Anti-heroes are protagonists who lack many of the common characteristics associated with heroism. Some of the key characteristics of a traditional hero are bravery, selflessness, intellect and strength. Anti-heroes tend to have some but lack benevolence. They might be brave but not selfless, strong but not merciful. They do have heroic traits but in keeping with their own personal motives and self-preservation.
Ever since the beginning of literary writings there have been anti-heroes but now they have become more common and popular than they were. They deconstruct the de trope of heroes. They are more of our reflection than characters we aspire to be. Some labelled in literature as anti-heroes are Jay Gatsby, Scarlett O’Hara, Rodion and Romanovich Raskolnikov.
When looking at Jay Gatsby from ‘The Great Gatsby’ we find him to be certain of fitting into the traits of an anti-hero. He may represent the hope of an American dream but he obtained his wealth by dishonourable means through selling illegal liquors. He does all to satisfy his want of Daisy as she represents the elite and anyhow all he wants is to fit in to be classified as an elite in the eyes of Daisy which he does but meets with a tragic end.
Similarly Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov from ‘Crime and Punishment’ is a young, handsome and intelligent student who passing through his hard days of poverty plans and executes the double murder of an old pawnbroker who he has been pawning his possession in order to keep up with the rent and this leads him to also murder her sister who unfortunately just happens to walk in at the wrong time. He kills her to save himself from the pressure of giving rent every month and to justify his theory of him being an extraordinary individual who has all the right to wipe off an obnoxious and disgusting pawnbroker who defrauds the poor and enslaves her own sister and in order to fulfil his wants and justify his stance he does all such wrongful acts.
When we look at the literary character, we find that literature does not have gender imbalance. We have as many as male anti-hero as females. One instance of such is Scarlett O Hara from ‘Gone with the Wind’. She is definitely a woman with beauty and brains but isn’t appreciable when we look into her character. Although she is the prime character of the novel but she lacks high seriousness in her relationships. For her self-motives she even marries her sister’s beau. She is flirtatious and lacks any sense of responsibility which leads to her not having any commitment towards her husbands. Still we can’t help but love her as a classic anti-hero.
Though the anti-heroes may not do the right thing all the time yet the readers are drawn to them. A reader can relate to them as they display more humanity than a regular hero and that makes them an integral part of the story.