In chapter 1 he - convincingly - single handedly counter-charges an entire army on order to buy time for his men. In chapter 2 he takes on a tank armed only with a (magic) sword. Oh, and, despite being rampantly straight, his squire is a homosexual he saved from execution by taking his side in trial by combat. Did I mention he goes on to rescue a princess from the dungeons of the Inquisition? (all logically and tightly plotted, I hasten to add...)
I get so mad at those people. I really do. I did a post about this on antishurtugal a while ago. No, I don't believe that in order to be realistic you have to be gritty and dark and gloomy. NONSENSE. I had that same problem with stuff in a college magazine I submitted to, where everything seemed to be dark, gloomy, and about Issues. I, personally, don't want to read about absolute jerks who I'm supposed to cheer for. . . because? Is it really a great acheivement if I wish everyone in the book would die? If I read stuff like that I'd just get depressed. Apparently its cool to be hopeless. If hopelessness is cool, cool can go drown itself. And I don't get what is so childish about good vs. evil, or why everyone automatically assumes 'gray=good, black & white=bad'. Really, you'd have to discount an enormous portion of good literature if you used such narrow definitions.
I'm actually rather surprised that you seem to like my story then- I mean, Edmund is not a hero in any way at all. He's silly, arrogant and a pyromaniac, really, and none of my other characters are straight heroic types either. Even Lieutenant Grey, who is a good person and a devout Christian, is still plagued by indecision and cowardice when it comes to personal choices. (which is weird because he's a perfectly brave soldier)
I guess my long exposure to Jane Austen has made it hard to set things down in terms of pure good and evil, which is part of the reason I have a hard time stomaching stories of perfect heroes and irredeemable villains. I mean, even Jesus had moments of indecision, and that's what made his story that much more realistic to me. (sorry to talk religion or anything, but I think it's a good example)
Though I do like that the article points out how Tolkien came up with a lot of his ideas while in WWI- I mean, if THAT didn't make him dark, depressing and nihilistic, it sure says something about him.
That essay makes some excellent points, actually, thanks for sharing. Personally, I like to describe this phenomena as the "Blind eye", because it just fits so well. Think of it like this: once you grow up, you tend to become more and more jaded as time passes, and you tend to take on a more cynic world view. During this process, you may disregard all things you perceived as fun before and are unable to recognize the value they held for you before. Most people think this is what growing-up is about, but in reality it's more about getting to know the good and the bad separately so you can blend them later into something... even better, for a lack of better words - it's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to make a point. ;) Unfortunately, some people never grow out of the half blind stage and that's why books like this are being written and read, I think.
Comments 22
Reply
You have a Hero who's Heroic?
My mind is blown, I didn't think such a thing existed.
Reply
Reply
Like vampires.
Reply
Reply
I, personally, don't want to read about absolute jerks who I'm supposed to cheer for. . . because? Is it really a great acheivement if I wish everyone in the book would die? If I read stuff like that I'd just get depressed. Apparently its cool to be hopeless. If hopelessness is cool, cool can go drown itself.
And I don't get what is so childish about good vs. evil, or why everyone automatically assumes 'gray=good, black & white=bad'. Really, you'd have to discount an enormous portion of good literature if you used such narrow definitions.
Reply
This so much.
Reply
I guess my long exposure to Jane Austen has made it hard to set things down in terms of pure good and evil, which is part of the reason I have a hard time stomaching stories of perfect heroes and irredeemable villains. I mean, even Jesus had moments of indecision, and that's what made his story that much more realistic to me. (sorry to talk religion or anything, but I think it's a good example)
Reply
Reply
Reply
A lot of people seem to forget that little fact.
Reply
Personally, I like to describe this phenomena as the "Blind eye", because it just fits so well. Think of it like this: once you grow up, you tend to become more and more jaded as time passes, and you tend to take on a more cynic world view. During this process, you may disregard all things you perceived as fun before and are unable to recognize the value they held for you before. Most people think this is what growing-up is about, but in reality it's more about getting to know the good and the bad separately so you can blend them later into something... even better, for a lack of better words - it's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to make a point. ;)
Unfortunately, some people never grow out of the half blind stage and that's why books like this are being written and read, I think.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment