Othello, Iago, and the complexity of character
Q: Do characters need to be sympathetic? Why? Why not? Does it make a difference in different genres?
-from Susan
I sure hope not. Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment? Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s crime novels? Sometimes the lead character is also the villain and we have to like him or her in order to finish the book - a neat trick. I just read a book I think is very good in which I disliked the protagonist from page one – and he wasn’t the villain!
But I'm choosing to focus on villains. Of c...
-from Susan
I sure hope not. Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment? Tom Ripley in Patricia Highsmith’s crime novels? Sometimes the lead character is also the villain and we have to like him or her in order to finish the book - a neat trick. I just read a book I think is very good in which I disliked the protagonist from page one – and he wasn’t the villain!
But I'm choosing to focus on villains. Of c...
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7 Criminal Minds
A collection of 10 writers who post every other week. A new topic is offered every week.
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