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May 20: Have you got any characters who you feel reflect you as a person? (Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)
Prompts: What fictional characters do you think you have the most in common with? What is it you have in common with them? Do you think you would get along with these characters if you could meet them in real life? Have fictional characters ever helped you understand yourself better? How does it feel to read about a character who really reflects you as a person?
Welcome everyone to another week of LTB here at DTRH! This week’s topic is certainly something I always think about, and I’d love to hear how the rest of you feel about characters that you resonate with too. Without further ado, let’s dive right in!
I think I relate with a lot of characters that deal with self-sacrifice. I always think that I would do the same (or not the same) in their situation and that always gets me thinking about the values that I hold dear. Another type of character that I relate to is one with a similar parent-child relationship to my own family. I suppose this is related to the first idea, of how much you would be willing to do for your own family.
With these characters, I feel like the way we look at the world and consider the different values in it can be pretty similar. I’m not sure that would necessarily translate to us getting along in real life, but I would certainly be able to at least relate to their actions and understand the motivations behind their actions. If I were to meet these characters, I would try and get to know more about their intentions and what drives them to make these tough choices, but I think whether or not we’d be friends would rely on other factors.
I think reading about any fictional character always helps me to better understand myself. It is clear that some protagonists (or other characters) you just can’t get along with or just can’t agree with. I usually use this time to reflect on myself after reading the book, and to consider why it is that I just couldn’t relate or care about those characters. Most often it will be an attitude or perhaps a core value problem, that really sets us apart. I’m almost certain that I would not be friends with those characters, but at least it does help me to understand myself and how I think a bit better.
Sometimes seeing characters in a book that really reflect you in a book can be eye-opening. First, you get to attached to such a character (for obvious reasons), and their every triumph and folly almost becomes your own. It can be interesting in those situations to think about whether or not you’d react the same (given your similarities), and that can really give more perspective on whether you are similar or not. Sometimes a disposition can be the end of a similarity, because the actions you choose to take from those motivations/perceptions can often be more important than what you were inclined to do. If the character does something silly from an outside perspective as a reader, it can be a good reminder to self-check and look at whether you might also do those things unknowingly.
What do you all think about characters? Do you meet characters that match you? I assume that’s one of the charms of reading and that there will always be characters that you feel more attached to for one reason or another. How do you feel relating to them? Let me know in the comments below!
Down the Rabbit Hole 