Welcome to bookchat where you can talk about anything...books, plays, essays, and books on tape. You don’t have to be reading a book to come in, sit down, and chat with us.
I try not to be too judgmental about books because different people like different stories and different genres. We have discussed characters that are rogues and anti-heroes and tragic villains of stature. Some of these villains are redeemed and some are flawed beyond redemption and yet we have pity. Some are, perhaps, the playthings of the gods. But, tonight I want to discuss the characters who seem to be just pond scum.
In the comments below, you may disagree with my choices, add your own choices, or just discuss books in general.
Two of my nominations for blighted human beings come from Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles and I nominate both Alec d’Urberville and Angel Clare. Their self-serving use of Tess and hypocritical actions make the story not just a tragedy, but a farce. Next up on Angel’s sacrificial altar is Tess’s sister. Spare me!
The plot is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
My next choice is Iago from Othello. Macbeth is evil personified, but Iago, the manipulator and sly destroyer is scum. The fact that Othello falls for this smooth talker's lies does not endear him to me, either.
I also choose both the Duke of Mantua and Rigoletto in Verdi’s Rigoletto. They both use and abuse others and the heartless Duke singing, "La donna è mobile", as he walks away while Gilda dies in his place is unforgettable.
The plot is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
To me Menelaus and Agamemnon qualify, too, from The Iliad. They are arrogant and useless idiots who let Achilles do all the work and then try to cheat him. Their false use of Helen's marriage contract to unite the Greeks against Troy smells to high heaven.
Another slimy character is S. Behrman in The Octopus by Frank Norris. The word jerk does not begin to convey the mindless breadth of malice this character displays.
The plot is here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
I truly despise Curly in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and General Campbell in The General’s Daughter by Nelson DeMille. In Austen's Pride and Prejudice, it is Wickham who is sickening in his lies and his betrayal of Lydia whereas Mr. Collins is just too much of a sycophant and very silly and thus not in the same category to me. Others may disagree about that, of course.
In Corelli’s Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres, at the end of the book, I award Corelli, the main character, with the "lowlife" crown for his cowardly disappearance and equally cowardly return and his mistreatment of Pelagia. I know this is controversial, but there it is.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
In Pat Conroy’s Prince of Tides, when the father helps capture the white porpoise named Snow, the father becomes pond scum. This part was left out of the movie and it was a mistake, imo. The story where Luke takes his siblings to rescue Snow is the best part of the book and this small part of the huge novel showed me more about the family’s troubles than any other of the many shattering tales.
In The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, it is the wizard Saruman who destroys the trees of the Shire and Grima Wormtongue the chief Counselor of King Theoden of Rohan and the servant of Saruman whom I despise most. Wormtongue gives me the creeps the way he controlled Theoden and sucked his courage away. ~shudder~
In Lindsey Davis’ books which feature a Roman P I named Falco, both Falco and I find the character of Anacrites, the chief spy who cheats and lies and yet gets sympathy from Falco's mother, to be creepy beyond belief.
In Dorothy Dunnett’s The Lymond Chronicles, the historical character that is unbearably heartless is Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox. In real life, who knows? To be fair, here is the wiki discussion of her life:
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Dolores Umbridge is another female character who is beyond the pale in Harry Potter. I admit I cheered when she was carried off into the forest.
Finally, the minister in A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving did not earn my respect at all. He was cowardly to the very end.
Is it necessary to call characters names? Aren’t they above insult? Is it scholarly? Perhaps, I am wrong. It seems to me that these characters differ from Heathcliff, Macbeth, Oedipus, and Achilles who deserve some respect. I understand the lowlifes are necessary to the plot, but they make me want to take a shower. There are such things as worthy opponents, but the types I despise have no shred of decency.
Is there a character that gets under your skin? Is there someone you love to hate?
Diaries of the week:
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plf515 has a wonderful book diary on Fridays early and all day.
sarahnity’s list of DKos authors has grown so much that she has her own diary.
http://www.dailykos.com/...
sarahnity says:
It turns out that we have quite a few authors hanging out here who have published books in the real world. A while ago, I started keeping a list of books by Kossacks, former Kossacks and Kossacks-once-removed. I was posting it each week to the diary series What Are You Reading and Bookflurries, but the list has grown long enough, that I've decided to turn it into a diary and post it as a weekly series on Tuesday evenings.
Not all Kossack authors may wish to lose their anonymity, so I am only including the author's UID if he has outed herself here (gender confusion intended). If you'd like to be included on the list, or if you know of an author who is left off, please leave a comment or email me.
(sarahnity@gmail.com)
Algebrateacher and plf have created The Tutoring Room. Algebrateacher says:
The Tutoring Room will always be open and updated weekly.
WTF do you want from public education? w/poll
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http://www.dailykos.com/...