Top Ten: Literary Characters

Most of you who know me know that I'm a pretty big reader. What's not to love about books? And anyone who loves reading loves certain characters that they read about. So I'm listing my ten favorite characters from literature. Before I begin, I should mention a few qualifications I put in place for characters on this list:
-No characters from plays were included here. Let's face it, Shakespearean characters warrant their own top ten list.
-Characters from classical poems (Greco-Roman, Anglo-Saxon, etc.) won't feature in here, unless they also feature in other works of literary merit (there is one such instance on this list).
-If the characters later appeared in works of film or theater, those adaptations may be discussed.
Now, without further ado, my top ten literary characters!

10) James Bond (Numerous works by Ian Fleming)
Bond. James Bond. Undoubtedly, he's one of the most iconic characters in the modern anglophonic world. Who hasn't seen at least one of the movies? Virtually everybody you may encounter has seen one Bond film or another - they defined the superspy genre. That's part of the reason why I ranked Bond low on this list - almost everyone has seen the movies, but few people have actually read Fleming's works. The Bond of the novels is a more complex, somewhat darker character than many of the Bonds of the film, and there's no direct comparison - it's not as if Connery' Bond or Moore's Bond (and so on) is the Bond of the novels. The Bond of the novels is written a bit crueler and colder than the film Bonds, but many of his traits are similar throughout - he's capable of compassion, he doesn't kill for pleasure, and he's quite suave. Truly, a dark sort of gentleman.

9) Kurtz (Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad)
Kurtz serves as an examination for the lurking darkness within the human soul and psyche. In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz, an ivory trader in a part of 19th-Century Africa heavily hinted to be the Belgian Congo, descends into the madness. But Kurtz only reaches the ninth slot of my list because his literary portrayal pales in comparison to his film portrayal. The adaptation isn't obvious at first - the setting is changed, and so is the title. Instead of reflecting on Europe's colonial actions in Africa, the film comments on America's policy of containment and takes the title Apocalypse Now. It's the reverse of the James Bond situation - in the film, Kurtz (now a rouge colonel in the US Army) is considerably darker and has much more depth. In both cases, the character becomes disgusted with the policies his homeland takes to the region in which he operates, and flees the established chain of command - descending into darkness as he does.

8) Gandalf the Grey/White (The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien)
This one will probably come as a surprise to most of you - not because it's on the list, but because it's relatively close to the bottom. Anyone who's read my blog knows that I'm a huge fan of Tolkien. And Gandalf is undoubtedly my favorite character. To those of you who live and breathe Harry Potter, think Dumbledore squared (Dumbledore is undoubtedly a Gandalf knockoff - a good one, but a knockoff still). Gandalf is thousands of years old, incredibly wise, and incredibly powerful. But he never rubs his strength in his fellows' face - and Tolkien heavily implies that he's capable of much greater magic than he ever performs in the book. Gandalf is a natural leader, kind to those around him, always ready to give counsel to those in need. He takes into account the views of those not quite so wise as he, and is shown throughout the novels to care about his friends above all other things - even himself. To this day, the literary scene that warms my heart the most is the one in The Two Towers where Gandalf reunites with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli months after they believed him dead. So why is Gandalf only number eight? Well, he's a bit too perfect. He's a role model, not the sort of person you encounter very often (if at all). And there's the fact that Tolkien's world, as much as I love it, is not our world. All these other stories take place in our world, or some more magical variation of it, which makes their characters a bit closer to home for us.

7) Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne)
This was one of the first classical novels I read in its full entirety, back in the fifth grade. And it's still one of my favorite novels. Verne's writing is phenomenal - somehow, I can take in the lists of the fish, cephalopods and algae that occur throughout the novel without getting even remotely put-off by the Latin phrases I only rarely recognize. The imagery is beautiful, the story is well-developped and fascinating, and the characters are well-developped as well. My favorite of these characters is the enigmatic Captain Nemo. Nemo is bizarre in some respects, and relatable in others. He's the ultimate Romantic - his incredible ingenuity and his scorn for society drive him to fantastic ends and adventure. I ranked him fairly low because, compared to most of the other characters on this list, he isn't developed very much - a big part of his significance is the mystique about him. At the same time, though, he's bold, daring, courageous, and he commands respect...a noble captain through and through.

6) Grendel (Grendel by John Gardner)
This is the one I was referring to earlier, of course. In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the creature Grendel is among the creature that the warrior of the Geats faces on his adventures. In the poem, though, he simply attacks because the rowdy Danes disturb him. In John Gardner's 1971 novel, Grendel is given a motivation and a character. Although monstrous in form, he's very near human in his temperament, philosophical and violent in the same instant, and with a love for the spoken word. He's even a bit honorable for a monster, rarely killing in cold blood. Instead, with his cynical worldview, he breaks them down and taunts them - no weapon can kill him, so the Danes are helpless against him. From the shadows, Grendel comments on social structure, the nature of religion, and the futility of man. He's dark, cynical, complex, and quite well-spoken to boot - I can't help but love the character.

5) Abraham Van Helsing (Dracula by Bram Stoker)
Van Helsing is almost a more realistic version of Gandalf the Grey, and I can't help but draw parallels between the two and suspect that Tolkien read Dracula at some point in his youth. Van Helsing and Gandalf share many qualities. Van Helsing comes across as a kindly old gentleman, and a very wise one at that - when he's first introduced, his numerous titles are listed. He's a doctor of philosophy, a doctor of medicine, and a lawyer, among other things. He's also, of course, a vampire hunter, and one of the true heroes of the story - without Van Helsing's considerable knowledge and iron nerve, the characters would have no hope to defeat Dracula. Van Helsing is open-minded, quick on his feet, smarter than most characters on this list, and a worthy rival to the dark Count. His bonds with his friends are virtually unequaled, making his character all the more admirable.

4) Edmond Dantès (The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas)
This is another classical novel I read in the past, and I don't think I understood it until I read it again earlier in high school. Dantès is somewhere between an adventurer and a psychopath. A victim of treason, Dantès decides to take matters into his own hands and seeks an elaborate revenge upon those who wronged him. He goes from a nobody-of-a-sailor to a fabulously wealthy man, who gives himself the title "The Count of Monte Cristo" - how can you not love that title? His somewhat-psychotic devotion is admirable - he spends nine years making himself the Count, invests his funds to help the innocent, and does all he can to expand his mind and his abilities. He does abuse his power and his assets, but it's all in the name of revenge, and he doesn't get the innocent caught in the crossfire. Dantès serves as a warning of the darker elements of obsession, while reminding readers of the power held by perseverance. And, at the end of the day, we can all relate to Dantès in some form or another.

3) The Creature (Frankenstein by Mary Shelley)
While Captain Nemo is the epitome of Romanticism, this character is the epitome of what happens of Romanticism gone wrong - or perhaps, denied Romanticism. Created by Victor Frankenstein and his dark obsession with reversing death (another cautionary tale, much like The Count of Monte Cristo), the unnamed monster is abandoned to roam the countryside. Essentially a child, he acquires a love of nature and learns all he can with great innocence by observing humans in the countryside. All he wants is to be accepted by those humans, but society casts him out, attacking him with all manner of weapons. And when Frankenstein refuses him the one thing he wants more than all else - a companion - he descends into rage and vows revenge. As with Dantès, the monster systematically seeks to annihilate his tormentors - only in his case, he does so by attacking those Frankenstein holds dear. And the worst bit is, he takes no pleasure in doing so. Although the things he does hurt his creator-enemy, they hurt his soul just as much. He takes no pleasure in killing and conflict, and eventually comes to seek his creator out to make amends - but he comes to late. You can't help but pity the creature - all he wants is compassion, and it is the one thing continuously denied to him. It's hardly a wonder that he sinks as low as he does - he's the most human character in the novel.

2) Yossarian (Catch-22 by Joseph Heller)
Oh, Yossarian. Zany Yossarian. Wacky Yossarian. Traumatized Yossarian. Poor Yossarian.
As you're all aware, I'm a bit of a World War II buff. It should come as no surprise that one of my favorite literary characters hails from a novel set in WWII. Captain John Yossarian pilots B-25 bombers in the skies over Italy, where he witnesses many of his friends die in horrendous, gruesome ways that scar him for life. And he's kept in rotation by a cruel irony known as Catch-22. The Catch states that any man who's insane should not have to fly missions, and can be kept out of the air if he only asks to be removed from combat; however, if he asks to be removed from combat, it means he's sane, and must keep flying missions. Yossarian's mind is brutally scarred by the traumatic stress he faces on a daily basis, and the fact that Catch-22 is working to ensure his death hardly helps matters. Through Yossarian, Heller comments on the perverse elements of war, societal institutions, economic policy and all the things we take for granted in society - to say nothing of the things that exist because we take the fact that they exist for granted. There's too much to comment on in a few lines - read the book if you haven't already.

1) Atticus Finch (To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)
Was there any doubt?
What makes Atticus my favorite literary character is just how realistic he is. Let's face it, we can't cast spells and kill demonic beasts like Gandalf. We can't be created in laboratories like the creature and seek revenge upon humanity like Dantès. We can't kill vampires, battle Danes, build submarines alone, escape into the jungles to be worshiped as demigods, slaughter the crown's enemies, or row to Sweden to escape death over Italy. But we can stick up for our fellow man in times of trouble. We can be honest with our friends and our family, and do what we can to help them out. And we can stand with what's right. Atticus isn't some superhero, or some radical idealist, or some ridiculous caricature. He's a single father who loves his children and his community - unfortunately, half of his community hates the other half. He's an ordinary, everyday guy you might bump into on the street without even realizing it. Atticus is just a man who believes that all men are created equal, and thinks that such a principle is far more important than his own personal reputation or notoriety. I'd elaborate on the story more, but let's face it - you already know it, and you probably already love it.