Hero or Anti-Hero

In my last blog I talked about what makes a protagonist great. I even touched upon the different protagonist like the hero and the antihero.  Even though they are both the main character the have distinctive difference but also still share their similarities.  I mean there still the central character and many times try to resolve a conflict they are facing. There are more similar traits that they share on my last blog. But the most important thing is what makes them different. Well I found this site called Writer Write and they had this list compiled by Anthony Ehlers 

A HERO:	AN ANTI-HERO:
1 is an idealist	is a realist
2.  is the conformist, peace keeper	is the rebel
3. stands up to bad guys, faces great odds	stands up to authority, no matter if it is well-intentioned
4. faces conflict bravely, head-on	will try get around conflict, try sneaky strategy
5. is motivated by pure intentions (light)	is often driven by basic urges (dark) – but may turn to a higher calling near the end of story
6. has conventional moral values	has his own idiosyncratic moral compass
7.is always on the right side of the law	is often the criminal, thief or manipulates the law (‘the end justifies the means’)
8. wants to overcome his flaws and find his true purpose and destiny	is driven by self-interest or self-preservation
9. learns a lesson and is changed	is unchanged
10. can be complex but is usually never ambivalent	can be mysterious, unfathomable and unpredictable

I only put down 10 of the difference that I agree upon and if you want to see the entire list see the link above. But anyway I agree that those are the most basic distinctive difference between a hero and an antihero . If you cant tell by those traits above another way to tell the difference is comparing the character to either Superman and Batman and if they have more things in common with one of them then chances are that they are in the same category as those superheroes ( If you don’t know Superman is the hero and Batman is an Antihero.)   

The reason you would need to know the difference between these two is because you would know your character better and know how the story would progress based on the main character's persona. By knowing this  you have a better chance on what your character would do. The only question that needs to be answered is what do you prefer the hero or the anti-hero? And can you guess which one that I like based on the books I blog about?