Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl!
Top Ten Characters That Remind Me of Myself
This is kind of the ultimate in book reading, right? At least for me, especially when I was a kid, books were a place I could go to find people like me, the people I really related to. And there were and are a lot!
1. Jo from Little Women
Jo March is a writer, she's strong, she's brave, she's a tomboy. She's everything I wanted to be. I've never been quite as angry as Jo, but I've always felt like she and I get each other on a deeper level.
2. Meg from A Wrinkle In Time
Like Jo, and unlike me, Meg is also a really angry character. I didn't quite relate to that, but I related to her as an outsider, a rebel, and someone who hated being told what to do by interfering grownups (ok, maybe I'm a little angry). Meg is also really good at math, and while I didn't identify that way, I understood being ostracized by other kids when I couldn't turn off my intellect in a way that satisfied them or when I insisted on doing work "my way" instead of the teacher's way.
Also, like me, Meg and Jo are both older sisters.
3. Hermione from Harry Potter
Almost cliche these days, but I hugely identified with Hermione as the smart girl always going to the library, and who, at least at first, cares more about research than making friends with other kids. But as she grows, like me, Hermione learns the value of friends and love, platonic and romantic.
4. Stargirl from Stargirl
More aspirational than exactly who I was, but I admired Stargirl's ability to be herself and like to think I have a little of that in me.
5. Claudia from The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Like me, Claudia is a resourceful older sister and I always liked to think I could pull off a successful runaway like Claudia does, have an adventure, and let my parents know what they were missing,
6. Elinor from Sense and Sensibility
Elinor, also an older sister, is clearly the most responsible person in this entire book, and I related to her ability to successfully take care of her mother and sisters, all while putting her own heart on the back burner, and I was happy when she finally got her age-appropriate love story.
7. Anne from Persuasion
Anne is, surprise, a younger sister, but she has more of the stereotypical traits of an older one, and at twenty-nine, is Austen's oldest heroine as well as most mature. I love the line that Anne "learned romance as she grew older," and I believe that's been true for me as well.
8. Frodo/Sam/Gandalf/Faramir/Eowyn from LOTR
Perhaps it's not surprising that I relate so heavily to characters from one of my favorite book series of all time. I love Sam and Gandalf deeply, and I also relate to them. Sam is deeply curious about the world around him he knows little about. Gandalf has made it his business to know much about and adventure around the world. Similarly, I relate to Eowyn's desire for adventure and to make a difference, and to Faramir's quest to learn and to be a better man than his brother. And finally, Frodo. I once took a which LOTR character are you? quiz, and was at first surprised that I consistently got Frodo. I relate to Frodo's love for the Shire, but also his desire to take the ring to Mordor to protect Bilbo. To his love for Sam. To his mercy for Gollum. To his ultimate inability to resist as much as he tries...and to Sam's ability to resist for him. The poignancy of Frodo's sacrifice is never lost on me, and I keep coming back to again and again, the meaning and the loss and how one is not without the other.
9. Susan from Chronicles of Narnia
I think Susan doesn't get enough love. Even though younger sister Lucy is more the main character (and I love her too), I related to older sister Susan and how she takes care of everyone, even becoming a master archer to defend her family! AND...I relate to Susan's skepticism in the later books. It's realistic, and it's okay to grow up and be part of the real world.
10. Elphaba from Wicked
Elphaba also happens to be an older sister, but I relate to her most as an outsider. I mean, Elphaba is literally green; she might as well be a no-fun genius on top of it.
Top Ten Characters That Remind Me of Myself
This is kind of the ultimate in book reading, right? At least for me, especially when I was a kid, books were a place I could go to find people like me, the people I really related to. And there were and are a lot!
1. Jo from Little Women
Jo March is a writer, she's strong, she's brave, she's a tomboy. She's everything I wanted to be. I've never been quite as angry as Jo, but I've always felt like she and I get each other on a deeper level.
2. Meg from A Wrinkle In Time
Like Jo, and unlike me, Meg is also a really angry character. I didn't quite relate to that, but I related to her as an outsider, a rebel, and someone who hated being told what to do by interfering grownups (ok, maybe I'm a little angry). Meg is also really good at math, and while I didn't identify that way, I understood being ostracized by other kids when I couldn't turn off my intellect in a way that satisfied them or when I insisted on doing work "my way" instead of the teacher's way.
Also, like me, Meg and Jo are both older sisters.
3. Hermione from Harry Potter
Almost cliche these days, but I hugely identified with Hermione as the smart girl always going to the library, and who, at least at first, cares more about research than making friends with other kids. But as she grows, like me, Hermione learns the value of friends and love, platonic and romantic.
4. Stargirl from Stargirl
More aspirational than exactly who I was, but I admired Stargirl's ability to be herself and like to think I have a little of that in me.
5. Claudia from The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
Like me, Claudia is a resourceful older sister and I always liked to think I could pull off a successful runaway like Claudia does, have an adventure, and let my parents know what they were missing,
6. Elinor from Sense and Sensibility
Elinor, also an older sister, is clearly the most responsible person in this entire book, and I related to her ability to successfully take care of her mother and sisters, all while putting her own heart on the back burner, and I was happy when she finally got her age-appropriate love story.
7. Anne from Persuasion
Anne is, surprise, a younger sister, but she has more of the stereotypical traits of an older one, and at twenty-nine, is Austen's oldest heroine as well as most mature. I love the line that Anne "learned romance as she grew older," and I believe that's been true for me as well.
8. Frodo/Sam/Gandalf/Faramir/Eowyn from LOTR
Perhaps it's not surprising that I relate so heavily to characters from one of my favorite book series of all time. I love Sam and Gandalf deeply, and I also relate to them. Sam is deeply curious about the world around him he knows little about. Gandalf has made it his business to know much about and adventure around the world. Similarly, I relate to Eowyn's desire for adventure and to make a difference, and to Faramir's quest to learn and to be a better man than his brother. And finally, Frodo. I once took a which LOTR character are you? quiz, and was at first surprised that I consistently got Frodo. I relate to Frodo's love for the Shire, but also his desire to take the ring to Mordor to protect Bilbo. To his love for Sam. To his mercy for Gollum. To his ultimate inability to resist as much as he tries...and to Sam's ability to resist for him. The poignancy of Frodo's sacrifice is never lost on me, and I keep coming back to again and again, the meaning and the loss and how one is not without the other.
9. Susan from Chronicles of Narnia
I think Susan doesn't get enough love. Even though younger sister Lucy is more the main character (and I love her too), I related to older sister Susan and how she takes care of everyone, even becoming a master archer to defend her family! AND...I relate to Susan's skepticism in the later books. It's realistic, and it's okay to grow up and be part of the real world.
10. Elphaba from Wicked
Elphaba also happens to be an older sister, but I relate to her most as an outsider. I mean, Elphaba is literally green; she might as well be a no-fun genius on top of it.
Comments
My TTT.
So much yes to Elphaba! I hadn't even thought of her, but I really related to her, too. Especially since she was in a bad situation through no fault of her own and forced to bear the sins of her parents, and while she was doing her best to do what was right, she was ostracized and hated for it. No one ever said doing right was easy.
I think the great thing about LotR is that so dang many of the characters are relatable. There's so many great ones in the series. What really strikes me about the series is that pretty much every character had something in them that I could see myself in them in some way. Even Boromir, who loved his people and was trying, in whatever way he could, to save them.
Here's my TTT post.
Lydia, I'm not sure if I will see Tolkien or not. I have an old lingering fear that I won't be able to love the books as purely if it's portrayed as contextual to the author's life, but, then again, maybe that's a naive or outdated idea. I also really related to Harriet the Spy growing up and also somewhat to Mary from The Secret Garden, though even more so Sara from A Little Princess.
Sammie, yes, poor Elphie was born into a bad situation. And I do have a soft spot for Boromir as well. I don't think there's an LOTR character I DON'T relate to!
Deb, I think it's so cool that we both mentioned Stargirl. I didn't know iF I would see her on anyone else's list!
Ali, thanks! I didn't think many other people would identify as Susans! Are you also a big sister?
Theaterwriter, Jo is the best! And your name reminds me, I love how Jo is portrayed in the Little Women musical too!
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