tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post596600567465568757..comments2023-08-10T03:35:55.682-07:00Comments on The Prosers: Caricature and CharacterSheena Boekweghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-90542346906593095662012-01-23T06:31:32.793-08:002012-01-23T06:31:32.793-08:00Thanks for reminding me of this, Sarah! I knew tha...Thanks for reminding me of this, Sarah! I knew that once upon a time and then forgot, so I would have missed the whole week.<br /><br />If you want to see a truly devoted fansite, check out MWT's. It takes her five years to write each book, yet the site is consistently populated by awesome, highly thoughtful people (someone even posted a quiz to see if people could figure out lines from her books translated to Latin).<br /><br />http://sounis.livejournal.com/Susan Buttarshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14456005411871122298noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-25069863864799880412012-01-21T20:29:47.954-08:002012-01-21T20:29:47.954-08:00Susan, I just ran across this blog post and had to...Susan, I just ran across this blog post and had to look up which Proser had written about MWT. It's "Queen's Thief Week" over at Chachic's Book Nook: http://chachic.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/queens-thief-week-how-i-discovered-the-series/.Sarah McCanlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692009969291537927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-50855736111676541322011-11-17T08:15:34.872-08:002011-11-17T08:15:34.872-08:00Oh, Sheena, it gets worse - I started the first bo...Oh, Sheena, it gets worse - I started the first book and quit once the magic hat that determined which house they were in started singing or rhyming or both... I've blocked it out.Sarah McCanlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692009969291537927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-35092477384590192642011-11-17T07:16:36.211-08:002011-11-17T07:16:36.211-08:00Sarah, I haven't read any of the Harry Potters...Sarah, I haven't read any of the Harry Potters either...and I probably won't ever. I know...I know...stone me now. :)April Plummerhttp://writersramblings81.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-5582635874225059162011-11-17T07:01:10.266-08:002011-11-17T07:01:10.266-08:00...You haven't read Harry Potter?
Sarah.
(sh......You haven't read Harry Potter?<br /><br />Sarah.<br /><br />(shaking my head in flabbergastic shock.)<br /><br />You should read it... You will love it.Sheena Boekweghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-24749096884540046142011-11-16T22:18:49.457-08:002011-11-16T22:18:49.457-08:00::waits for the hoardes to descend upon Sarah::
...::waits for the hoardes to descend upon Sarah:: <br /><br />;)<br /><br />I personally might be too focused on avoiding caricature, to the point where it hobbles my storytelling because I'm too busy worrying about secondary characters. But I think it might be worth it, in the end, to always have the unexpected, and to spend a bit of time thinking about secondary characters - who knows when they might start clammoring for a story of their own?<br /><br />All this, of course, is dependent on the ability to create real, breathing characters. I'm working on it.Sabrina Westhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06218305456791199409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-665129830983025562011-11-16T21:52:27.676-08:002011-11-16T21:52:27.676-08:00I second what MaryAnn said. Some characters need m...I second what MaryAnn said. Some characters need more development, and some can be drawn with broad strokes - especially when they are secondary characters with recognizable archetypal roles (like a mentor, trickster, etc.). Some characters are purely functional.<br /><br />Feeling very embarrassed not to have read Harry Potter right about now...<br /><br />Great post, Susan!Sarah McCanlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05692009969291537927noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-10291963752417551642011-11-16T15:09:59.543-08:002011-11-16T15:09:59.543-08:00That's true. I think caricature can be a usefu...That's true. I think caricature can be a useful device if you take a stereotype and flip it. The unexpected can be fun to discover.<br /><br />I think it also depends on the kind of story you want to tell. Harry Potter is a really huge story. Crabbe and Goyle are lumped into caricature's because, like MaryAnn said, they aren't important enough to the plot to invest in them. But Rowling does make the caricature she started with Snape turn into a powerful human character. You feel for him, understand his decisions, (by the end) and ultimately Harry learns to admire the man who he long considered his enemy. Even Draco, who starts as the smart snobby Bully stereotype, is explored and made human. I think that's because Snape and Draco are crucial to the plot. Percy, Fudge, Filtch aren't necessary. They are more set decoration.<br /><br />Great post.Sheena Boekweghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08227547053651725634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4561827139818452407.post-65685937974947574742011-11-16T11:32:14.885-08:002011-11-16T11:32:14.885-08:00Great Post, Susan.
I think that using a caricatur...Great Post, Susan.<br /><br />I think that using a caricature vs. a fully fleshed out character depends on what kind of emphasis you want that character to have. <br /><br />Crabbe and Goyle are perfect examples of this. Really they are just Malfroy's henchmen and nothing more. If Rowling had spent more time developing them, we would have expected more from them plot-wise.<br /><br />So I think this is a good way to indicate which characters will be important later on.MaryAnn Popehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08618345950149423623noreply@blogger.com