Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900. NPR's list sucks. Let's make our own!

[Withywindle]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8547194


Who would YOU include? Who are you just appalled to see left out? Who had the biggest impact on you? Let's hear 'em!

[Richardo]

1. I'll start with two that I agreed with: Yossarian and Philip Marlowe

Billy Pigrim - Slaughterhouse 5
Kurtz - Heart of Darkness
Winston Smith - 1984
Boxer - the cart-horse in Animal Farm
Tom Joad - Grapes of Wrath
Hari Seldon - Foundation
Clinton Tyree - hermit and former Governor of Florida, various Carl Hiaasen novels
Bilbo Baggins - The Hobbit
Atticus Finch
Scout Finch
Boo Radley

I'm sure there are a thousand others, but that's a start and I'm tired. :)

[Taverner]

3. Billy Pigrim - Slaughterhouse 5!!!!!!

Right on!

[geardaddy]

24. Agreed.

[mitchum]

28. Boxer? I hate that goddamn tool more than the fucking pigs in Animal Farm

okay...I've calmed down now :)

[Richardo]

29. I thought he was a very poignant character when I read it in 7th grade.

You enemy of the worker, you. :D

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

2. Not gonna argue about where they belong, but

I would put Harry Potter, Stephen Maturin (my all time favorite fictional character-from the Patrick O'Brian books), Hannibal Lecter (read the books, especially Hannibal, the movies have nothing to do with the canon - there is more psychological depth there than can be imagined) and that inimitable gentleman's gentleman, Reginald Jeeves in the higher reaches of the canon. And just about any character created by the endlessly wonderful Robertson Davies.

Oh yes, Tolkein's Frodo and Bilbo Baggins and Sam Gamgee, Mervyn Peake's Titus Groan and Steerpike. And I am missing dozens. Flame away.

[Withywindle]

6. Jeeves and Bertie!

OMG, any list that leaves them out is no list at all, you're totally right.

(I'm with you on Steerpike, but I think Fuchsia is more compelling than Titus.)

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

15. On second thought, you are right

Fuschia is an incredibly compelling character. I instantly had a crush on her the first time I read the Gormenghast trilogy. But then I had a terrible crush on Ophelia the first time I read Hamlet. And probably for the same reasons. :)

And I will definitely consider Randall Flagg. I just re-read Stephen King's epic "director's cut" of "The Stand" a couple of months ago and got scared completely out of my wits. Gods, what an epically creepy and evil character..... King's not a great writer, but he is one hell of a storyteller when he's on.

[nomorenomore08]

4. I'm just disappointed they put Quentin Compson instead of his brother Benjy.

Seriously, now, 'The Sound and the Fury' is considered one of the 20th century's greatest novels for a reason, and Benjy is the real anchor of the story. And the mere fact that Faulkner was able to so vividly depict the reality of a mute autistic man, at a time when the term "autism" didn't even exist, should by itself make Benjy one of the greatest modern literary characters.

[cemaphonic]

42. they're both there - no Caddy though

Benjy is higher up even.

[nomorenomore08]

46. Shit, I missed that! But yeah, Caddy probably deserves a spot too.

Despite being "too beautiful" (in Faulkner's own words) to be used as a narrator.

[Withywindle]

5. Here are a few of mine, I'm sure I'll think of more later

Dr. Benway - recurring character in the works of William S. Burroughs
Harriet M. Welsch - 'Harriet the Spy' by Louise Fitzhugh (1964)
Cthulhu - recurring Elder God in the works of H.P. Lovecraft
Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee, detectives in Tony Hillerman's Navajo mysteries
Steerpike, Fuschia Groan - Mervyn Peake's 'Gormenghast' (1950)
Gollum - J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Hobbit' (1937) and 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954)
Sam Vimes and Esme "Granny" Weatherwax - Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series
Horse Badorties - 'The Fan Man', William Kotzwinkle (1974)
Aslan - C.S. Lewis's 'The Chronicles of Narnia' (1950-1956)
Silver John/John the Balladeer - recurring character in the works of Manly Wade Wellman
Smilla Qaaviqaaq Jaspersen - 'Smilla's Sense of Snow' by Peter Hoeg (1992)

[XemaSab]

9. I salute you

:patriot:

[tigereye]

17. I agree with Leaphorn and Chee, Gollum, and Aslan...

It's so funny, though, I thought only my husband loved Gormenghast, and I've seen people talking about it several times in the past few days!

[Zomby Woof]

7. My favorite 5 (subject to change) since 1900

1. Augustus McCrae - "Lonesome Dove"

2. Ántonia Shimerda - "My Ántonia"

3. Jack Burden - "All The King's Men"

4. Randle P. McMurphy - "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest"

5. Philip Marlowe - "The Big Sleep"

[XemaSab]

Thanks for posting this... I was hoping someone would

I have no pretentions to literature. These are just some names I'm throwing out. And this is based on a quick look at the ol' bookshelf, so I'm sure if I thought about it there would be more.

1. Ignatius J. Reilly

2. William of Baskerville

3. Demian

4. Bastian Balthazar Bux

5. The Wizard of Oz

6. Piggy

7. Lyra Silvertongue

8. Eleanor Vance

9. Severus Snape

10. Randall Flagg (not great literature, but a great character? Hell yeah. :D )

[Withywindle]

13. Shouldn't Lyra be counted as two characters?

Her and Pantalaimon? :D Good choice!

And yeah, of all the many good reasons to diss the NPR list, picking Harry over Severus is a BIG RED FLAG.

[Withywindle]

14. In the "not great literature, but great character" realm,

I see your Randall Flagg and I raise you Lestat de Lioncourt. :D

[tigereye]

18. well, maybe they were only looking at characters in what they deem "great"

literature... that's interesting.

The main character in White Teeth is great, as well and female protagonists in several of Kingsolver's novels.

[XemaSab]

21. Winnie the Pooh?

Formative literature, sure, but great? :shrug:

[tigereye]

23. compared to books by Madonna, it is...

I think in this case, it's a matter of the effects of the character... Milne wasn't a bad writer compared to some, certainly imaginative... Probably stacked up against the Golden Compass, or Little House on the Prarie, or Dickens, not so great...

[XemaSab]

33. I considered putting Laura Ingalls on my list

but since it's somewhat autobiographical... :shrug:

[XemaSab]

43. Susan Burling Ward

from Angle of Repose. :)

[bobthedrummer]

8. George Smiley, Bernard Sampson...

thanks to John LeCarre and Len Deighton...

[MrSlayer]

10. Gandalf the Grey is obvious.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown from Stephen King's "IT"
Patrick Bateman from Brett Easton Ellis' "American Psycho"
Raistlin Majere from Weis and Hickman's "DrangonLance" series
Drizzt Do'Urden from R.A. Salvatore's epic Drizzt series.
The Cenobites from Clive Barker's "The Hellbound heart"

[Jamastiene]

11. Carrie Dollanganger

To be deprived of love and never allowed freedom from one very uncomfortable room, then to have nature play the cruelest trick of them all and make a person such a freak that everyone around considers them utterly unlovable. I really felt for Carrie.

[ismnotwasm]

12. Lazarus Long

One of my favorites

[tigereye]

16. hmm, it looks ok up until the 60s or so, and there isn't as much since then

Not sure Harry Potter should be on there for that reason.


I'm not seeing a glaring error, but I'll have to think about it. I see a lot of the classics on there, and they are hard to argue with...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

19. Livia Soprano, Frank Pembleton, Clinton "Skink" Tyree...

...any any one of a number of characters on The Wire.

[PassingFair]

20. In recent years, Briony Tallis stands out for me.

I actually CRIED at the end of reading "Atonement".

(Disclaimer: I also cried at the last chapter of "The Book Thief")

[DS1]

22. Raven from Snow Crash

[XemaSab]

32. Poor impulse control

n/t

[DevonRex]

25. Sookie Stackhouse in Charlaine Harris's novels and the HBO series.

Jamie Fraser in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. I have a crush on him. :)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. Cugel the Clever.

And Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

[Withywindle]

39. Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser!

Yes!

while I'm on the subject:

Elric of Melnibone (emo before emo)
Horselover Fat (best author-self-insert ever?)
Aziraphale and Crowley (with whom Pratchett and Gaiman seem to identify a little too much)
Schmendrick the Magician (he stars in a novel about a unicorn. And it ISN'T twee.)
Biff and Maggie (Josh of Nazareth's childhood pals)

[geardaddy]

27. Mine

From Vonnegut:
Kilgore Trout
Eliot Rosewater
Malachi Constant

Lord of the Flies:
Ralph
Piggy
Jack

[sarge43]

30. Mine

Horatio Hornblower

Gully Folye

Leto Atreides, God-Emperor

Det Allan Grant, The Daughter of Time

[tanngrisnir3]

31. Mr. Crumbles & the Giant Ice Weasel.

[ghostsofgiants]

34. Does it have to be in literature? Or can we include movies and TV shows?

A few off the top of my head:

Literature:
Johnny Truant form House of Leaves
Tyler Durden from Fight Club
Mary Katherine Blackwood from We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Enid Coleslaw from Ghost World (Graphic novels count, right?)

Movies:
Seymour from Ghost World (Not a character in the graphic novel.)
Royal Tenenbaum from The Royal Tenenbaums
Wooderson from Dazed and Confused
The Mystery Man form Lost Highway

TV shows:
Special Agent Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks
John Locke from Lost
Fox Mulder from The X-Files
Brother Justin from Carnivale

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

38. Nice catch with Dale Cooper

Probably the coolest character ever on a TV show except for Patrick McGoohan's unforgettable, indefatigable Number Six. "Dale Cooper" was my handle on a number of message-boards a few years back.

Back when A&E (when it actually dealt with Arts and Entertainment) started showing Twin Peaks around 1999/2000 I fell into the show, which I'd never seen on ABC. I saw the pilot and thought "At last I have encountered a film maker who sees the world the same way I do." David Lynch is, IMHO, one of the great filmmakers of all time.

In the interests of honest disclosure, I was diagnosed Asperger's in 2005. :) Which probably explains why I like Lynch so much.

[ghostsofgiants]

40. Lynch is by far my favourite filmmaker.

Dude is a genius.

[JCMach1]

35. Valentine Michael Smith

Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land'

[JCMach1]

36. Paul Atreides

Frank Herbert's, Dune

[OmahaBlueDog]

37. The Joads (Tom and Ma especially) for openers (from The Grapes of Wrath)

Cal Trask and Cathy Trask from "East of Eden"

All my favorite Vonnegut characters were mentioned upthread (Kilgore Trout, Billy Pilgrim, Elliot Rosewater)

Doc and Mack from "Cannery Row"

Carrie from "Carrie"

Isadora Wing from "Fear of Flying"

Jonas Cord from "The Carpetbaggers"

"Sam I Am", "Mr. Knox", "Horton", and "The Grinch" (note that "The Cat in the Hat" did make the list)

Someone yesterday mentioned Alex from "A Clockwork Orange"

Irwin Fletcher from the "Fletch" novels

[cemaphonic]

41. Emporer Claudius

based on an historical figure, yes, but still a 20th century literary creation.

Gene Wolfe has a few, chiefly Weer and Severian.

I thought that list was missing Charles Kimbote and Judge Holden, but I was wrong.

[KamaAina]

44. Ignatius J. Reilly should've been much, much higher than No. 17

"Canned food is a perversion... I suspect it is ultimately very damaging to the soul."

[KamaAina]

45. Tyler Durden

remember, the movie "Fight Club" was adapted from a Chuck Palahniuk novel.

[jobycom]

47. I spent 45 hours straight, living off Black Russians and Reese's Peanut Butter cups

coming up with my own list, and when I was done, it coincidentally was exactly the same as the NPR list.

For Chrissake, why so serious? The list didn't suck, it was fine. People are weird around here.