What I feel makes Raistlin such a
popular character among many
Dragonlance fans is the way he is an
anti-hero, a creature filled with
cunning,
ambition,
pride and
hatred, but yet having streaks of
goodness show through the dark exterior, making us wonder if what lies within him is really as
evil as he seems to be.
For example, his friendship with the gully dwarf, and the way he treated her far better than any of the other Companions. Where the people we would consider the embodiment of Good were poking fun at what they perhaps considered beneath them in status, he considered her a fellow being and was not condescending in his manner at all.
Of course, as we progress through Legends, we find Raistlin getting more and more evil, and perhaps begin to hate him somewhat. But interestingly, in me at least, the feeling was that of losing hope in him... right from the beginning, I could feel that he was not a villain; that he could become a great person. And so, seeing his slide to the black robes evoked a feeling of being betrayed, perhaps how Caramon felt as well.
In the end, however, we find out that our hopes on him were right after all, and he becomes one of the greatest Heroes of the Lance, because it is one thing to fight an enemy and defeat it, and another to fight against yourself and finally break through to give the ultimte sacrifice.
Perhaps we see some of Raistlin in all of us... nobody is perfect, and Raistlin is as imperfect as you can get. The dark urges that go through all of our minds exist in him too; he is no righteous paladin who is always virtuous and never selfish. Raistlin is an example of a flawed person who has human desires and urges, a hero we can easily relate to.