I think characters can definitely be "evil". However please remember that a lot of people like to be able to relate to characters, which is a difficult job to do, so some essence of "good" os often needed.
An evil character as in a demon? Read Dr Faustus by Marlowe. You can actually sympathise with Mephistopheles. There is an exchange where Faustus asks him how he is able to escape hell, and the demon responds: Why this is hell, nor am I out of it. Think’st thou that I who saw the face of God, And tasted the eternal joys of Heaven, Am not tormented with ten thousand hells, In being depriv’d of everlasting bliss? O Faustus! leave these frivolous demands, Which strike a terror to my fainting soul. I dunno about you, but I find him quite an affable fellow, despite being a bit of a bastard.
No more of a bastard than Shylock; both merely wanted to enforce their rights under a contract willingly entered into by the other party.
Honestly as long as the character can explain and show why he does the things that he does, I'd definitely be interested in him. Certainly he must have some motivation that drives him, and if it can drive him, it certainly can drive the rest of us, at least in a fictional scenario. On the other hand if the demon just goes around killing people...
I think some people recognise they're bad. I personally see no problem with that. Think about it- humans aren't robots, if someone wanted to they could completely ignore their conscience to the point of not even hearing it ant more. People understand what it right and wrong. A murderer understands that murdering is wrong, the thing is is that he/she simply doesn't care. Everything they want comes before all else- morals included. I don't understand completely. I'm sorry if I jus haven't read something thoroughly enough but I'm a little confused. Do you want your character bad to the point of pure evil (as in, a horrifyingly wicked character), or evil but understandable? Because that changes things quite a lot. To have a character with skewed actions but good intentions is one thing- be that protecting his family or wanting the world to be a better (in his strange mind) place; but to have a charater who does things that are evil with the knowlege and delight that they are is a different matter. If you wnat your character to be sickening, then having your readers like him isn't really the question. The question would be:How do I make my evil character interesting to read about with the intent of watching him fail? Because no one wants to read a book where evil succeeds. So you'd have to have interesting sub characters- interesting heroes and heroines that aren't main but have an effect on how things work. It all depends on what you want for the character.
Not necessarily. A psychopath doesn't understand that murder is wrong, he simply understands that it would be wrong for him to get caught and sent to jail. He has a very self-centred view of the universe, like a child before it has been socialized. There are two ways to teach a child right and wrong. One is to explain to them how horrible it would be if somebody did that to them. The other, sadly far too prevalent, is to tell them what will happen to them if they get caught doing it.
I wonder if the OP's still on this forum lol. He's posted 3 messages in all and not replied to this thread since the first post.
So, you don't want him to die. You also don't want him to become good. Well, then, from a perspective, think about him being like the stereotypical good guy: maybe the good guy dies, and maybe your evil character triumphs in each challenge he faces, much like the 'good' main character in quite a few novels. However, perhaps consider dipping him close to dying, so suspense levels are high.
Just in case OP ever looks at this thread, all the novels in the Warhammer 40,000 universe featuring the Chaos Marines feature evil "people" as the main characters. Many are even demons. Their POV regarding their own "evilness" varies. Some are just going with their side, others deliberately set out to destroy those who think of themselves as "good" but don't think themselves evil, and there are some who revel in their evilness.
Who's the ultimate villain? Satan. Years ago, I remembered the mythology... Satan (aka, Lucifer) wasn't always evil. He started out as an angel. But competing with the 'boss' got him cast out, banished to rule in Hell. So at the time, I thought hey, What if? What if, after ruling all that time down there, he just said, "Aw --" that he was tired of it all. So he goes up to Heaven intent on getting his old job back. (I wrote a great moment where St Peter does a double-take as Satan walks back in through the Pearly Gates!) Most of the demons thought his sanity had gone to -- well, they thought he was nuts). God won't have him back, but he invites him for drinks in his study, lectures him about how the whole universe would be thrown out of whack if Satan comes back. With no evil to balance good, would good mean anything at all? The story would end with Satan, banishment extended indefinitely, back home in Hell, ruling with renewed evil. (The ultimate redemption story...) (...well, the ultimate almost-redemption story). Maybe call it "No Place Like Hell" [And no, I have no interest in writing it. So, if Anybody wants to run with it, its yours].
I have seen some pretty good 'evil' protagonists done. I guess how you approach it is dependent on just how evil you want your MC to be. The greatest villainous MC I have come across was so fantastic because despite all of the 'evil' he did (and he did some downright horrible things) he was still working towards the betterment of the world. So he was still a hero of sorts but he was willing to commit atrocities and manipulate all of those around him to reach his goal which was in the end a noble goal. So if you want to have a character that is cruel and psychotic in his actions, the easiest way to make him good/likable would be to give him a goal that the reader can agree and relate with. It is in that way that the reader can come to terms with the crimes he commits and possibly even come to see it as almost a burden on the character. However if you want him to be totally selfish and just plain nasty it will be slightly more difficult, in my opinion. Here the character isn't as relate-able (as I assume most readers aren't clinically psychotic themselves). Since the reader likely won't necessarily agree with the protagonists actions or motives I would focus on making sure that the protagonist is as interesting as I could possibly make them. You are going to want to make the reader feel like even though they don't agree with what the protagonist is doing they find him so captivating that they can't help but want to find out what he will do next. In short if you are taking the first option your focus should be on making sure that however evil your MC becomes that the reader can still relate to him and the choices that he makes. If you are going with the second option (not that there are only two options these are just the ways I personally would approach it). Then you are going to want to focus more on the character itself in order to make it interesting enough to captivate a reader despite them having little to relate to. Hope this helped.
I'd like to think since I don't like horror at all I might proved a fresh outsider preservative (or maybe not. lol) Think of it like you would with a 'good guy' - they have a goal, need motivation, have some kind of obstetrical...maybe they're vowing to avenge anther's death; maybe they have an age-old grudge that they never let go, maybe they're fighting for the 'bad side' and feel justified. Maybe they have an obsession they're feeding; and they mention it constantly. We're so used to the 'good guy' being the focus and usually the one we root for. Sometimes we forget how interchangeable it could be. Hope that helps!
The Broken Empire trilogy by Mark Lawrence has a masterful take on the anti-hero. Jorg does some undeniably evil things most of which are given context and logic but they are not all justified or made "good".
There are many examples of books where the MC is evil. Some where the character is more evil than others. Some where the MC is just disturbing. Very disturbing to read -- American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, Bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront. Disturbing to read - Clockwork Orange, Alex and his vicious teenage gang revel in horrific violence, mugging and gang rape. Alex also revels in the music of Beethoven. The Gang communicates in a language which is as complicated as their actions. When a drug-fuelled night of fun ends in murder, Alex is finally busted and banged up. He is given a choice - be brainwashed into good citizenship and set free, or face a lifetime inside. Dark read - Child of God. In this taut, chilling novel, Lester Ballard--a violent, dispossessed man falsely accused of rape--haunts the hill country of East Tennessee when he is released from jail. While telling his story, Cormac McCarthy depicts the most sordid aspects of life with dignity, humor, and characteristic lyrical brilliance. But I couldn't think of one that is just "PURE EVIL" as the MC. I can think of a few movies, but usually, in the end, the MC changes or is killed.
