Who Are Some Of The Greatest Anti-heroes In English Literature?
For a long time, the main characters in literature were classified as either being a hero or a villain. The traits possessed by a hero would be as follows: courage, honesty, reliability, trustiness, self-sacrifice, patriotism and more. The villain would display characteristics of pure evil such as malevolence, dishonesty, egocentrism, and more. Typical villains are concerned only with promoting their personal goals, usually at the cost of others. However, what if the character lacks the traditional heroic virtues but isn’t a villain either? This question was answered with the emergence of the anti-hero in literature.
The definitions of an anti-hero can be different. According to Richard Willson, “anti-heroes tend to be defined by five characteristics: empathy, humility, self-awareness, flexibility and, finally, an ability to acknowledge uncertainty”; they “tend to be open-minded, not single minded, flexible not dogmatic, sensitive and discerning and humble while remaining focused” (Willson, 2013). Typically ordinary, disillusioned with society, cautious, passive, they are accessible to readers and gain their sympathy. English literature is replete with many illustrations of anti-heros. A few of the perfect examples are: Edward Rochester in “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte; Becky Sharpe in “Vanity Fair” by W.M.Thackeray; Jay Gatsby in “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Leopold Bloom in “Ulysses” by James Joyce; Gollum in “Lord of the Rings” series by J. R. R. Tolkien, etc.
For one, Holden Caulfield from J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” is an excellent example of a typical anti-hero. Holden is a complex character, intelligent, frank, firm, rebellious, emotionally unavailable, and naive (Salinger, 1991). Despite the lack of noble characteristics that most heroes have, readers sympathize with Holden who stays one of literature’s favourite characters.
Let’s take another anti-hero – the bombardier Yossarian from Joseph Heller’s novel “Catch-22.” He doesn’t care about awards or glory, however, he is brave enough to assume that he is “coward” in military terms (Heller, 2011). Yossarian just wants to live his own life and thinks that the war. in “which millions of young men are bombing each other”, is senseless – which makes him attractive to the reader (Heller, 2011). Conclusively, anti-heroes serve a great purpose if used masterly. A typical anti-hero combines both good and evil into one person featuring the real human nature and thus resembles a real person more than any other type of characters in literature does. Bringing the spice and flavor to a plot, they represent social flaws and reflect society’s confusion and ambiguity about morality.
References
1. Willson, R. (2013). Anti Hero. Osca Agency Ltd.
2. Salinger, J.D. (1991). The Catcher in the Rye. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
3. Heller, J. (2011). Catch-22: 50th Anniversary Edition. London: Vintage.
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