Rodion Raskolnikov, Crime and Punishment
Talking about Dostoyevsky’s characters, David Foster Wallace said that the best characters “live inside us, forever, once we’ve met them.” And Rodion Raskolnikov is one of the most complex and unique characters that he has ever created.
When we meet him, he is grappling with poverty. He is using his convictions about the achievement of the greater good for humanity to allow himself to commit murder and robbery. However, the lack of remorse he shows for killing an innocent bystander and the indifference that he shows when he witnesses an attempted suicide proves to us that he is not as morally bound as he makes himself to be.
What he is, is an incredibly complex character that perfectly captures the human condition. Despite committing such a heinous act, he is a relatable character to the reader. Through his self-denial, delusions of grandeur, and inability to accept being an ordinary person, his character enhances the story from what plot-wise would be just a story of a poor law student who kills a pawnbroker and gets caught.
The novels of Dostoevsky are seething whirlpools, gyrating sandstorms, waterspouts which hiss and boil and suck us in. They are composed purely and wholly of the stuff of the soul. Against our wills we are drawn in, whirled round, blinded, suffocated, and at the same time filled with a giddy rapture.
Virginia Woolf
Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye
There is a whole-ass blog post defending Holden Caulfield that you can read here. One of the most misunderstood characters in history, he is hated by as many people as the ones who love him. The character is unaware of how much the things that happened in the past has been impacting their present and impeding their future.
The best part about Caulfield, despite his shortcoming and faults, is that he refuses to conform. He, thus, is a representative for anyone who society tells to move on and conform regardless of the traumas and blocks that they are facing in life. Caulfield, in essence, as a character showcases how the society has no sympathy for individuals and their inner lives – instead expects them to be a functioning member of the society.
DEATH, Discworld Series
Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series is full of weird, loveable, and memorable characters. One of my favourite characters from the series is Death. He is, like literally death, but he is not a typical grim reaper.
Death starts off being a cold, unfeeling character and as the story moves on, he becomes more human through his connections with the people around him. Reading parts of the book from his point of view is a hoot because of the hilarious yet poignant observations he makes about the living.
HUMAN BEINGS MAKE LIFE SO INTERESTING. DO YOU KNOW, THAT IN A UNIVERSE SO FULL OF WONDERS, THEY HAVE MANAGED TO INVENT BOREDOM.
Terry Pratchett’s Death
Death stands outside humanity and can never be a part of it, but he tries to understand them. And while doing so, he provides some insights into humanity that is truly deep and remarkable considering how lightweight and fun the series is marketed as.
“what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?”
Death thought about it.
CATS, he said eventually. CATS ARE NICE
Pauline “Poppy” Cross, Happy-Go-Lucky
Poppy is someone I want to be. The main character of the movie by Mike Leigh, the title of the movie describes her perfectly. She is a happy-go-lucky sort of person and initially her optimism and carefree attitude might seem a bit grating but as the movie moves forward, you really get to see how authentic and genuinely compassionate the character is.
This is not the sort of character who gets to be the lead in a movie, at best, this sort of character would be stereotyped as the annoying side character. Even in the rare cases where the lead character showcases some of her optimism and sunny outlook towards life, the movies use them as a character study to showcase how they are using this outlook towards life to repress their own misery and anger. So, this is why Poppy’s character feels so fresh and honest – because there have been no other characters like hers.
Poppy has a very fulfilling life. She is well-travelled, loves her job, has life-long friendships and treats everyone she meets with deep empathy. Instead of attributing Poppy’s behaviour to childishness, naïvety, or fakeness, the movie showcases that her ever-optimistic view point is derived from the fact that she is a mature person who has her life figured out regardless of the conventions of the society that she has or has not reached.
Kim Kitsuragi, Disco Elysium
Kim Kitsuragi is not the player character in Disco Elysium but it does not feel right to call him the side character or the side-kick. He is instead the partner of Harry Du Bois, the player character of the game.
Despite not being the main character, I believe that Kim is the best part of the game. When you first meet Kim, he sounds extremely patronizing but that’s mainly because of how much of a fuck-up Harry is. But as you continue on with the game, you come to feel deeply about Kim’s character and go to the point of not taking the easier routes of the games to not hurt Kim’s feelings or disappoint him.
And I am not the only one doing this. Tons of people are prioritizing the feelings of a virtual non-player character to easier game-play. This is especially impressive considering how uncommon evoking this sort of empathy is in video games. Who among us hasn’t run over people just for the heck of it in GTA when we were kids.
The warmth I feel for Kim Kisturagi is a testament to the character development in this game and is a remarkable feat in the world of video games.
