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Remember when the first test question, after a required reading assignment, was "Who was your favorite character, and why?" Do you still find "favorite characters" in the books you read?
Maybe it's a defect in my literary appreciation, but I never see characters on any kind of a qualitative scale. If it's the author's intention to inspire me to like or dislike a character, then either he or I have failed.
TV sitcoms is a different story. If I don't personally like the characters, I don't watch the show. Why would I invite people I don't like into my living room? But that's not the way I feel about literary characters in books I'm reading. I accept them for who they are, and admit their differences into the structure of the story.
After all, the author has great power to color his character in any way he pleases, just as my neighbor has wide latitude to characterize an acquaintance. But that doesn't mean I need to believe them and accept that as the true color of the personage.
Yes, I often identify with characters in books or I like them so much that I wish I could be more like them. The first one that pops into my head is Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. I don't indentify with him but I would like to be like him because, IMO, he is the most honorable character in any of the books I have read. Actually, I think I am in love with him and I have been for years.
Having characters I like helps. E.g. The Sweetness At The Bottom of the Pie - the plot was just okay when it comes to murder/mystery type of books, but Flavia definitely was a very likeable character! Without her, I wouldn't have liked the book as much.
The same goes for Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - I think Lisbeth made a big difference since I think the storyline was just so-so. But she was a memorable character.
Sometimes I really couldn't care less about the characters, and usually I can't finish the book because I just don't care what happens to them.
Having said that, I still prefer plot-driven to character-driven books for the most part. If nothing happens, I get bored
As an actor, I always look for a character to whom I can relate, probably because I'd like to be able to play her. I like a book to have a decent plot, but it needs a strong character or two if I'm expected to care about it.
Absolutely. No matter how exciting the plot, if there isn't a character I identify with in the book, I just can't get into it. Which is why so much modern "literature" does nothing for me. I'll take Stephen King and Stan Lee over Thomas Pynchon and A.S. Byatt any day of the week and three times on Sundays.
I have a problem with the concept of "identifying" with a character. It seems that people assume that, if you like a character, then there is something about the character with which you identify (i.e. find likeable similarities in yourself).
I rarely "identify" with characters in books b/c there lives are so different from my own. If I like a character, it's b/c there's something about them that I admire. I can empathize with just about any character as well, even those with which I have nothing in common. In fact, it is very difficult for me not to empathize with all of the characters in a book/film, even the bad guys.
However, I agree that the author's presentation of the character has almost nothing to do with my opinion of the character--something which has caused my teachers a lot of consternation.
The same goes for t.v. and film. There are characters that most people love that I can't stand and vice-versa. I definitely resist manipulation when I am engaged in any kind of intellectual/artistic pursuit b/c, for me, the whole point is to be critical, think for yourself and form your own opinion rather than to be convinced of one particular perspective or viewpoint.
I have a problem with the concept of "identifying" with a character. It seems that people assume that, if you like a character, then there is something about the character with which you identify (i.e. find likeable similarities in yourself).
I rarely "identify" with characters in books b/c there lives are so different from my own. If I like a character, it's b/c there's something about them that I admire. I can empathize with just about any character as well, even those with which I have nothing in common. In fact, it is very difficult for me not to empathize with all of the characters in a book/film, even the bad guys.....
This is my experience as well.
And I do resist being blatantly maniupulated. In the Paul Coelho books that I have read I inevitably get sick of the main character because the author so relentlessly hammers at you to love them. And, thus, he has ended up being near the top of my authors -I-cannot-stand list.
I think for me the most important thing about fictional characters is that they behave in accordance with their character. I don't like books where all the characters sound the same or where their actions start not to make sense given whatever characteristics the writer has given them. I don't like books where the the writer uses a character to put forward some pet peeve agenda of the writer's. Characters should be a little messy, like in real life.
I can't say I identify with any characters.
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