From early childhood, we are encouraged to believe there are two sides of things, there is good and then, there is bad. We read (or rather, our parents read us) stories about the dragon and the prince. The witch and the good princess. In all these childhood stories, it is clear to us who is the good character and who is the evil one, there is an obvious line there. But as we grow up, we find the line is more blurred than we used to think. More blurred than we'd like to think, perhaps.
And that's good because that's what makes things interesting. As an artist, I've always been drawn by the flawed character, I've always kinda wanted to give into the dark side, you know? It seems to me that conflicted characters appeal to the reader/viewer far more than straight up good guys.
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The anti-hero, while similar to the byronic, is also quite different when you look at him up close. The anti-hero and the byronic are both outcasts, shunned by society and more often than not, they both have a murky past.. But the anti-hero will always put his best interest first. He doesn't care about the rest of the world, while the byronic hero does. The anti-hero is quite happy to do what is good for him, whereas the byronic hero is not. The byronic hero can't be content because it is in his nature to doubt himself, to find faults in his actions. He will always suffer because he will never be good enough, whereas the anti-hero is always good enough for himself. Basically, the anti-hero is less nice than the byronic hero.
To understand the archetype of the anti-hero better, we ought to look at some classic anti-hero examples.
1. Tyrion Lannister (A Song Of Ice And Fire)
Interestingly enough, he seems to be one of the most loved characters of the series, which only goes to show just how appealing flawed characters can be. While it's easy to see things from Tyrion's point of view (because of his backstory, his father's ongoing hatred towards him for being a dwarf and “killing” his mother and because of all the abuse and mockery he suffers as a result), you can't really claim he's a good guy, can you?
I know, I know, I love him too.
But Tyrion Lannister is a great anti-hero. Note the word hero, so we're still rooting for him in the end. Tyrion is usually driven by selfish impulses and desires, he minds his own interests and does anything he can to get them. He doesn't have many friends and doesn't care about many people, except his brother Jamie (who, funnily enough, is also an anti-hero).
The anti-hero is unpredictable and I'm sure we can all agree so is Tyrion Lannister. He can be good, but he can also be really bad and he's the only one controlling that. He might choose to be nice or he might choose to be bad, maybe just to annoy you.
Tyrion is a particularly nice example because there is just so much to like about him – he's witty, he's funny, he's incredibly intelligent.
2. Becky Sharp (Vanity Fair)
Perhaps you remember the 2004 film adaptation (or perhaps you're watching the currently running TV show Vanity Fair) or indeed, perhaps you've read William Makepeace Thackeray's novel of the same name. Hopefully, you know who I'm talking about – the young poverty-stricken Becky, whose only purpose in life is, basically, to claw her way into high society. She first befriends Amelia Sedley, a young rich girl, and attempts to seduce her super-rich brother, but fails. Later, she goes to work as governess to another rich man, Sir Pitt Crawley, and makes a rather good impression. Sir Pitt's wife eventually dies and the old man proposes marriage to Becky. But she has secretly married his son, which she now regrets, because if she'd known the old woman would die, she would've definitely married the old (much richer) man.
That should tell you enough about Becky's character. Of course, there is much more left of the story – she goes on to cause many other people pain.
And yet, she too is understandable. She is cunning and ruthless, sure, and she only seems to care about herself. But we as readers can understand why, we see the injustice Becky perceives in how her family is poor (her deceased father being an artist and she herself being an intelligent woman) while other, perhaps less deserving people, are rich. She is cruel when she wants to be and good when she wants to be and the fact that she has an understandable backstory and motivation sets her up as another anti-hero.
3. George Costanza (Seinfeld)
I felt the need to lighten the mood a little with this last example. Chances are you've seen at least a couple of Seinfeld episodes, because who hasn't? And it's very possible you know that all the main characters are really anti-heroes, likable though selfish, driven by their own interests, George being the worst of them all. He is utterly selfish and conniving, often trying to concoct a scheme to get himself a better deal in life.
And yet, people like him and relate to him. Many Seinfeld-fans (such as myself) often use Constanza quotes in their day-to-day lives. Again, George is an understandable characters, like all anti-heroes. He may lack morals and do whatever he wants, regardless of how it might impact society, but we see more of ourselves in him than we like to acknowledge...
There are anti-heroes everywhere and in recent years, they've become far more popular than straight-up heroes.
So, who's your favorite anti-hero?
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