Writing (Un)Likeable Characters
Recently I watched a movie called Thief, starring James Caan. It told the story of an ex-con who is a master safe cracker and whose goal is to have a normal life with a wife, kids, and house. He takes on one last job to collect enough money to acquire this, and inadvertently gets caught up with the mob who try to control him. The movie was intriguing and the characters compelling, however I did not find one of them likeable, not even the main character Frank. After the film was over, I pondered how I could have spent over two hours with characters I did not like. What was it about Frank that had me rooting for him?
This is not the first time I have asked myself this. For a while I was hooked on the television program Mad Men, and after the first season I felt the same way. I did not find any of the characters likeable. Yet I returned to watch the second season because I had connected with these characters and wanted to know what happened to them.
In novels, too, there are important characters who are unlikeable. Take for example, Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye or Gollum/Sméagol from Lord of the Rings. While we might not like them, we at times find ourselves cheering them on.
As writers we are advised to ensure that our protagonist is likeable, so that the reader wants to continue reading about him or her. If they do not emotionally invest in the main character, they’ll throw the book aside, we are told. How, then, can we explain our support of unlikeable characters?
Perhaps we authors don’t need to make them likeable so much as relate-able. If we place them in circumstances where the reader can empathize with them, or get the reader to know them so well that sympathy will prevail because of their human qualities and foibles, then the reader doesn’t have to like them. They merely need to connect with them on some level, and invest in a desire to know what happens to them.
It all boils down to good writing. Effective use of point-of-view, compelling characterization, captivating plot, and spellbinding descriptions will get a reader invested in the lives of the people and their story. Good writing will keep them reading, even if they don’t particularly like the characters.
