With this in mind, I want to present an idea to you;
The characters you love most and/or identify with reveal something about traits you admire, who you are, what you struggle with, and what themes beat loudest in your life - both good traits, struggles and themes, and bad ones.
Stories, in all forms, are powerful things — whether spoken, danced, filmed, written, sung, acted, painted, drawn, or lived. Just the definition of the word 'story' tells us a lot about what it is meant to do:
'Noun; A narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or reader.'
That said, here are two things to think about...
First of all, are you careful who you let yourself admire?
Oh, I understand that there are loads of cool and compelling characters out there in both fiction and history, and they all have at least a hint of something relatable, but they're not all admirable just because we can relate to them or even because they may have a redemptive element to their lives. We need to bear in mind that they must have one or both of those features to make a good character; it's the only way storytelling works - it doesn't mean they're 'good' in any sense of the word.
But Hollywood in particular is very good at twisting relatable qualities in characters who have a particular attractive pizzazz or fascinating personalities and making us care about them, even if they themselves are anything but honorable, and do everything wrong and for wrong reasons with wrong motives. But we identify with them, so we feel like we understand that they somehow "had" to do what they did, and we become secretly (or sometimes not so secretly) infatuated with their every move and will defend them to the last no matter what they did. And while we're not watching, we slowly start to imitate them in small ways of our own.
This is why it is so vital that we are 'wise as serpents' when it comes to choosing what we fill our minds and hearts (and consequently our lives) with, and why we can't just casually allow ourselves to watch or read or listen to every single thing that interests us or that we don't want to 'miss out on' when our friends are all seeing/reading/listening to them. Because...
'We live by the light of every story we've ever read.'
—Unknown
...Or ever watched or listened to, for that matter. Therefore;
'Life and death of a culture is dependent on who is telling the stories.'
—John Fornof
As a brief side note: If you are called to storytelling as I am, then this is why what you're doing matters; this is why what you are pouring your heart into is worthwhile; because what you are creating is going to move and influence people, and in varying degrees, the characters and plots and images you are building are going to change the way people live. Both in you yourself and in others.
And the second thought: what do your favorite (or most relatable) characters say about who you are, and what you struggle with?
I've been thinking about this in myself quite a bit over the last couple of years. (I wrote a post on one of the characters I find myself a little too much like a couple years ago: Hobbit-ish feelings ) I'm not going to go as in-depth right now as I started to try to do in that post, but I thought I would share just a couple characters I like and identify with and why, and what pondering them shows me about my personal struggles.
Bilbo Baggins (from The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien) — Since I mentioned quite a bit of how I find myself like little Mr. Baggins in that previous post (linked above), suffice to say that while I can have moments of Took-ish-ness when I long to go on adventures, I catch myself being seriously frightened by the prospect as well. Pretty nearly anything that didn't get a chance to be properly entered into my appointment book is startling, unsettling, and (at least initially) unwelcome. But, while I greatly admire characters like Bilbo and Frodo for their enormous, brave hearts, and for doing what they must do when things get down to the wire, I want to grow out of the fearful aspects of Hobbit-ish-ness; to learn to not hesitate when I am called on to do something difficult or frightening, and learn to trust that my strong God not only can but also will come through for me in exactly the right time.
Kale Alleron (from DragonSpell and DragonQuest, Donita K. Paul) — Oh my, dear Kale... I believe she was one of the first characters who made me very clearly face some less-than-good traits in myself and see them as they were. As I was reading along with her journeys, I would catch myself having unkind, fearful, or annoyed thoughts about other characters or situations, and then find that in the very next sentence or two, Kale would have the very same reactions as the ones I had just felt. O_o Seen on paper like that, in black and white, lived out clearly in actions...was very unflattering and revealing, to say the least. (Talk about a wake-up call!) But I also loved how clear it was that she was growing, and loosing bits and pieces of those unkind traits as she went. How she rose to the occasions that met her even when she was sure in her mind that she could not. That she was trusting, especially of Paladin, and that He knew what was best even when it didn't make sense. And she had some pretty darn adorable minor dragon friends, which didn't hurt things a bit. ;)
Bree, the talking Horse (from The Horse and His Boy, C.S. Lewis) — Bree is an admirable character over all, and why not? He is bold, unafraid, generally patient, smart, and has a strong sense of loyalty and vision. And he's my namesake... Which is pretty darn awesome. ;) But Bree's worst flaw is that he is prone to slipping into pride at times. Yes, what human being (or talking Horse) isn't, I know, but it gets a little more personal when you're named after a creature who is more than a little vulnerable to it. Oh yes, he does get better at humbling himself as time goes by, but it takes quite a talking to from the Hermit and then from Aslan Himself before Bree really begins to learn humility. I don't want it to have to come to that in me in the moments when pride rears its ugly head. And so Bree is a steady reminder to me that no matter how admirable your other traits may be, humility or a lack thereof will determine much of how my life plays out and how God can bless and work through me, though He is always willing to kindly, firmly point out my blind spots to me and help me grow past them.
Antigone Smith, and Diana Boone (from The Dragon's Tooth, and Ashtown Burials, N.D. Wilson) — I reviewed the Ashtown Burials book series these courageous characters come from in two previous posts: Part 1 and Part 2 - so you can take a quick detour over there to learn more about those fantastic books. :)
First, let me tackle Diana. This girl is what I would like to pretend I would be if I found myself in situations like hers; she has amazing talent and skill, she works hard and accomplishes impressive things, she is welcoming, approachable, light-hearted, and not at all arrogant, she is quick-thinking and reliable, she doesn't shy away from difficult things, and she has an unflinching bravery and loyalty in the face of overwhelming circumstances from which most anyone would usually shrink back - yet she still remains tender and un-callous in a beautiful way that allows her to be moved by what hurts others. But her flaw is working harder and accomplishing more to compensate for places or people who make her feel inadequate. I know I have a touch of that part of her, however unpronounced it is. And however much I've been working on healing that, it'll take a great deal more time; but it's easy to see how damaging it can be even in someone as inspiring as Diana.
On the flip side is Antigone, someone I can identify with in many ways than the expertly skilled, unwavering Diana. Antigone has been thrown into situations she doesn't understand against obstacles she'd much rather ignore or pretend do not exist, but her courage is unshakable, and she does the hard things that have to be done because they have to be done. There are many moments when Antigone finds herself more than a little overwhelmed (and who can blame her!) and often very fearful and uncertain. But she refuses to let any or all of it overcome her. Her tenacity and valor greatly encourage and inspire me. I feel and sympathize with many of her struggles, though usually to a much lesser degree. The fact that she again and again fights to pull through with a lionhearted bravery despite what she feels or sees pushes me realize that I really can do what may seem impossible at the time; and not only can I do it when I have to, but I must do it. No matter the outcome. No matter how scary that is.
I want to include loads more examples that have and continue to impact me... But then I know I'll never get this finished. So I'll stick with those five characters for this post. (Another time I'd like to further tackle the less-than-admirable characters and antagonists we're sometimes drawn to and how they affect us...)
But for now, what characters are inspiring you — quietly, slowly changing the way you think and live?
What do their character traits and struggles reveal about you, what you admire, and the places you need to grow?
(As always, all images and quotes belong to their original owners - they are displayed here for inspiration only.)
