10 Antiheroes in Literature That We Love to Hate
“But what I do I do because I like to do.”
Alex; A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
Oh, Alex. Alex! This character (and really this book) is a meditation on the very concept of good and bad and what we impose on other people by trying to define them as such. And so, in many ways, Alex is the ultimate antihero, because he is an archetypal sociopath—capable of the old ultra-violence without missing a beat—and yet also smart, wickedly funny, and a real classical music aficionado. What’s not to like? The violence and mayhem, obviously, but still. What makes this such an amazing character is that, once Alex is (horrifically) reformed into a decent enough fellow, you can’t help but want him to revert to his old violent ways. Because he can’t even enjoy classical music anymore. Which, terrible. But so, when Alex does get de-conditioned, and returns to a violent life? It’s actually a relief. A really perverse relief.
