# Characters you identify with



## Violanthe (Feb 22, 2006)

Who are the literary characters you most identify with? If you could live the adventures, conflicts, pitfalls and triumphs of any literary character, who would it be? On the other hand, if a friend were describing you, what character would they most liken you to?


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## Noldor_returned (Feb 22, 2006)

Do you know how hard this is? I mean, seriously. That's a hard question.


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## YayGollum (Feb 24, 2006)

What? I don't see how the thing is hard at all. It's just asking for your opinions, which you should know. 

As for myself and the first question ---> I don't identify with any literary character, that I can think of, at least at the moment. But then, how many bookses have characters that have personalities exactly like mine? And how many bookses have plots along the lines of experiences that I have gone through? oh well. I mostly read the crazy adventure types of bookses. And I stick to serieses, so that I can experience more of the personalities than just one book's worth. The characters in those things oftenly miss out on large chunks of my self-preservation instincts. Or they have a ridiculous amount of them and are called weaselly. Those are some of my favorites. 

The second one ---> Experience the dangerous experiences of the crazy characters in adventure types of books? You crazy? No, but I thank you, just because it is a polite gesture. I would rather not experience the pain that those dudes usually feel. Ow.

On top of the other hand, what character would some imaginary buddy of mine think that I am somewhat similar to? Hm. Any humans that I might have considered to be friends of mine at any time have never been asked what they think of me. Actually, most of them never even read very much. *sniff* I tried thrusting books at them, though!


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## Noldor_returned (Feb 24, 2006)

Obviously the sarcasm didn't work.

I would probably be most like Mulch Diggums (Artemis Fowl), because I'm crafty and clever, also with a quick wit.


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## Violanthe (Feb 28, 2006)

I don't identify with many characters. I tend to prefer characters that have perspectives that differ from my own, rather than characters like me.


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## Noldor_returned (Feb 28, 2006)

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I like charcters because of what they do, or how they act, not if they're like me or not.


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## HLGStrider (Feb 28, 2006)

Elowiny (It has been too long since I read that series to remember the correct spelling) from Lloyd Alexander's Prydia series always struck me as someone I could somewhat identify with, but never completely. Really, book heroines have much more fight in them than I do. I'd rather just step behind the hero and let him protect me in violent situations. I always sort of felt Lady Rowena from Ivanhoe and I would get along really well, just because everyone is so hard on her and likes Rebecca better just because Rebecca is less of a push over, but come on, wouldn't you sob and cry if someone just told you, "Marry me or I'll kill off the two people you love the most in the world!" That is if someone had done so and you had never been trained in martial arts and didn't have an uzzi handy. Gosh, what do you expect the poor girl to do? Strangle him with her girtle?


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## Mike (Mar 1, 2006)

The character I most identify with is Yurii Andreyavich Zhivago from (you might have guessed) Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. I don't think I would like to go through the same travails he did, however. 

For the literary character I would like to be, it's a draw between Conan and Beowulf....yeah, right. Here, Taran from the Chronicles of Prydain would fit the bill. (here's a character I also strongly identified with--but not on the same deep level as the one previously mentioned).

*HLGStrider:
The correct spelling is "Eilonwy"*

As for the character my friends would describe me as, it would either be Conan the Cimmerian or Beowulf...he he he....yeah, sure....


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## Noldor_returned (Mar 1, 2006)

Well, if we're talking about who we would like to be, that's hard. Probably Merlin, from numerous stories, but I think it would be awesome to do what he did.


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## HLGStrider (Mar 1, 2006)

Like get trapped in a tree?


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## Noldor_returned (Mar 1, 2006)

I was thinking more get stuck in a cavern with a huge boulder stopping me from getting out. lol
No, mainly because of his magic, and he got to hang out with King Arthur and all those other knightly people. I reckon that'd be so cool.


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## Violanthe (Mar 7, 2006)

Even more so, characters that would make the same decisions, or take the same actions as I would are less interesting to me than characters who would make different decisions.


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## HLGStrider (Mar 7, 2006)

I think the escence of an interesting character is one dealing with things they don't necessarily want to deal with. There are some exceptions (the Sherlock Holmes who devours even the problems of others; Dr. House; the kind you find mainly in mysteries.), but what makes heroes interesting is when they don't want to be heroes. It adds a level of struggle. 

Now a person who identifies with the original Bilbo (who doesn't WANT to go on an adventure as a burgler, not on the surface anyway) would not want Bilbo's adventures. He'd want hot buttered toast. There is, of course, the Lord of the Rings off seeking Mountains Bilbo, though.


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## Rhiannon (Mar 14, 2006)

I can think of several characters I identify with--not necessarily people who behave the way I would (you don't see me going on quests. Ever. Unless ice cream is involved), but people I can get attached to. I identify with _Emma_ from the Jane Austen novel, because we have many of the same personality flaws and the same taste in men (mm, Mr. Knightley...). One of the reasons I like the book is the growth Emma goes through as a character. I identify with Eowyn (surprise!) because she felt unhappy and caged, and I like seeing her growth as a character. I identify with Jo from _Little Women_, because she was dramatic, a writer, and close to her family, though she had to go away to grow on her own. The list goes on--I like reading about characters who are very different than me, but I also like to read about characters I can identify with and learn from.


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## Violanthe (Mar 15, 2006)

> but what makes heroes interesting is when they don't want to be heroes.


 
The only problem I have with this is that it's just been done so many times in fantasy. Tolkien showed how it could be done well, but too many people have tried to duplicate it since.


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## Rhiannon (Mar 15, 2006)

*cough*TerryBrooks*cough*RobertJordan*cough*

Really what I demand from characters is that they be people I can be interested in. That's it.


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## HLGStrider (Mar 16, 2006)

True, but I've found the "Over-eager-young-person-wanting-adventure-only-to-be-dramatically-dillusioned-with-the-whole-thing" just as over done, and I like the unwitting hero better. It can be done. I just needs to be done right. 

There are three major types of unwitting hero: 
A. The comic relief, thrown in way above his head, let's watch him flail. (Bilbo)
B. The self-sacrificing, I will if I must, but Lord won't you take this cup? I know it will kill me. (Frodo)
C. I didn't want to do this, but if I have to, I am going to do it well, grit my teeth, and kill off the bad guys and LIVE. (Han Solo is the only example that comes to mind, but there must be more of them out there. I tend to write this kind if I can.)

Anyway, all can be done well or badly.

Though ironically my favorite character, Aragorn, is a willing hero, one who has a goal and is striving for it. This can also be interesting, if you identify with the goal.


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## e.Blackstar (Mar 16, 2006)

I think the character in any book that I've ever read who is closest to me would be Arya Stark in A Song of Ice and Fire.


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