*No, this doesn’t refer to race, but
to “all or nothing”
Children, some say, are basically black
& white thinkers. A character or an action is either all good or all bad.
This perception remains with some their whole lives, but most grow out of it to
see others in shades of gray.
Developmental psychologists have written that
the subtle and more nuanced understanding of history, story, and of other
people— beings somewhere between the ages of ten and sixteen. Family guidance
and environment, as well as individual temperament, make a difference as to whether
this happens sooner or trickles in later.
Many storytellers do not realize the immense
power they have to help this process along. The fairytales of yore have done
nothing to help subtle understanding. But modern writing can.
As a decidedly gray thinker who sees humanity’s
failures and triumphs as mixed bags, I am committed to showing this complexity
even in the shortest of picture book texts. I don’t go so far as to assign no
value to anything, but I will show that wicked is often closer to weak, and
good is not to be confused with godly.
How do you like your characters? I love mine
enough to let them be gray-ish.
Yes, if a character is perfect, there's no story, no change toward the better. There are some stories that show steadfast characters, but even they need to grow in some way. Good food for thought, esp. during Lent, when you can fail to keep your resolutions and you think, aw, man, all is lost. It isn't. Try and try again.
ReplyDeleteIndeed. I'm of the school that all is never lost, nor all is ever gained :D
DeleteI'm probably a shades of gray thinker. Human character is pretty complex, and people's lives are complex. I like stories that reflect that, although in the end, I do like to know which character to cheer for.
ReplyDeleteA wise friend once told me she doesn't so much wish for evil doers' demise as for them to repent and do good. Maybe there's a special place to cheer for that.
DeleteI fear my protagonists are often too good. I need to start making them more evil:)
ReplyDeleteYou'll be surprised how much fun you can have with that. ;=)
DeleteI like my characters to have shades of gray. Nobody is perfect, so characters in stories should not be perfect, either.
ReplyDeleteIt would be good to take this notion to all public discourse, don't you think?
DeleteI agree that people are too complex to be all good or all bad. But I'm with Elizabeth, I like to know which character in a story to cheer for. The novel I hated the most had a main character who destroyed her family and betrayed her best friend. I simply could not identify with her.
ReplyDeleteWithout naming the novel, I would guess this character was not well-written, or maybe it was someone the reader was supposed to despise, as is the case for most genre books.
DeleteI'll vote for gray characters, too. I think my main characters are often too good, whereas it's not as difficult to give secondary characters bad traits. Good subject!
ReplyDeleteI'll vote for gray characters, too. I think my main characters are often too good, whereas it's not as difficult to give secondary characters bad traits. Good subject!
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have a harder time (as a reader) with too-good characters. Too-bad is easier to swallow. I wonder what is says about me...
DeleteBut as a conjurer of stories, it's easy for me to fall squarely into the too-good hole. I work to shade my fictional folks in subsequent drafts.
I agree with you...there is no perfect in this world
ReplyDeleteHave a great day