Comments on: When sympathetic becomes pathetic http://www.pensandswords.com/2008/08/19/when-sympathetic-becomes-pathetic/ Talking shop with fantasy fiction author Kameron M. Franklin Mon, 05 Jul 2010 19:29:32 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Alex Moore http://www.pensandswords.com/2008/08/19/when-sympathetic-becomes-pathetic/comment-page-1/#comment-23739 Alex Moore Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:23:43 +0000 http://www.pensandswords.com/?p=485#comment-23739 hmmm....good thoughts & excellent points. I've run across pathetic protagonists far too often in my book-reading adventures. I hated it as a kid and always told myself that when I grew up I'd write the book w/ a kick-butt hero. So I grew up. I wrote the book. And then I realized: it was hard to empathize with him. He had no fear, no hesitation...no humanity. So I've been revising. I think what sucks the most are whiney and selfish hero/heroines. I really enjoyed Kristen Britain's The Green Rider series, but it did seem that Karigan was a little too resistant. The reluctant hero is all well & good to a certain extent, but 'me thinks the lady doth protest too much' after a thousand pages or so. hmmm….good thoughts & excellent points. I’ve run across pathetic protagonists far too often in my book-reading adventures. I hated it as a kid and always told myself that when I grew up I’d write the book w/ a kick-butt hero. So I grew up. I wrote the book. And then I realized: it was hard to empathize with him. He had no fear, no hesitation…no humanity. So I’ve been revising.

I think what sucks the most are whiney and selfish hero/heroines. I really enjoyed Kristen Britain’s The Green Rider series, but it did seem that Karigan was a little too resistant. The reluctant hero is all well & good to a certain extent, but ‘me thinks the lady doth protest too much’ after a thousand pages or so.

]]> By: Lukahn http://www.pensandswords.com/2008/08/19/when-sympathetic-becomes-pathetic/comment-page-1/#comment-23697 Lukahn Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:50:16 +0000 http://www.pensandswords.com/?p=485#comment-23697 I found that Rand was a sympathetic character in Robert Jordan's first few books, but once he accepted who he was he got all emo and became rather pathetic. "Boo hoo, woe is me, I'm the Dragon Reborn, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and there is nothing I can do about it." I lost the sympathy I had for this naive farmboy thrown into a world full of political turmoil and found him to be rather unlikeable. That was part of the reason I put the series on the shelf after the fifth? book (besides Jordan's tendency to describe everything in boring detail, and to flesh out even the most minor of characters so much as to lose sight of the main protagonists). Frank Herbert did a great job of toying with sympathies as well in his Dune series. Once Paul gained the powers he did, he was resolved to do what he thought was the right thing, and didn't get all emo-kid like Rand has. His children also had this quality, and by the time you get to God Emperor of Dune, the fate of Leto is sealed. Sympathy for him is achieved by revealing that this is a path he has chosen to save humanity itself, even as he removes his own humanity. The balance is perfectly drawn. Almost all the characters have some sympathetic aspect to them, Duncan Idaho, Paul, Jessica, Leto, even Alia. Lukahn's last blog post was <a href="http://obsidianshard.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!9AADE90359E371F2!327.entry" rel="nofollow">Summer Olympics</a> I found that Rand was a sympathetic character in Robert Jordan’s first few books, but once he accepted who he was he got all emo and became rather pathetic. “Boo hoo, woe is me, I’m the Dragon Reborn, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills, and there is nothing I can do about it.”

I lost the sympathy I had for this naive farmboy thrown into a world full of political turmoil and found him to be rather unlikeable. That was part of the reason I put the series on the shelf after the fifth? book (besides Jordan’s tendency to describe everything in boring detail, and to flesh out even the most minor of characters so much as to lose sight of the main protagonists).

Frank Herbert did a great job of toying with sympathies as well in his Dune series. Once Paul gained the powers he did, he was resolved to do what he thought was the right thing, and didn’t get all emo-kid like Rand has. His children also had this quality, and by the time you get to God Emperor of Dune, the fate of Leto is sealed. Sympathy for him is achieved by revealing that this is a path he has chosen to save humanity itself, even as he removes his own humanity. The balance is perfectly drawn. Almost all the characters have some sympathetic aspect to them, Duncan Idaho, Paul, Jessica, Leto, even Alia.

Lukahn’s last blog post was Summer Olympics

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