even further is the monster as hero. Although his deeds and nature might be horrific, we can identify with his struggle against fate or injustice.

Two well-known examples of this type:

• Marv from Sin City
• The Vampire Lestat from Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and other novels

See also

• Byronic hero
• Hero
• Tragic flaw
• Tragic hero
• Vigilante
• Villain

References

• Nobel e-Museum: The Nobel Prize in Literature 1976 Presentation Speech by Karl Ragnar Gierow
• Thomson Gale e-research and educational publishing:Glossary A

External links

• Salon.com: Anti-heroes (May 15, 2000)
• The Gallery of Anti-heroes and Villains: What is an Anti-Hero?