It’s been said a lot that in order for a story to be relatable and enjoyable, the reader should connect with the main character, and the main character should, generally, have a likeable quality. I agree with that. They should, at least, have one redeeming quality. But there have been a number of stories where the main character, or one of the main supporting characters, was, well, pretty much an a-hole (Gregory House, anyone? How about Sawyer from Lost? Damon Salvatore?). Other times, the character simply bugs you to no end. For me, these include Bella from Twilight, Katniss from The Hunger Games, and Tris from Divergent. Forgive me for stepping on a few tails there, but yes, I said it. I really, severely dislike those female characters.
Funny thing is, Collins acknowledged Katniss’ negative traits in her book, but she also had her characters purposely try and think of her good qualities. Granted, she had them. What makes these characters not likeable, but readable, is that they have both sides of the spectrum: really bad qualities, and really good ones (i.e. strengths and weaknesses). These are characters that can make mistakes, they can and often do make poor decisions, and they more often than not will have you tearing your hair out or rolling your eyes at their, erm, sheer stupidity? Yeah, that’s a light word.
For me, these characters don’t affect how much I like something. Would I have liked it more if they didn’t annoy me as much as they did, or would I have been bored out of my mind? It’s impossible to say. Because the story is about them and their imperfection.
Although likeable characters are great and offer a different type of story—the meek hero, the brave orphan, and the nerdy genius who constantly saves everyone’s butt, to name a few—they don’t have to be the only kind of story in existence. Underdogs are great, but I also sometimes love the plain old dogs.
(For a fun read with—at first—a highly snobbish and “unlikable” character, visit Lorna Suzuki’s The Dream Merchant Saga.)
The important thing is that the character doesn’t bore you or have absolutely no redeeming qualities. If there’s nothing to hone and no redemption in sight, you might have a harder time winning over your audience. Unless you’re up for the challenge.
Have you disliked any main characters in stories you enjoyed?
-The Story Addict
Take a gander at this week’s indie books. If you’re an indie author, find out how to get your books featured in next Monday’s blog post on this page.
A Child Lost in Flight is a first person account of a father coming to grips with the sudden death of his child on an international flight. The story is about his tragedy and the author’s experiences in recovering and moving on.
Nowhere to Hide is the story of Zoe, a single mother, her gifted son, Kenny, who can see into the future, and Jonathon, an extraordinary man of God. Life altering events send mother and son running for their lives.
It started with a feeling, followed by a realization, then ended up into a future. All that started by the tragic event of his birth and revealed by a near death, and ever since, he had never been alone.
In George R.R. Martin’s series there are several characters that I started out disliking, some I still dislike, and with a few of these he did a wonderful job of slowly bringing them around to be characters that I wanted to read more about. In Juliette Marillier’s novel Child of the Prophecy, I had a hard time connecting with the main character because I thought she was quite selfish. The story itself, however, was fascinating, and the supporting characters were the ones that I loved. I think it’s the combination of characters, and sometimes the strength of those around the main character, that can make or break a story.
Very true, Nicole! Game of Thrones is a great example because there’s such a mix of villains, heroes, and then those that fall smack dab in between. Some I still strongly dislike to this day and I don’t think any amount of redemption could make me like them, but they were written to be “villains.” Yeah, I doubt a story with absolutely no relatable or likeable characters would do well. It just doesn’t always have to be the MC, like you said. Thanks for the thoughts!
I actually liked Katniss a lot — I think it’s because she stood up for herself. I disliked Bella for the same reason. She drove me CRAZY with her constant whining, and her “oh, I’m so lonely, even though all the kids at school think I’m the best thing since sliced bread and want nothing more than to be my friend” thing. Oh, and the fact that she was a total wreck when Edward wasn’t around. I’m sorry, but that’s not the kind of character I can think highly of, or that I think people should look up to. And yet, I loved Twilight. Does that make me a hypocrite, or just very confused? Lol.
Haha, I’m not sure. I think people are free to like a story and dislike a character. I even think that’s possible for a majority of readers. Something about their flaws makes them compelling, even if it means you love to hate them. My issue with Katniss was her slow comprehension. She took a bit too long to piece things together, and that frustrated me to no end. Not to mention her see-sawing between the two boys. It didn’t really make her a bad character, just one I couldn’t tolerate very well. Still loved the Hunger Games, so I was in the same boat as you were with Twilight
Thanks for the thoughts, Michelle!
Was just talking to someone about how I love Goodfellas but hate Casinos, because the characters are more likable in Goodfellas. Recently read Prep and the protagonist drove me nuts but I couldn’t put the book down.
That’s interesting, maybe there’s a divide between how we perceive characters in movies versus books. Mainly because you’ve got other factors playing into both. If the movie is full of action and great special effects, you might not pay as much attention to the characters. If it’s greatly focused on characters and they’re not up to par, it’d be a downer. Whereas in a book, with great writing and/or storytelling you might just get away with an unpleasant protagonist. Great thoughts! Thanks, Amanda
Reblogged this on Megan S. Johnston and commented:
I also believe a main character should engage with the viewer, whether likable, or not.
Thanks for reblogging, Megan
Good point, engagement is important!
I’m just now watching the Lost series and find Sawyer compelling–unlikeable, at 1st but as I got to know him… Katniss is a different story. I realized right off where she was coming from, what she endured to keep herself & her sister (ok, Mom, too) alive. I admire her will to survive. I think a main character with flaws is much more interesting than Ms. Perfect. Haven’t found House’s redeemable trait yet. His arrogance put me off right away & I stopped watching. Thanks for the interesting post.
Great input, Diane! Glad you got to run a bit with those characters. I have had people tell me they didn’t like House enough to keep watching, which I found interesting because he makes me laugh by his level of absurdity and caustic personality. Even though he’s generally unlikable, he intrigues me. After they cut a lot of characters from the show, however, I wasn’t really driven to keep watching because what I liked was the relationships he had established with them. There are definitely different things to take from various characters and stories. They’re all not for everyone, that’s for sure. Good thoughts
I’d find it hard to get into a book if I didn’t like or at least respect the main character. In Stephen King’s The Stand, the book is told from multiple points of view. Some of the characters are despicable and I wouldn’t have been able to read the entire novel had the story just been from their perspective.
Haven’t read the book, but I did watch the movie. I agree, some of the characters are a bit disturbed, and there’s certainly been stories told from a villain’s point of view. I’m more driven by the story, but there’s usually at least one character I can like enough to keep me reading. But I agree, it depends on the reader. Sometimes I have been too disturbed to want to keep reading. Thanks for the thought, Emma!