"waggy" <hon### [at] handbasketorg> wrote:
> 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.

wow, bravo!  Both to the story-teller, the critic in this amazing read and the
anti-hero in the story.

povray offtopic sure needs more wit like this... thumbs up!

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