The Catcher in the Rye
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Most Influential Fictional Character
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Oct 27, 2013 10:02AM
Which fictional character has most influenced man and society? Why?
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Spiderman - he brought the superhero into the realm of the everyday man. He was the first super hero with flaws making all of us mere mortals believe that we too could do just about anything.
Harry Haller from 'Steppenwolf'. Ivan Karamazov from 'The Brothers Karamazov. For why, best to read the books, but generally these characters speak of isolation and the degenerative effects Society has on man.
I would say Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin and Scrooge from A Christmas Carol .Uncle Tom because he was the first slave who was a real person with hopes, dreams and fears which all people could understand and once understood, could not ignore. That led to a Civil War which was a defining moment in US History.
Dickens changed Victorian England with his books which again created real people who were suffering and Scrooge was the embodiment of the successful capitalist who cared for nothing but money. The warning in the last scene of the Christmas Present where the ghost shows Scrooge the two children under his robes was a scene few people could ignore:
"“They are Man’s,” said the Spirit, looking down upon them. “And they cling to me, appealing from their fathers. This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased."
Scrooge is also influential in that he reminds us that redemption is always possible and that however bad a person is, he can still change.
A Christmas Carol went on to be Dicken's best known book and has continued his message since the day it was published.
Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird....He was committed to doing what was right even at great peril to his family and himself. He instilled these values in his children I would be curious how many lawyers were inspired by
this book ?
Rebecca wrote: "God"Ha, spot on
Robin Hood?The way I see it, his is a story a story that most people know, with a set of values with which most people sympathize. That's got to be pretty influential.
Vicente wrote: "Is God or Adam & Eve a fictional character? The question is very clear.
"
Adam & Eve are mythical, and no not everything in the bible is fact...God on the other hand well that bit is moot.
I'm with Anne on both her choices. While the American Civil War had many causes, Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin had a major influence on the American public's willingness to go to battle for the freedom of slaves. So much so that when President Lincoln met Mrs.Stowe for the first time, he greeted her with, "So this is the little lady that started this great war." Uncle Tom represented all American slaves to the people of his time in that he was at the mercy of whomever owned him.Scrooge gives us all hope that we can be better people.
Dorothy Gale from the Wizard of Oz. She taught us that there's no place like home.
Rebecca wrote: "God"No doubt. Jack Kerouac, Ken Kesey, William Burroughs: their alter ego characters in novels had a lot of influence on the sixties.
@KallieWhat, Kesey, Kerouac and Burroughs... but not Hunter S Thompson?
One wrote: "@KallieWhat, Kesey, Kerouac and Burroughs... but not Hunter S Thompson?"
This is all my opinion, of course: Hunter may have been a wild man, but he was no bohemian. A lot more people followed the call of 'On the Road' (or 'on the bus,') or the disaffected/punk hipster Burroughs mode.
Claude wrote: "Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird....He was committed to doing what was right even at great peril to his family and himself. He instilled these values in his children I would be curious ho..."
I agree!
Claude wrote: "Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird....He was committed to doing what was right even at great peril to his family and himself. He instilled these values in his children I would be curious ho..."
I am one of these lawyers (well, in training)
Kallie wrote: "One wrote: "@KallieWhat, Kesey, Kerouac and Burroughs... but not Hunter S Thompson?"
This is all my opinion, of course: Hunter may have been a wild man, but he was no bohemian. A lot more peop..."
I agree with Kerouac, but I consider Thompson far more influential than Kesey or Burroughs. Hunter was a legend in left wing political literature and counter culture in general. Along with the likes of Capote, Mailer and Tom Wolfe, Hunter helped reshape journalism.
One wrote: "Kallie wrote: "One wrote: "@KallieWhat, Kesey, Kerouac and Burroughs... but not Hunter S Thompson?"
This is all my opinion, of course: Hunter may have been a wild man, but he was no bohemian. ..."
Hunter et al. were very influential, sure; but they did not start social movements outside their profession. Kerouac, Kesey and Burroughs shaped the way many people regarded and responded to American culture, whether those young people wrote or not. That is why I see K K and B's influence, through the alter ego characters in their novels as well as their 'legendary' lives and charisma (especially that of Kerouac and Kesey), as more generally pervasive.
Big Brother from Orwell's 1984. He taught the governments of the world how to dominate us all.
Rebecca wrote: "God"perfect answer :)
Surprised nobody has mentioned characters from children's books.The Cat from "The Cat in the Hat" is a part of my oldest (and best) memories.
The character type "The Wolf" is often the first bad guy we are exposed to. Think of the story about "The Boy who Cried Wolf." Maybe it is more of an oral tale or bed-time story but we use it to teach our kids about the importance of honesty.
"Romeo" or "Juliet?"
The character "Don Quixote" is often thought of as the first target of the comedic punch line in literature.
Howard Roark from Fountainhead
Jean Valjean from Les Miserables
Rebecca wrote: "God"agreed
Vicente wrote: "Is God or Adam & Eve a fictional character? The question is very clear."
yes, they are. the responses were very clear.
Drsweety wrote: "Howard Roark from Fountainhead"His view of life helped shape mine more so than many other books.
Arthur from The Once and Future King.
Christopher wrote: "Huckleberry Finn, Jay Gatsby, Odysseus, Anne Frank"Anne Frank is not a fictional character. :)
Sherlock Holmes for teaching us all the art and value of keen observation and deduction.
Join this thread and tell us who you think is the vilest fictional character.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Simon Legree Uncle Tom's Cabin
Claire wrote: "Jesus."Why would you deem my landscape maintenance specialist so influential on mankind and society?
I'm finding it hard not to agree with the God/Jesus suggestion, as that would have to be right up there when it comes to influence. That a lot of folks don't consider those two "fictional characters" though, makes me think there should be an alternate. So, with that in mind:Santa Claus.
Still, that might be "cheating" in that I don't think that was what the OP was getting at. Instead, how about characters more in line with what people consider "fiction" in the sense of novels, short stories, etc. rather than psalms and myths. Here's my list of possibilities, in more or less historical order:
Hercules
Odysseus
Julius Caesar (fictionalized himself quite a bit....)
King Arthur
Robin Hood
Hester Prynn
Jay Gatsby
James T. Kirk
Jane Eyre - for her strength of character and continuing perseverance - and for her conviction in equality of the sexes and classes.
I think we are a little off the question and not dealing with "characters" that actually influenced society and I'm going to take us further by saying I think that poor immigrant, whose I can't even remember, in The Jungle by Upton Sinclair helped change society. I tried to look it up on the comments in Goodreads and I couldn't find it there either. It doesn't matter much because he represented any immigrant who came to this land of promise and ended up finding bone crushing poverty.This book did have a great influence on the meat-packing industry and helped to create the FDA, but it also gave a face to the idea of "socialism" and "social responsibility" just as Uncle Tom's Cabin did to slavery.
Scott wrote: "Elliot Rosewater.."be fruitful and multiply"!"I think it was God that said that line first! :>)
Yeah probably not Holden Caulfield.
Slave characters from Uncle Tom's Cabin
Jim wrote: "Slave characters from Uncle Tom's Cabin"I second that emotion
Rebecca wrote: "God"You maybe right on that one. At least, I agree strongly.
Anne Hawn wrote: "I would say Uncle Tom from Uncle Tom's Cabin and Scrooge from A Christmas Carol .Uncle Tom because he was the first slave who was a real person with hopes, dreams and fears which all people cou..."
I think the theory that Uncle Tom's Cabin led directly to the American Civil War is a tad over the top. And the old quote supposedly of Lincoln to Beecher Stowe is regarded as apocryphal. Although I do think the character of Uncle Tom was very influential.
I agree that Dickens' characters have had far reaching influence in Britain at least, but I would suggest Oliver Twist, Bill Sykes and Fagin from Oliver Twist; and Smike and Wackford Squeers and Ralph Nickolby rather than the Christmas fairy tale/pantomime character of Scrooge (tho' I see where you're coming from)
Claude wrote: "Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird....He was committed to doing what was right even at great peril to his family and himself. He instilled these values in his children I would be curious ho..."
I concur (I've only seen the film)
Belinda Portman from Maria Edgeworth's Belinda. The independent minded Miss Portman contemplated seriously an inter-racial marriage in pre-emancipation 1801 Britain. Two minor characters (binary oppositons to Belinda and Paul) actually marry (inter-racially) which the editors removed from all subsequent editions until late in the 20th century.
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