Following Morell's definition of antihero, or more precisely, of unpleasant protagonist, we learn the advantages of using unlikely clues in our stories to make them more interesting, complex, unpredictable and penetrating (32). He explains how there is a "fine line" in balancing traits that must be maintained in order for the reader to feel captivated by the characters. Too much sympathy and the antihero becomes a hero. Too many negative traits and they become too unlikely to even relate to (43). Despite this, there is a large number of combinations in character creation for unlikely protagonists, as the traits we give them can be chosen from two sets that are normally exclusive to villains and heroes respectively. One of the most popular combos is that of an antihero whose sense of duty guides all of his actions. However, what is more interesting is seeing them betray (or adopt) this sense of duty. To understand why it works, this article aims to explain the often misunderstood definition of "sense of duty" and uses two "unlikely" protagonists as examples as they cycle through moral duty in their respective stories: Dan Dunne, from the film Half Nelson, and Helen Farraley from Heathcock's work Volt. First, one must understand that 'a sense of duty' is not a motivation for doing righteousness: “It is very tempting to think that if one does something, and has a certain reason for doing so, then that reason is the his motive... There is a further tendency to suppose that motives are very similar to desires. It would then seem that acting out of a sense of duty is simply a matter of pampering a very particular interest or desire rather than others... [But] the sense of duty is not and cannot be... middle of paper... .. .. unpredictable, keeping the story fresh and insightful as we explore the innermost thoughts of these two complicated characters. This volatility is found in most human beings, as we are naturally inclined to be the judges of what happens around us. It's no surprise, then, that Helen and Dan, two characters whose professions require a sense of duty, letting their emotions and circumstances interfere was the right thing to do. Works Cited Half Nelson. Director Ryan Fleck. Perf. Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Shareeka Epps. THINKFilm, 2006. DVD.Heathcock, Alan. Volt. Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2011. Print.Morell, Jessica Page. Bullies, bastards and whores. Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 2008. Print.Shwayder, D.S. "The Sense of Duty." Philosophical quarterly. 7.27 (1957): 116-125. Network. March 15. 2014. .