Fictional Characters, Part 1
Topic: books, general fiction|Seven years ago, Book magazine (which I am unable to locate now – no idea when it was discontinued) published a “100 Best Characters in Fiction Since 1900″ list (April 2002). I discovered it in my file cabinet while cleaning earlier this summer. It is thought provoking – of course – as well as annoying and frustrating. Obviously, the creation of such a list is quite an undertaking, and as the article indicates, provokes a great deal of argument. Some of those included, as well as some not included, call for attention.
#1 – Jay Gatsby, from Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. I can’t argue with this one, except to say ‘uneasy lies the head . . .’ because there are a few others on the list that run a close second, if not a tie for first. Gatsby is a heartbreaker, and more importantly, a real person. That is not to say that Fitzgerald necessarily based him on a real person – although this was a habit – but rather that James Gatz is as real as my hands typing at the keyboard right now. I know him; you know him; we all know him. Sometimes I know him too well, as I recognize myself and others in him. Fitzgerald was a wizard in the characterization department; Gatsby is one of the many products of his magic.
#2 – Salinger’s Holden Caulfied. Well, Holden has his time and place, and we’ve all been there and done that. We all pass through the same developmental stages; how we manage them, and what circumstances surround our experience make us who we are, and Holden is there to hold a torch for those of us who fear that we aren’t “normal” or “right.”
#3 – Nabokov’s Humbert Humbert. It’s all about the empathy here, and Nabokov knew the language well enough to create droves of it for this genuinely disturbed character. I am amazed every time I return to Lolita by the fullness of the characters, as well as the depth of Humbert’s immersion in his own perverse, but terrifyingly understandable world. Lolita herself appears as #14, but I don’t think she qualifies to the list, period. It’s all about the Hum.
#4, 8, 9 – James Joyce – doesn’t matter which characters, I don’t remember them, and I couldn’t care less. His short stories are good enough, but the rest . . . ugh. Never could understand his appeal. As John Dos Passos said of a Joyce production, “the hero doesn’t seem to me remarkable particularly.” Across the board. It helps to have one’s opinion validated by the great Dos.
#7, #24, #81 – Atticus, Scout and Boo, To Kill a Mockingbird. Yes, I am on the bandwagon with these.
#10 – Wharton’s Lily Bart – wait a minute, I don’t see any Henry James creations on this list. Sure, he only gave us a handful of novels and stories after the turn of the century, but if Miss Bart is present, surely Maggie Verver, Charlotte Stant, Marie de Vionnet, Kate Croy, Nan Midmore – yes, Nan, thank you very much – deserve a place on this list. And Newland Archer, #94 – nope. Move over, buddy.
#12 – Gregor Samsa – Kafka does not do it for me. He stops in again at #83 with The Trial’s Joseph K. Still doesn’t do it for me.
#16, #19 – Woolf’s Dalloway and Mrs. Ramsay. I’m not big on Woolf, but her stream of consciousness narratives do work for me. Some scholars/readers/people in general claim that she ‘invented’ such a narrative device, but this isn’t true. William James was the first to note this method and to use this phrase; Faulkner, I believe, is the master of it.
#20 – Richard Wright’s Bigger Thomas. Wright makes characterization seem effortless; and yes, Bigger is remarkable and memorable, but of the two, I think Fishbelly of The Long Dream made me a believer in Wright’s talent and brilliance. I was surprised at how well I knew and understood Fishbelly, someone completely different from me in every possible way. Or maybe he isn’t . . . this is what Wright made me consider, and continue to consider.
#21, #47, #53 – all Hemingway: Nick Adams, Santiago, and Jake Barnes. Yes, but what about Robert Jordan?
#23 – Scarlett O’Hara. Yes, definitely, and the book version, please, not Vivien Leigh.
#26 – Kurtz from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. At least it isn’t Jim of Lord Jim. I think if we’re going to do Conrad, it should be Marlow, who steps in at #98. Let’s switch Kurtz with Marlow and the world will make sense again.
#27 – Stevens, the butler from Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day. Speaking of Ishiguro, I’d say Kathy, Ruth and Tommy of Never Let Me Go should be here instead. NLmG gave me nightmares for weeks. I am still unsure if it has found a place in my head yet, a comfortable one, that is.
#29 – Winnie the Pooh. I am not sure how to respond to this one. Who doesn’t like this silly bear, but really, I must reiterate that there are no Henry James characters on this list. But Pooh is here, at #29. Shaking my head.
#31 – Oh, yes, Hazel Motes of Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood. She has a variety of highly memorable and disturbing characters to choose from; Motes is perfect here, but the list should include some of her other frighteningly real and honest attention-grabbers.
. . . to be continued
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