# Is there a term for protagonists who should be unlikeable but aren't? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2012, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560 "2012-11-10T08:45:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/21 "2012-11-11T07:38:02Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I never got the impression we were supposed to actually like Flashy at all; rather, we the readers, are supposed to be aghast at his cowardice, conniving and general all-around loathsome personality. > > The funny part, to me anyway, was that despite all that, through extraordinary luck in most cases, the guy comes up aces and ends up decorated. This was my understanding of the Flashman character as well. I figured we were supposed to be entertained and aghast at his charming roguishness in more or less equal measures. I’m not sure “Anti-Hero” is what I’m getting at here. That, to me, implies a dark, brooding, possibly troubled character - as opposed to someone who’s just a dick to people for the sheer hell of it (cf Sterling Archer or Bender). ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/22 "2012-11-11T10:59:12Z")
The problem is that we have been able to show you several different types of characters that fit the description in the OP. These cover a lot of different kinds of people. I don’t think there is a single term that will cover them. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/23 "2012-11-11T11:55:04Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > The problem is that we have been able to show you several different types of characters that fit the description in the OP. These cover a lot of different kinds of people. I don’t think there is a single term that will cover them. That was what I was asking in the OP, FWIW - if there was a single term to cover the archetype. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/24 "2012-11-11T12:28:23Z")
So the answer is “No.” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/25 "2012-11-11T19:20:43Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Lovable Rogue who is often also an Amiable Zany. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/26 "2012-11-11T20:04:38Z")
Ron Burgundy was the first thing I thought of upon seeing the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/27 "2012-11-12T02:17:12Z")
It seems like every modern interpretation of Sherlock Holmes fits this archetype including (especially) House. This does deserve a term. There is an appeal to being a jerk that gets away with it, free of social niceties and still accepted/loved. It’s different than the fantasy of being a bad ass but not completely. ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/28 "2012-11-12T02:36:03Z")
TV Tropes has a whole category to cover this: [Jerkass Hero](http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GoodIsNotNice?from=Main.JerkassHero). There are several subtypes, aversions, subversions, and inversions to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2012, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560/29 "2012-11-12T03:16:13Z")
Come to think of it, is there such a thing as a protagonist who should be unlikeable and actually _is?_ I’m thinking that the simple structural act of making a character the protagonist of a story is partly what predisposes the audience to root for and identify with said character - turning even Humbert Humbert or, say, Richard III, into characters that we’ll cheer for all the way even when they’re clearly heading down the express road to Hell. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-term-for-protagonists-who-should-be-unlikeable-but-arent/640560.md?page=1)