Hey, Hypothetical Reader! Wanna talk about unlikable characters!
Characters need to be likable!
No they don't!
Yes they do!
Wait, maybe we should figure out what we mean by "likable."
Ya know, able to be liked.
Okay, yeah, but what do we really mean by that? Likable in what way really?
I feel like you're being intentionally obtuse.
Likable as in you'd want to grab a beer with them? As in you'd want to be friends with them? As in you don't wish them any specific harm?
All right, I'll play along. Let's say that I want to be able to sympathize with the characters.
Well, but there are any number of books where you're specifically not meant to sympathize with the protagonist.
You're not jumping straight to something like Lolita or Fight Club, are you?
Well, those are two that spring to mind. But lets put Humbert and Jack aside and talk about Frankenstein.
I'm always down to talk about Frankenstein.
It's so good.
I know, right?
You know it. But you're not really meant to sympathize with either Victor or the Creature. I mean, sure, bad things happen to both of them, but they're also both fairly monstrous by the end.
I see what you did there.
😉 But at the same time, there are elements of each character that a reader can identify with.
So we're going with self-identification?
Well, not necessarily that either. Though, I guess identifying with an unlikable, or even outright evil character would be an excellent opportunity for self-examination (see below). But I think that only describing characters that you can identify with as likable is too limiting. After all, part of the appeal of reading foreign literature is gaining a window into an unfamiliar culture.
So, like in Things Fall Apart, where Okonkwo exists in a cultural context that is foreign to the non-Igbo reader?
Yeah. English speakers from outside Africa (read, who live in countries that were previously colonizing other countries) might not initially identify with Okonkwo's point of view, but part of the point of reading the book (one hopes) is to, at the very least, come to understand it.
But understanding and liking aren't the same thing.
Well, no, but I would say that Okonkwo is actually both compelling and relatable as a character. Nobody likes change.
That's your takeaway from Things Fall Apart? "Nobody likes change."
I think we're getting off-topic. What were talking about?
Whether characters need to be likable.
Right. You'd think I'd be able to remember that for an entire blog post.
Indeed, it's almost as if this entire digression was written because you thought it'd be a funny way to divert attention from the haziness of your memories of Things Fall Apart.
So, let's pivot. So, we've talked about unlikable characters who we can sometimes identify with, seemingly foreign characters whose struggles we come to understand. Let's circle back to books like Fight Club and Lolita: books that both have unreliable narrators who are . . . how can I put it delicately?
Irredeemable pathological monsters?
Sure. We'll put it that way. You're not meant to like these characters, but at the same time, they are written to be engaging. I wouldn't say that readers are meant to identify with them per se, but maybe we are meant to find ourselves getting caught up in their self-serving bullshit then take a step back and do some self-examination.
Hmm, so you're saying that unsympathetic characters can function as a rhetorical device to make the reader do some self-improvement homework?
Well, when you put it that way. . . yes?
Look, I just want to feel invested in what happens to the characters in some way.
See, there's the crux of it, right there. We don't necessarily have to like characters, but we do need to feel something about them.
"Something?" You know, for someone who's pushing for specificity, you sure landed on a vague conclusion.
Conclusion? I thought we were just getting started.
No, this is definitely where the blog post ends. See, try and scroll farther down. You can't!
Well, I can't argue with that.
No they don't!
Yes they do!
Wait, maybe we should figure out what we mean by "likable."
Ya know, able to be liked.
Okay, yeah, but what do we really mean by that? Likable in what way really?
I feel like you're being intentionally obtuse.
Likable as in you'd want to grab a beer with them? As in you'd want to be friends with them? As in you don't wish them any specific harm?
All right, I'll play along. Let's say that I want to be able to sympathize with the characters.
Well, but there are any number of books where you're specifically not meant to sympathize with the protagonist.
You're not jumping straight to something like Lolita or Fight Club, are you?
Well, those are two that spring to mind. But lets put Humbert and Jack aside and talk about Frankenstein.
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| wow! much professional very photoedit |
I'm always down to talk about Frankenstein.
It's so good.
I know, right?
You know it. But you're not really meant to sympathize with either Victor or the Creature. I mean, sure, bad things happen to both of them, but they're also both fairly monstrous by the end.
I see what you did there.
😉 But at the same time, there are elements of each character that a reader can identify with.
So we're going with self-identification?
Well, not necessarily that either. Though, I guess identifying with an unlikable, or even outright evil character would be an excellent opportunity for self-examination (see below). But I think that only describing characters that you can identify with as likable is too limiting. After all, part of the appeal of reading foreign literature is gaining a window into an unfamiliar culture.
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| Spine and front cover may have minor sun damage. |
So, like in Things Fall Apart, where Okonkwo exists in a cultural context that is foreign to the non-Igbo reader?
Yeah. English speakers from outside Africa (read, who live in countries that were previously colonizing other countries) might not initially identify with Okonkwo's point of view, but part of the point of reading the book (one hopes) is to, at the very least, come to understand it.
But understanding and liking aren't the same thing.
Well, no, but I would say that Okonkwo is actually both compelling and relatable as a character. Nobody likes change.
That's your takeaway from Things Fall Apart? "Nobody likes change."
I think we're getting off-topic. What were talking about?
Whether characters need to be likable.
Right. You'd think I'd be able to remember that for an entire blog post.
Indeed, it's almost as if this entire digression was written because you thought it'd be a funny way to divert attention from the haziness of your memories of Things Fall Apart.
So, let's pivot. So, we've talked about unlikable characters who we can sometimes identify with, seemingly foreign characters whose struggles we come to understand. Let's circle back to books like Fight Club and Lolita: books that both have unreliable narrators who are . . . how can I put it delicately?
 |
| I am Jack's movie tie-in. |
Irredeemable pathological monsters?
Sure. We'll put it that way. You're not meant to like these characters, but at the same time, they are written to be engaging. I wouldn't say that readers are meant to identify with them per se, but maybe we are meant to find ourselves getting caught up in their self-serving bullshit then take a step back and do some self-examination.
Hmm, so you're saying that unsympathetic characters can function as a rhetorical device to make the reader do some self-improvement homework?
Well, when you put it that way. . . yes?
Look, I just want to feel invested in what happens to the characters in some way.
See, there's the crux of it, right there. We don't necessarily have to like characters, but we do need to feel something about them.
"Something?" You know, for someone who's pushing for specificity, you sure landed on a vague conclusion.
Conclusion? I thought we were just getting started.
No, this is definitely where the blog post ends. See, try and scroll farther down. You can't!
Well, I can't argue with that.
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