Were Bonnie and Clyde Heroes or Villains?

Answer 1

Bonnie and Clyde were championed by the public during the 1930's as they were star-crossed lovers defying the police and law, something that had let the American's down during the period of the Great Depression. Bonnie's poems (e.g. The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde) greatly appealed to the public and made them appear as the anti-heroes in a story of unfortunate circumstances. The Barrow Gang was famous for making a mockery of police, and their targets of robbery were small grocery stores and the occasional bank.

However, they killed 13 people in cold blood.

They were desperate times where bank robbers were became folk heroes.

The police were just as nasty during this time. Crimes were pinned on whoever they could pass it off as, people were starving and rioting and being arrested for this. Evictions were more common than not, and America was steadily decaying into a state of, well, depression.

Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down without so much as a warning shot. Bonnie's barely intact body was not cremated.

Thousands of people attended each of their funerals.

Yes, Bonnie and Clyde were criminals and murderers. They're what's defined as the anti-hero in fiction. Think of Robin Hood. The outlaw who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, who nonetheless, was a ruthless killer and a skilled bowman.

Time for you to decide.