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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29808
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

What makes anti-heroes interesting characters to read about?

To find that out, let's compare the morally flawed anti-hero with the cliché of the perfectly virtuous hero.

- **They do things the audience wouldn't dare to do.** Be mean to people who annoy you. Disrespect authority figures. Indulge in guilty pleasures like casual sex and recreational drugs. Give bad people the punishment they deserve. Ignore the traffic rules. These are things many people in your audience would _like_ to do, but can't because they are nice and civilized people and society tells them it's wrong to do these things. Living out these fantasies through a sympathetic viewpoint character can be an enjoyable experience.
- **They are in danger of moral failure.** Offer Hero an immoral temptation, and he will laugh at you. It would be a gross violation of his moral code, so he won't be tempted for a second. The audience knows it, so this situation isn't exciting at all. Offer Anti-Hero a temptation, and she might seriously consider taking it. She will have an actual internal conflict and the audience can't be sure how she will resolve it.
- **They have to live with the immoral decisions they make.** The hero doesn't take moral missteps, so she can sleep at night. The only thing she can possibly be held accountable for is not being competent enough. But such critique can be easily dismissed as unreasonable, because after all she was doing as best as she could, and you really can't demand more of her. But because Anti-Hero is allowed to make morally wrong decisions, he also has to experience the consequences. He has to face the people he wronged. His critics can not be dismissed that easily, because they have a point. And even worse, the anti-hero has to face his own conscience.
- **They have more room for character development.** The hero is already a perfectly virtuous person. There is nothing he could learn or experience which would make him even better. Not so the anti-hero. Over the course of the story, she can overcome her vices and learn to be a better person. 

Original score: 4