Five Characters I Like a Lot
Hmmm... Zach has created a favorite characters list, and I don't have enough time to create a real list right now (I don't think I could make it any shorter than 25). But I will right now discuss 5 literary characters that I like a lot.
1. Bill Gorton, The Sun Also Rises... Probobly the character that made me laugh more than any other character with so few lines in a book. Also Hemmingway managed to make him halarious while giving him a real sense of humanity at the same time... he was not, as almost none of Hemmingway's characters are, a one demensional character. Also he was responsible for my all time favorite line in the history of literature... "The road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs."
2. Rorshach, The Watchmen... The beauty of this character is that he is an insane superhero. When asked what an ink blot test is he responds, "a dog with its head split open." When asked, "What do you think did that to the dog?" His answer is, "I did." When, at the age of 16 he is told that his mother has been raped and murdered he limits his response to one word, "good". However, in spite of this he as set up a completely uncomprimising moral code for himself. Good is good, bad is bad, everythings black and white... there are no exceptions. It is the type of logic that most examplifies the super hero ideal, and upon seeing it in The Watchmen you realize it could only be the logic of a madman.
3. Gray Maturin, The Razor's Edge... Just for some background Gray is in love with the woman who is in love with the main character of the book. The main character of the book is incredibally smart, and very complecated. He is set up to be the ideal of what a human being should be. Gray is none of these things. He's simply an average guy, whoes one of the nicest people in the history of the world. He doesn't question things, he goes through his life the way he's supposed to. My favorite thing about Gray Maturin... he speeks almost entirely in figures of speech. For example Gray is credited with this sentance I often use, "I don't want to give you the runaround... let's just call a spade a spade and let the chips fall where they may." In the end I think Gray makes this list because more than any other character in any other book (with the possible exception of Bill Gorton) I wish I was friends with Gray Maturin.
4. Sampson Posey, The Dirty Dozen... He's a 7 foot tall Indian who joined the Army during WWII, got sent to France, and was than sentanced to death for killing a pimp that pulled a knife on him. His first scene in the book involves him attempting an escape so he can get shot, because he'd rather be shot than hung... furthermore he's doing his best to run to a patch of grass, because he'd rather die in grass than on cement. I can't relate to Sampso Posey, I don't really think we'd be good friends, but he's still as interesting as all hell. Also, (stop reading if you don't want a spoiler right here) he has one of the best death scenes in any book ever. In fact one of the characters book goes to save him, and another character stops him cause the guys death is so cool.
5. The Priest, The Power and the Glory... Do you judge a person by their actions or by the way they are inside? If you judge them by there actions the Priest is a horrible miserable human being. If you judge them by their thoughts and how they are inside, the Priest is quite possibally the greatest human being on earth. This character actually occasionally makes me wonder if all the jerks I meet acctually have wonderful and benevolent thoughts travelling through their mind, that just some how get messed up when they want to act on them.
Honerable Mention:
Alex De Large, A Clockwork Orange... I've never cheered so hard for a complete ass-hole
Josey Wales, Gone to Texas... Total cowboy cool... stone cold killer with a heart of gold
Wayne Hoobler, A Breakfast of Champions... Wierd son of bitch, I'm glad he found his happy land
Dick and Barry, High Fedelity.... If you read the book or saw the movie you know they really are one character, best part of the book, and best job by a casting director ever by the way.
Funboy, The Crow... "I'm a monstor burning from the inside, obedience is just submission veiled with gravity, I don't let anything limit or define me." Funboy is the only time I've seen a realistic presentation of a character with no conscince, plus he looks like Iggy Pop.
1. Bill Gorton, The Sun Also Rises... Probobly the character that made me laugh more than any other character with so few lines in a book. Also Hemmingway managed to make him halarious while giving him a real sense of humanity at the same time... he was not, as almost none of Hemmingway's characters are, a one demensional character. Also he was responsible for my all time favorite line in the history of literature... "The road to hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs."
2. Rorshach, The Watchmen... The beauty of this character is that he is an insane superhero. When asked what an ink blot test is he responds, "a dog with its head split open." When asked, "What do you think did that to the dog?" His answer is, "I did." When, at the age of 16 he is told that his mother has been raped and murdered he limits his response to one word, "good". However, in spite of this he as set up a completely uncomprimising moral code for himself. Good is good, bad is bad, everythings black and white... there are no exceptions. It is the type of logic that most examplifies the super hero ideal, and upon seeing it in The Watchmen you realize it could only be the logic of a madman.
3. Gray Maturin, The Razor's Edge... Just for some background Gray is in love with the woman who is in love with the main character of the book. The main character of the book is incredibally smart, and very complecated. He is set up to be the ideal of what a human being should be. Gray is none of these things. He's simply an average guy, whoes one of the nicest people in the history of the world. He doesn't question things, he goes through his life the way he's supposed to. My favorite thing about Gray Maturin... he speeks almost entirely in figures of speech. For example Gray is credited with this sentance I often use, "I don't want to give you the runaround... let's just call a spade a spade and let the chips fall where they may." In the end I think Gray makes this list because more than any other character in any other book (with the possible exception of Bill Gorton) I wish I was friends with Gray Maturin.
4. Sampson Posey, The Dirty Dozen... He's a 7 foot tall Indian who joined the Army during WWII, got sent to France, and was than sentanced to death for killing a pimp that pulled a knife on him. His first scene in the book involves him attempting an escape so he can get shot, because he'd rather be shot than hung... furthermore he's doing his best to run to a patch of grass, because he'd rather die in grass than on cement. I can't relate to Sampso Posey, I don't really think we'd be good friends, but he's still as interesting as all hell. Also, (stop reading if you don't want a spoiler right here) he has one of the best death scenes in any book ever. In fact one of the characters book goes to save him, and another character stops him cause the guys death is so cool.
5. The Priest, The Power and the Glory... Do you judge a person by their actions or by the way they are inside? If you judge them by there actions the Priest is a horrible miserable human being. If you judge them by their thoughts and how they are inside, the Priest is quite possibally the greatest human being on earth. This character actually occasionally makes me wonder if all the jerks I meet acctually have wonderful and benevolent thoughts travelling through their mind, that just some how get messed up when they want to act on them.
Honerable Mention:
Alex De Large, A Clockwork Orange... I've never cheered so hard for a complete ass-hole
Josey Wales, Gone to Texas... Total cowboy cool... stone cold killer with a heart of gold
Wayne Hoobler, A Breakfast of Champions... Wierd son of bitch, I'm glad he found his happy land
Dick and Barry, High Fedelity.... If you read the book or saw the movie you know they really are one character, best part of the book, and best job by a casting director ever by the way.
Funboy, The Crow... "I'm a monstor burning from the inside, obedience is just submission veiled with gravity, I don't let anything limit or define me." Funboy is the only time I've seen a realistic presentation of a character with no conscince, plus he looks like Iggy Pop.
posted by Blake Stockdale at 11:36 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home