The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion
Why Dont They Ever Kill Off The Main Character In Stories
It is because they are unable to write anything else on that story unless they make someone else the main character.
So they end up swapping the main character, and it becomes their story instead of the one they killed off
So they end up swapping the main character, and it becomes their story instead of the one they killed off
Well they did that in the Bourne Legacy, but still then why don't they kill off the main character in the last book in the series.
I'm not a writer, but I would think they form a connection with their characters and the thought of killing them off is like killing a family member.
Does anybody agree with me, but come on it is a person in a book it would be a huge shock say if J.K ROWLING had of killed off Harry Potter, it makes the audience gasp they would never see it coming that's what would make it so good
I think i hv read few of the novels in which maim charactrrs have been killed. For example Mockingjay in The Hunger Games Trilogy.
Thats a big spoiler but (view spoiler)i cried very much during those death scenes. I guess thats y writers dont do that...its bloody hard to believe that they're really gone!
Jude, did you ever consider writing such a story?I think you may be on to something.
I've read the book but I don't remember anything like that.
Basically you haven't read A Song Of Ice And Fire(Game of thrones) series!Every main character you root for basically is killed!!
Meer wrote: "Basically you haven't read A Song Of Ice And Fire(Game of thrones) series!Every main character you root for basically is killed!!"
Hah, I was thinking the same thing.
There are books that do kill main characters, but as others stated someone else then has to take on the role of "main character." Most stories are about people (human, animal, fantastical, or otherwise), and thus the characters become the vehicles for the storytelling.
In most books that involve death, one of the main characters tends to die, if not *the* main character. Some examples in Harry Potter and in Game of Thrones, and I usually have to avoid the habit of killing off my main characters because it's a good way to hit the audience where it hurts.Killing the main character, the one who you're supposed to root for, would kind of be a death sentence for the book, depending on how it's handled. How would a Harry Potter book continue if they killed Harry halfway through? There's plenty of other characters, sure, but Harry is the hero, the one we're all supposed to be rooting for.
I think it's because the writer wants to please both the audience and their own self. The writer realizes that many people enjoy the "happy ever after" endings. They know that people escape into another world, another life through books. We see ourselves in the main character, so much that we become the main character and if they are killed off it's a terrible disappointment because it's as though we ourselves have died. The writer recognizes this and makes sure not to kill off the main character/s in order to secure the sanity of the reader! aha But I believe the writer feels the same way about their characters. While writing, their fictional characters come alive as a real breathing human being, forming a bond between the character and the reader, and to kill them off would cause the writer great pain.
In The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, (SPOILER) Bree is killed off at the end , but the plot doesn't really work cause it's in the first person set AFTER it happened, sooo....yeah.
Well, I write in my free time and as Kelly said, once you get to the end of a book with characters its hard to even consider killing them. Though personally I would hate a book or book series where the main character was killed off... I think it would ruin the book because I don't like reading books to love the characters just for them to die.
The Green Mile killed off most of it's cast by the end of the book.
Karenlogue wrote: "The Green Mile killed off most of it's cast by the end of the book."And it was particularly brutal about it at times, too. Euugh.
They're the main character for a reason! Part of the point of killing other people off is to show how those deaths affect the main character. Of course in ensemble stories it's a bit different as there are more than one 'main' character.
Jason wrote: "Karenlogue wrote: "The Green Mile killed off most of it's cast by the end of the book."And it was particularly brutal about it at times, too. Euugh."
I know, right? That book tore me apart. Every time I thought King was done with the torture he decided to twist the knife one more time.
Karenlogue wrote: "I know, right? That book tore me apart. Every time I thought King was done with the torture he decided to twist the knife one more time."I agree. When I finished it, I was just like, 'Thank god that's over', but in the best way possible haha. Was a brutal and beautiful book.
After having read 3 books in the Game of Thrones series, my answer is probably because it's depressing as hell.Sure, killing off the main characters is very brave and in the real world no one is 'safe' from death, like the main char in a book. So bottom line, if you want depressing - go watch the news. If you want an interesting story, read a book :)
Jesus Christ, does anybody agree with me? the only person who has IS Jon. thank you Jon, but Jason wroteif they had of killed of Harry Potter it would not have continued, but I just made that point, kill him off in the last book, maybe Jons right maybe I should write a story killing off the main character. Thank you. Jude
sorry I said Jesus Christ at that last one I got a bit angry but anyway thanks for talking about it with meplease write more. thanks Jude
Jude wrote: "sorry I said Jesus Christ at that last one I got a bit angry but anyway thanks for talking about it with meplease write more. thanks Jude"
haha. Be passionate.
You could be facetious though and say that killing off the main character at the end isn't really killing him off in the story. The story ends with his death, so that's the end of it. I think doing that is almost the equivalent of ending with:'He woke up, covered in a slimy, cold sweat. It was all a dream. Thank God.'
Jude wrote: "Jesus Christ, does anybody agree with me? the only person who has IS Jon. thank you Jon, but Jason wroteif they had of killed of Harry Potter it would not have continued, but I just made that poin..."
Sometimes killing off the main character works, sometimes it doesn't. There aren't any hard and fast rules, and not everything has to end in death.
Honestly, I have ideas for stories that play around with the rules of main characters and death, but mostly the main character is somebody the reader is supposed to emotionally invest in. I think a lot of people want to see the protagonist endure a lot of suffering, overcome impossible odds but at the end ride off into the sunset.
Books are meant to entertain after all, and a little bit of wish-fulfillment isn't going to hurt anybody.
This is where there is a difference between book characters and film/TV characters, in my opinion. The highly acclaimed British spy series "Spooks" (I think it's called MI-6 over here)made it a point to kill off major characters at any moment- opening show, mid-season, the finale, etc. In that instance it simply makes the viewers turn in regularly because they honestly don't know what will happen to whom and when. In books, we become deeply attached to specific characters, and they can't be replaced as easily (no matter how gorgeous Richard Armitage is).
That piece broke my heart Robert it was really emotional and sad. BUT COME ON WHY DONT THEY EVER KILL OFF THE MAIN CHRACTER.
I SUPPOSE THAT IS A GOOD POINT HANNAH, I still have to disagree with you there, Is it easy to off main chracters I FIND ITS VERY EASY BUT MAYBE you don't, now you may think that Im just a stubborn little bastard of a nine year old Im not I AM actually a nice person ;) thanks. Jude
I think it would kind of destroy the reader to go through so much with a character, to see their life and their thoughts and see them go through so much and overcome everything, and then watch them die. No one wants to see a character their so invested in—someone who, by the time you finish the story you feel as though is a part of you—get beaten by everything just as the story ends. And how could you happily reread a book or a series if you knew in the back of your mind that the character you were experiencing everything with was going through it all for nothing? Where's the fun in knowing they're going to die?Sometimes, it works. And I agree that it would be surprising and it would be a twist to have the main character killed just as the story ends, but it's too real sometimes. And readers want the ending to be happy, or at least to know that the character they've gotten attached to has a chance to continue being happy after the book ends, because that isn't really where the story ends, just the bit you got to be part of.
If you want to use Harry Potter as an example: I grew up with those books. From elementary school high school, I read those and reread them and waited for the next ones to come out so I could continue the story. They are an enormous part of my life. So where would I be if I watched Harry grow up and fight battles and overcome every horrible thing life put in his way, and then experienced all that just to die with him? That wouldn't be good triumphing over evil, and it would make all the heartbreak of so many precious minor characters dying around him and for him all for nothing. And I don't think there are many people who would want to read about that.
Well you make a good point but, in real life good never overtakes evil in real life evil will always win because it is evil. that's a pretty good quote comin from a nine year old don't ya think but as you said you would hate to see Harry die, Haley while technichally Harry did die so why didn't he stay dead huh answer me that?
^Also (and I know people of all ages enjoy Harry Potter but they are written with children in mind too) can you imagine the outcry when all the children read their beloved hero dying?Jude, I don't think anyone is accusing you of being nasty. But the point is there isn't one rule for everything. There are stories where main characters die, and there are stories where main characters don't die. I'm sure if you asked for recommendations there are plenty of stories where the main character has died, but it's unfair to expect every story to stick to an arbitrary rule.
yeah youre right Robert SORRY I EVEN STARTED THE TOPIC. THANKS JUDE
Karenlogue wrote: "Jude wrote: "sorry I said Jesus Christ at that last one I got a bit angry but anyway thanks for talking about it with meplease write more. thanks Jude"
haha. Be passionate."
YEAH WELL YOU CANT SAY THAT TO A NINE YEAR OLD
Jude wrote: "that was sort of mean Iris. Jude"I wasn't being mean, it was only an opinion. You seem clever for your age, so you can probably understand that if someone disagrees with you, it doesn't mean they have anything against you.
Just something to keep in mind :)
yeah sorry Iris didn't mean it, thanks for saying I seem clever for my age. Best wishes Jude
Hannah wrote: "This is where there is a difference between book characters and film/TV characters, in my opinion. The highly acclaimed British spy series "Spooks" (I think it's called MI-6 over here)made it a poi..."Hannah, a TV series offers some uncertainties regarding characters because unless the actor commits to see it through to fruition, they typically are given the opportunity to sign contracts every few years. In the UK it is typically 3 I believe. Then if the actor decides to move on of course the character must be killed off or sometimes move on in some ridiculous and unbelievable twisted plot. It is the unfortunate business in politics of actors, and we suffer from these repercussions mercilessly. Take for instance, Moffat (writer of the Dr. Who series and other UK shows). I think he gets a bad rap for killing off many of deeply beloved characters but in all honesty, it's not because he is sadistic and wants to continuously torture us to the point where we need years of therapy, it is often times because of career choices on the actors behalf. In a book, the character is committed as long as the writer allows him/her to be lol
You're right, tv is an entirely different beast. It can work both ways though. The intention of Heroes was to start with a fresh cast every year, but as the first season was incredibly popular the plan was changed to keep the characters people love. It's a risky thing to do, but I think if the writing is strong enough killing a main character is do-able. But the writer has to ask him/herself is it worth the risk?
But then of course there are MANY characters who have died and come back to life, so there's always a fail-safe lol.
Jude wrote: "yeah youre right Robert SORRY I EVEN STARTED THE TOPIC. THANKS JUDE"
No need to apologise, it's an interesting discussion :).
In
, a key character dies. I won't say who for people who haven't read it.
I'm reading the entire Game of Thrones Series...and now I am hand shy. Reluctant to choose any favourite characters because they will probably get the chop. I guess if you have to kill main characters, make sure that you have plenty of sub-characters that the reader can re-attatch to.
well..since the real world is hardly always perfect.. With happily ever afters.. Or good always triumphing over evil.. Guess books take us to a make believe world where we can be sure the main characters will always have their happy ending.. Why kill them and depress the readers??
Meet John Green. Killer of main characters and the man solely responsible for millions and millions of tears.
(SPOILER ALERT!)This made me think of Tess of the Durbervilles by Thomas Hardy. If you think that authors never kill off a character that everyone identifies with, try this book. But he has good reason for doing so,he was an early writer for women's rights and he clearly showed in this story how women of that era, took the rap for the bad behaviour of men over and over again. Tess, a beautiful innocent girl, with a strong and loving heart, is repeatedly abused and damaged and sullied against her wishes by men and in the end her reward is to be hung for her final retaliation against one of them.
As an author, I am right now in the process of killing off, not the main character but an important one. I've done it before in previous books. It is SO HARD TO WRITE these scenes. I put them off and put them off and try to work all around it and then the day comes when I have to face it. I lock the door of my office so no-one can disturb me and I sit there writing away with tears streaming down my face. The emotional upheaval of creating such scenes is unbelievable. You think it is sad to read it? Try writing it! In my previous story my two-day old main character's parents sacrificed themselves to shark attack to prevent his death and I didn't have a tear left to cry by the end of it.
I like writing death scenes. It makes me feel like I have the power of a god mwahahahaha
The main/hero character in a book gives it the heart and the readers love for that character gives the book a soul. If Harry was killed in Harry Potter evil would have won, same as Hunger Games, Twilight, Robin Hood, Peter blummin Pan for that matter, evil wins too often in real life lets pretend in books PLEASE!!
The Book of Human Skin (spoiler alert!) is a good example of when a main character is killed off in a book. The interesting thing about it is that he's the baddy. So we spend pretty much the entire book in his company so it's really satisfying when he dies.I've given a thought to writing a book in which the main character dies as I think it's a very interesting idea. I've read a few of George R R Martin's books and the harrowing thing about killing off characters is that one becomes so emotionally invested in them and, as in real life, no one is safe.
My favourite books are the ones which evoke a strong emotional response.
The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
Books mentioned in this topic
Noah's Ark (other topics)Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West (other topics)
The Sight (other topics)
The Book of Human Skin (other topics)
Don't Wait For Me (other topics)
in stories Mild spoilers ahead
In Beowulf and THE GREAT GATSBY tHEY DO BUT NOT VERY OFTEN. im Jude im 9