Blog Chain: Characters--The Good, the Bad, the Well-Written

Hello! It is time once again for a blog chain post. This round was started by Michelle, who was wondering about main characters. She asked,

In your reading and writing, which do you prefer – a main character that is intriguing, or one that is likeable? Who are the characters that you love the most? And who are the ones that you love to hate?

Elana shared her thoughts before me, and Sandra is up next.

In my reading, I mostly look for great characters. I am not against page-turning plots. I'm just saying, if the plot sounds rather ho-hum, but if the characters are truly interesting people, I will keep reading. So I would say I prefer intriguing characters. Any character that is boring, or who whines too much without trying to change anything in his or her life, quickly makes me angry, and I will stop reading. I hated The Hobbit, which we had to read in 7th grade, because I thought Bilbo was so whiny and weak and stupid, and I just didn't care if he lived or died or solved a quest or anything. I also recently read Peony in Love, and the main character in that book, Peony, was young and foolhardy and always made stupid decisions, and I didn't like her. It took her forever to learn from her mistakes, and by the time she did, I didn't care anymore. She could've dropped dead on the spot, and I would've thought, "Thank goodness THAT is over." I'm not sure she was written very well, though, because it got to the point where she'd think, "I sure hope this doesn't happen," and then of course two pages later it happened. So she was just stubborn and predictable. But, the rest of the characters in the book were okay, and I enjoyed reading about all the Chinese traditions, so I finished the book.

I'm assuming when Michelle asks about likeable characters, she is wondering if I met this person in real life, would I want to be friends with them. Or, do I like this character as a person. There are plenty of characters that I don't like as people but I will acknowledge that as a CHARACTER goes, this person is great.

For example, in Lolita, Humbert Humbert is not a person I would be friends with or encourage in his behaviors. Yet, the novel is told from his point of view, and, if I can remember (I have a really hard time remembering anything in the books I read. I can remember if I liked them or not, but shortly after reading them, all the events escape me. I often forget how books end.), he has a good sense of humor. Certainly, he has a way with words, and while a lot of his behavior is horrifying, I still remember being on his side in the book. I just wanted things to work out for him, even though obviously they couldn't.

Another example of an unlikeable character that I liked is Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. In the movie, there isn't really one good thing about him, yet, and maybe again this is because he's narrating, I am able to understand where he's coming from. While I don't agree with all the murdering he's doing, from his perspective, it makes sense to me. And, I end up hoping he'll get away with it. However, in Bret Easton Ellis's book, Patrick does a lot more horrible things. I still thought the writing was interesting, and I liked Patrick's voice, but the graphic content was too much. I never finished it, and I don't think I ever will. It just made me sick.

The characters that I love the most are probably the most honestly written, and they are people with plenty of flaws but trying not to hurt everyone around them. If they do hurt someone, they would have a good reason for doing so, at least in their minds. I loved Clare and Henry in The Time Traveler's Wife. And Chip, Denise, and Gary from The Corrections are some of my favorite characters of all time. I just thought they were wonderfully dysfunctional.

As for characters that I love to hate, I'm not sure that there are any. If I hate a character, then I just plain hate him or her. There is no joy in the hating. Only wishing that the main character is triumphant. I HATED Ellsworth Toohey from The Fountainhead. I thought he was everything evil and manipulative. I also didn't like August, Marlena's husband, from Water for Elephants. Maybe the mark of a true villain is someone whose motives are explained yet still there is nothing they can do to get my sympathy.

So, in conclusion, an interesting and well-written character is more important than whether that character does good things or bad things. If there is anything characters can explain to me that will help me see life through their eyes, then chances are I will like them, and I will most likely finish the book.

Who are your favorite and least favorite characters? What books could you not finish because the character was doing nothing for you?