Thursday, March 18, 2010

Complex Characters

submitted by student - Artemis Fowl is a very complex character. He is constantly scheming to enter the world of magic. His life is quite complicated and it has therefore made his character and personality quite complex. Who is the most complex literary character you can think of? Why?

34 comments:

AF313 said...

One literary character that i find extremely complex is Eragon from Christopher Paolini's Eragon Series. I think that Eragon is complex because he is forcefully thrown into a completely new life that he never knew could exist. in days, he discovers a dragon egg, develops magical powrrs that he never knew he could have, is chased by nightmarish monsters, goes through the departure of his cousin, who was like a brother to him, and witnesses the burning of his home as well as the death of his Uncle, who was like his father. He is thrown out on the road to complete a quest that he never knew existed and is forced to travel with a person that he had never spoken to prior to that. There is clearly a lot going on in his head al the time, and that is what I think makes him a complex and confused character.

ian said...

one literary character who is extremely complex is the mad hatter from alice in wonderland. i think that he is complex because he has multiple personalities that change very quickly and randomly. he can be happy one minute the raging mad the next. that is why i think he is a complex character.

I'm Joe King said...

I agree with ian. The mad hatter seemed to have multiple personalitys. In one scene he is working for his enemy the red queen, making hats. He tells the main character how much he likes making hats and how happy he is that he can do it again even though he is now doing it for the red queen instead of the white queen. Alice (The main character). asks him if he would rather be doing it for the white queen again. This question causes the hatter to act violently and starts taking out his hated for the res queen on things in the room he is in. this shows how complex he is because, like ian said he can be happy one minute and mad the next.

cstrachan said...

The most complex charecter i can think of is katniss from the hunger games. I think that she is complex because she is always changing opinions about contestants in the games. For example rue from the 1st book is at first just another person to kill but sooner down the line she befriendds her and they go on to kill and hunt togrther. once rue dies she turns to sadness because rue has died. It just goes to show that 1st impressions change over time.

Tommy Killoy said...

A complex character i can think of is Alex Rider. How there is constantly so much going through Alex's mind. Always scheming and plotting ways to get out of situations or how to get into them.

LittleMissSunshinexx said...

A complex character is the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. One minute she is kindly greeting her people and the next she is yelling about taking off somones head. For example, in the original Alice movie she is yelling about her cards getting beheaded for painting the roses. Withing in seconds of seeing alice she turns into a sugar coated host, offering Alice to play croquet. Then once again, she turns back into an evil raging queen.

Julia said...

I agree with cstrachan! Katniss is a very complex character. She is always thinking ahead, of strategies, potential glitches and a way to escape. On the other hand she is not all there when love gets the best of her. Also, she has many contradictions with herself. On the outside she knows to play by the rules and follow directions but her heart is telling her to take risks and think outside the box. Her complex character is one that sticks out in my mind.

Rachel said...

The most complex character I can think of is the man in black from THE DARK TOWER series. He is elusive, and once the Gunslinger finds him to kill him, the man in black is giggly. During one of their conversations, the man in black is happy, and calm. The Gunslinger asks him a simple ---very simple, mind you--- and the man in black yells back at him angrily. He switches between happy and bubbly, to angry and serious very quickly. It keeps me wondering what he is really feeling beneath the physical form.

ds11 said...

I believe that Holden Caulfield in the Catcher in the Rye is the most complex character I have ever read about. Holden doesn't know what to do with his life. Holden is like every other human just trying to figure out what to do with their life. He tries to lead different lives but it turns out that he is a better person and can't be someone he is not. In the end Holden ends up going back to his family which he thought he would never do but it turned out thats what he needed all along.

mariana said...

One character that I think is complex is Liaz from Bones of Fearie.Liz just has alot going on in her head with watching her sister die and her mother running away without telling her and having her father whip her everytime she shows up late to his house. So I think that there are many worries and thoughts about her life that makes her complex, and also because I wonder what she will do next.

Kathleen said...

One character that i think is complex is Katsa from Graceling. In the beginning of the book she always does her job and kills people even though she doesn't think it's right. Eventually when she meets Po she changes by eventually stopping what she is doing and to go on her own and use her grace for good. Also, through out her whole life she never expected to find someone she will end up marrying. But in the end she doesn't get married, but she falls in love with Po and cares for him until he tells her not to anymore.

CD said...

One character that i can think of that is complex is James from the CHERUB series. He constantly needs to adapt to the environment of whatever mission that he is on, and he is able to do this, making him not just a complex character, but a successful complex character.

Amanda G said...

A complex character from a book i have recently read, is Gabriel from Dark Visions, by L. J. Smith. Gabriel is complex because he is a "bad" character who continues his bad rep of running from the cops and killing people from the very start, even though it wasn't his fault. He is forced into helping people, rather than killing people and eventually ends up "good". I guess you really have to read the book to understand a word i just said... because by my description i don't think he sounds as complex as he really is. This book is very hard to explain, but exciting to read.

DanaKuhringel said...

*WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER*The most complex character I can think of is Severus Snape from Harry Potter. He keeps a mask of indifference but often has hidden motives. He also played the role of a double/triple-crosser. He seemed to go bad for awhile, but really was working for the "good guys" the whole time! He loved Lily and hated James and kept that inside for the whole 7 years he knew Harry. He had an interesting past and an odd agenda, so I consider him to be very complex.

AF313 said...

Another character that I find extremely complex is Elphaba,the main character in the musical "Wicked." ELphie is so complex because she is simply born into the world in a state in which people automatically hate and makefun of her-that state being her green-ness. there is nothing that she has done to make them hate her, but simply the fact that she is a different color makes it so. This must be extremely confusing to her when she is young, and as she grows, this all continues for her. Eventually, she becomes caught between wanting to be good because she feels that it's right and wanting to be bad because of al of the collective unfairness and cruelty tat had been inflicted on her since birth. SHe has the longing to be better than others thought she could be, wanting the wizard to see her as what others think she isn't, but she also sees the nastiness of the rest of the general population and wonders why, if they can be cruel, she shouldn't be as well. This cofusion in her life makes Elphaba an extremely complex character.

ds11 said...

I agree with DanaKuhringel that Snape from Harry Potter is a complex character. Snape is for the goodside/badside/goodside. There's no way to tell what he does if for the good or bad side.He seems like he is on the dark side but Dumbuldore trust him so he must be good. But in the end we find out he loved Lily so he was working for himself the whole time. Snape is a very complex character.

Garrett G said...

The most complex literary character I can think of is Percy Jackson From "The Lightning Theif." I think he was the most complex because he had all of these problems with his life such as living with smelly Gabe and getting kicked out of school every year. Even with all these problems Percy gets hit with the fact that he is the son of the sea god and to encounter a change like that and not break down mentally is pretty complex.

Megg said...

I agree with Julia. Katniss is a very complex character. She can be very tough when it comes to strategies and winning the Hunger Games, and when it comes to killing people. But when she is thinking about her little sister, or Rue, she can have a softer side. In Catching Fire, she again has that ruthlessness. She doesnt seem to mind killing people if it will help her win. But when she talks and thinks about Peeta and how much she loves him, or how much she loves Prim, the tough side of her fades away and you get to see a softer side of Katniss.

Claire :) said...

I agree with DanaKuhringel and ds11. Snape has many sides. You never know if he is doing something for Dumbledore or Voldemort. While I was reading the series I always thought that Snape was evil especially after he kills Dumbledore in the Order of the Phoenix. When i found out that he was good, I kind of felt bad for him. Everyone always accused him of being a trader and going behind everyone's back, but all along he was good!

ds11 said...

I don't agree with Garrett G that Percy Jackson is a complex character. He does have a point that Percy has many problems in his life and many different things are happening but that doesn't make him complex, he just has a crazy life. Percy gets kicked out of school because he is a demigod and has to deal with Gabe because the monsters hate the smell of him. Percy Jackson has a crazy life but he is not complex.

kevin said...

Sherlock Holmes from "Sherlock Holmes" is an extremely complex character. He seems to be crazy yet he is extremely smart and observant. In addition, Holmes conceals his emotions from others. For instance, when Ms. Adler, the woman that Holmes admires, walks into Holmes' apartment he hides the pictures of her to avoid hinting at his admiration for her. Also, when Watson attempts to leave the case, although Holmes is devastated, he pretends as though he does not care.

annie said...

The most complex charecter, I have read was Edward Cullen of the book series Twilight. Edward is complex because he want the best for Bella but by going away he hurts her even more. He tried to leave Bella alone but he cares when Jacobs is around, he has many mixed feelings and emotions, That what makes Edward Cullen a complex charecter.

SHorvath said...

Complex characters of the day...Gene and Finny from "A Separate Peace"...a book well worth reading as it will be a must read for many of you in HS.

Claire :) said...

I agree with annie that Edward Cullen is a complex character. He will do whatever for his love no matter how painful it is. When he left Bella it killed him but he had to do it for her saftey. He has a lot of sides to him. At one point he could be very protective and cautious and at other times he could be very risky.

Jewlz said...

I just went to go see Alice in Wonderland over the weekend and i agree with Ian that the mad hatter is a very complex character. In the movie, he gets all exited to see Alice back in Wonderland, because she is the only one who can slay the Jabberwalky-the red queen's pet. But in the next two minutes, he becomes "mad". He stars to speak his war cry and gets upset that Alice refuses to fight in the war between the two queens. He has many sides to him, especially with the way Johnny Depp portrays him.

BowenS said...

One of the most complex characters I know is Katniss is The Hunger Games. She doesnt let out her emothions very much and her mind is really hard to read. Sometimes even I don't know what she is trying to do in the book!

cutiegrl24 said...

A complex charecter from a book i know is shereed burming ham from the book private. reed can be a complet leader and totaly coident but when she is plaved in the billing house she becomes timmed and scared.

JMAC-Per-8 said...

A complex character as BowenS said is Katniss from the hunger games because she is a inspiring and unpredicted character which makes her complex. I also think the same as BowenS she does not really show her emotions as much as some of the other characters. Because of this katniss is very complex person on which can be unpredicted.

umasslax19 said...

i agree with kringel snape is extremlly complex, but without him the story would not have been as good as it was. he was the minor antagnist for so many of the books but he ended up being the one to help harry in the end.

JoeyM said...

I agree with AF313 but I think Percy Jackson from the Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series is complex because he was like a normal boy in school when he randomly found out he was the son of Poseidon, a Greek God (Water God).

Anonymous said...

i think katness from hunger games is a complex character. i think so because she is always changing her mind and emotions. it is extremley hard to figure her out and even harder to predict what she is going to do next. once you think she thinks something, she changes her mind and you are left surprised

mrs.edwardcullen said...

I think Tally from the Uglies series is a complex character. She alwats changes her mind. Also she lied to all of her friends at the smoke to become something she was not ment to be...PRETTY.

Anonymous said...

I think the examiners from GENESIS are complex. It's so hard to try and read their thoughts, you can never tell if their satisfied or not, it's almost like a game for the reader to try and rap your head around their questions, i think the more complexed the character is the harder it is to understand and trust them and they are one of the least trustworthy and confusing characters ever, I must of reread that book twice just to try and get to know them.

Giannini50 said...

I think katsa from graceland is very unpredictable and hard to figure out because shes so tough persay. You can never tell what shes thinking or what is going on in her head. You can tell shes changing on the inside though..