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Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Tahleen's Top Ten Most Dislikable Characters


It's Top Ten Tuesday here at The Broke and the Bookish, a weekly event created by our mod Jamie! This week's theme: Top Ten Most Dislikable Characters (as you can see from the post title). I chose this because I have always really hated some characters and thought this list might be easy, but I started running out of ideas! I picked some from the same book, but in my defense they're equally detestable.

Don't forget to pick your own top ten (if you can't think of ten do as many as you can think of!) ! Just link to us and use the Mr. Linky down below!
1. Victor Frankenstein from Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: This character is, without a doubt, the one I hate the very most in all of literature. He's number one on my list. He is whiny, takes no responsibility for any of his actions, never acknowledges that he is to blame, and is incredibly stupid. A lot of innocent people died solely because of him. Someone just needed to punch him in the face and tell him to get over himself.
2. Pip from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Here’s another whiner who takes what he is given without any gratitude. Part of the reason I hated this book was because I couldn’t stand any of the characters.
3. Robinson Crusoe from Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: I can’t remember specifics here, just that I thought he was a real jerk. I felt bad for Friday. (Really, Crusoe? You’re going to take it upon yourself to name him, and after the day of the week that you found him? Really?)
4. Estella from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens: Yes, here’s another one from Great Expectations (I really hated that book). She was just… awful. No redeeming qualities. Always, quite simply, a bitch.
5. Odysseus from The Odyssey by Homer: Let’s see, he has no scruples about cheating on his wife, or leading his men into danger; his ego is absolutely enormous; he has an incredible sense of entitlement; and his pride is the reason Poseidon gets so furious at him (I’m sure Polyphemous really appreciated him telling him his name and place of residence—made his father’s job a whole lot easier).
6. Bob Ewell from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: For those of you who’ve already read this one, you know why. He beats his children, hates everyone and sees to his own needs and no one else’s. He is the reason the second, more unfortunate half of the book has to happen at all.
7. Bella from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer: I know, I know. Kind of a cop out. But I really just can’t stand her in the books. ESPECIALLY in the second book. Plus, she’s a terrible role model for all the girls reading her story.
8. Achilles from The Iliad by Homer: I know I’m sort of double dipping here, but Achilles was a real jerk too. He is supposed to be this super strong and awesome warrior, but he is really just another whiner, going to his mommy to make things better for him because he lost his girlfriend to his superior. He then decides he’s not going to fight because he’s angry and pretty much gives his own countrymen a death sentence. Without him, he knows they can’t win. Come on now. Grow up. Then, when he finds out his best friend is killed, he goes off on Hector and completely destroys him, not stopping there but going on to desecrate his corpse, showing incredible disrespect. Shame on you, Achilles.
9. Paris from The Iliad by Homer: Yeah, okay, Paris was put in a really difficult situation. He had to choose between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite in a beauty contest. It was a lose-lose situation; someone was going to be less than thrilled with the results, and he’d have had to deal with their wrath. But Aphrodite? Really? You picked the least powerful of the three of them because she was going to give you the most beautiful woman? That was dumb. It was also dumb because hey, now Hera, queen of Olympus, and Athena, a warrior goddess, are super mad and want to get revenge. Not to mention the whole starting the Trojan War thing.
10.Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger: Sorry to offend. I know a lot of people really like Holden because they see themselves in him. I do not. I still don’t like him, and I didn’t particularly enjoy having to reread this book in school. He is another whiner. That might sound harsh, but I was just annoyed by him.
Honorable mention: Humbert Humbert from Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. I haven’t read this book so I can’t put him on the list with good conscience, but from everything everyone has said about him, I think it’s probably safe to say that I wouldn’t like him very much.
What are the top ten characters you can't stand?
NEXT WEEK THE TOPIC IS: Top Ten Book Blogs You Love To Read


24 comments:

  1. Thanks for following my blog! :) I will be joining this meme for next week, because I don't think I can think of even 5 dislikable characters, at least not right now! From the two books I've either read/read about extensively, I agree. (To Kill A Mockingbird / Twilight, respectively)

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  2. Interesting that you included Frankenstein. I see too much of myself in him to hate him...the reckless drive towards a single goal, the shocking horror at seeing the consequences of his own action.

    And I loved Great Expectations in part because of how mean Estella was!

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  3. Ronnica--I felt the same way! I saw so much of myself in him to despise him. I can be so single-minded towards a goal to the point of recklessness. lol. I'm glad I am not the only one!

    And Tahleen..I'm so with you on Bella. Oh how irritating she is.

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  4. Interesting post! Let's see....
    1. Aw..I think you're a tad too hard on the good (okay not that good) doctor considering the time period his "advancements" were set in, he didn't do too bad...
    3. Yeah, um same deal. He was lost on a desert island, can't really fault him for not having all his faculties in working order.
    6. Totally there with you.
    7. GASP! *faints* ^recovers^ Not all books are to create a role model for readers. For some (heck, most) it's about the STORY. It's fiction after all. And really, as a character she's not so bad. She has her faults (human, yep...just like us), her passions, her desires....but alas, you can't convert a non-fan to a fan, so I shall respect your opinion, just not agree with it. ^_^
    Okay, after my wordy fest there, I'd really have to think about which characters irk me enough to make a list like this....but it was certainly fun checking out your picks! Thanks for sharing...and HAPPY reading!

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  5. I actually wanted to do this list because I hate Frankenstein so much haha. I have read it 3 times, all for school, and each time I think I hate him more. He has no real conscience, as far as I'm concerned. It is more his treatment of his creation afterward, and his complete unwillingness to think of anyone but himself, that makes me hate him so much. Not that he focuses entirely on one thing and blocks everything else out; that's only a small part of the book to me.

    As for Bella... I still think she's spineless and irritating. Being fiction is no excuse, and I didn't think she had many layers at all. That's just me though! We could argue about this all day haha.

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  6. I can see why many people don't like Bella, but Lucinda Price from Fallen makes her look smart. So I put Luce on my list instead. Holden is whiney but I find him hilarious.

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  7. Oh Bob. What an awful person that man was.

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  8. I get what you mean about Bella - she didn't really bother me that much in Twilight but in the subsequent books she started to get on my nerves!

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  9. Yes to Achilles!! I was totally shocked when he desecrated Hector's dead body! That was just horrible.
    And yes to Bella in New Moon, that whole book is a sobfest about Edward.

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  10. Great list! I'm so with you on Estella, Pip, and Bob Ewell. Great Expectations was aweful, I couldn't even make it all the way through /gag. And Bella totally made my list :3

    Good calls!

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  11. Thanks for this chance to participate in thinking about the Top ten dislikable characters. So fun & a great meme!
    At first, I thought it was tough to remember since I tend not to keep track of the characters I dislike in books (now, I may change that) but after I thought about it during the day they came back to my memory. Thanks for your post in helping me jog that memory of mine!

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  12. Julie,

    I know! It was so hard to think about who I hated. If I only disliked them, it wont enrage enough passion in me to remember them. Thus I thought of three right off the bat, but then it was like.. "Who now?"

    Great list, Tahleen!

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  13. Long time admirer, first time participant in Top Ten Tuesday. Love the blog and the lists. Looking forward to doing more.
    -Isaac
    http://towerofstories.blogspot.com/

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  14. Tahleen, I totally agree with you about Victor Frankenstein--he's on my list too. I posted my Top Ten at Bibliophiliac...

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  15. Great list this week. First time I've participated. I like it!

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  16. Anna here- Tahleen, this is brilliant! I agreed with many of them, especially Holden Caulfield and Bella Swan. Fantastic list!

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  17. Great idea. I had a lot of fun thinking whom to include on my list. I think this is something that should be revisited every now and then, because I keep reading more books and coming across more characters to choose from.

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  18. Hi

    I've just linked myself in as I love making book lists and it will be great to compare notes. I am currently blogging about my personal reading challenge to read my way through every country in the world (230 countries!) but am also writing about other bookish topics as well. Off the top of my head, I particularly have disliked Briony Tallis in Atonement and Mr Wickham and Kitty in Pride and Prejudice, Cathy Ames in East of Eden, Tom Ripley in The Talented Mr Ripley...I'll try to think of some others!

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  19. Wow.
    I cant believe that I agree with you in most of the characters you listed. I think Holden is overrated, as much as those mythical Greek Gods who only love themselves and extremely Narcissistic.

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  20. hey your blog design is very nice, clean and fresh and with updated content, make people feel peace and I always enjoy browsing your site.

    - Thomas

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  21. I picked this topic today since I couldn't think of 10 authors that deserve more recognition! :)

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  22. well i have to say that i agree,but one thing that is wrong said is in Paris,because he didn't start the war.Agamemnon just thought that it was a good excuse to start it just because he wanted the victory and all the others agreed.I would put him into that list,because he cared only about himself,he didn't care about his men he just wanted to be a king.He didn't even cared about his own brother,he just used him.So i think he should definetely be on this list.

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  23. I can't wait to start participating in Top Ten Tuesday it will be a lot of fun!

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