Invisible wrote:
> On 25/07/2012 03:20 PM, waggy wrote:
> > Invisible wrote:
> >> I'm not sure what made me remember this - maybe reading the MSDN article
> >> on file name validity. But here's a story for you...
> >
> > This story also uses the anti-hero trope successfully. Good work. :)
>
> How so?

I identified Adam as the protagonist of this story, who the first-person
narrator describes entirely in unflattering terms. This anti-hero would likely
be interpreted in modern parlance as a "wannabe script kiddie", a very negative
stereotype. In fact, none of the characters in this drama are portrayed very
positively, and the narrator self-identifies as a co-conspirator; both of these
characterizations are common in the darker or more cynical stories involving
anti-heroes.

The antagonists in this tale (identified explicitly as "our adversary") come
across as severe and backward, perhaps even Luddites, but ultimately law-abiding
authority figures in a difficult situation. Yet a reader's sympathies lie with
the anti-hero, who is generous enough to share his smuggled contraband and
cracking skills with, at the very least, his partner in crime. Although the
presumed ages of the protagonists mitigates the seriousness of the
transgressions described, (because of the "innocence of children" and "youthful
indiscretions" tropes) I don't read much of a confessional tone in this story,
nor see evidence of a great deal of regret since the events transpired. (This,
"Would I do it all over again? You betcha," attitude also seems to be common in
the stories of anti-heroes.)

Personally, I was left wondering if Adam continued in IT, as vocation or
avocation, and how long he stayed on the "black hat" path. Was there some kind
of redemption in his future?

It's not easy to get a reader to care about a character in so few words,
especially in a technical tale for a technically-minded audience.

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