The Idea of an Anti-hero in Wool: The Actions and Views of Bernard and the IT dominated structure

As the reader delves in Howey's post-apocalyptic novel Wool, the sense of hero and villain devolves into the confronting views between Bernard and those who dare to question his authority, especially Jahns, Marnes and Juliette. Such is the case that we immediately see those trying to expose the truth as the real protagonists who seek a change, yet if we try to analyze the novel from IT's point of view, the ultimate hero is actually Bernard as he is trying to continue the human existence in what is a toxic wasteland.

Bernard and IT are in effect at the pinnacle of the power structure, and routinely execute anyone who ponders and expresses a wish to visit the world outside the silo. In a society that focuses on freedom, we could see this as the government trying to suppress any disobedience and even trying to control people's thoughts, yet, they are actually trying to protect people from the outside world as well as the discovery of other silos. Therefore, they project the truth to the general public with the exception of those who are forced to do the "cleaning", who see paradise and clean the monitors out of pity for the silo society. The IT department of the silo, although hiding information from the general public (especially that there are other silos), is in a way keeping order and trying to aid the population from the probable self-destruction inflicted after a revolution. Although we get a sense that Bernard is a villain in the way he acts, the truth is that he is actually beneficial to the people by keeping order. Therefore, Juliette, a challenge to IT and thus the society overall, could be considered the true villain since she is endangering the silo by exposing the truth.

However, the novel is structured such that Juliette has many hero-like qualities, such as her humble origins, willingness to fight for what is right and the truth as well as many others, that lead the reader to believe that she is the hero of the novel. If the changes that she made, especially in revealing the truth to people, were to be beneficial to the silo society, she could be considered a commonly-accepted hero as she would be benefiting the most amount of people. The issue with this action would be a revolt against the IT government, ergo resulting in the deaths of many as well as the misery inflicted on the society as a whole.

In conclusion, as with all people, "heroes" are defined by each person's point of view, in this case the novel being written so that we feel that the villain is Bernard. From another point of view, we might have perhaps viewed Juliette as a threat to the silo society and perhaps what IT would consider a "terrorist", but in this novel, it is clear that she fights for honesty and truth, values universally associated with heroism.