Characters Way Too Stupid To Live

Dr. Drib · 12-24-2008, 08:22 AM

We've all met them, unfortunately: Characters who are so stupid we wish they were dead.

Unfortunately, Lovecraft is at the top of this list.

Any narrator who wants to give us a description of a flabby-lipped creature intent on killing the narrator, while said narrator simply MUST continue typing....well, that narrator deserves to die.

Lovecraft was right on the money in killing off most of his narrators. They couldn't speak a lick of dialogue, but boy! they sure could write some doozy descriptions of nameless horrors!

It makes one wonder if the character is at fault, or is the writer too stupid to realize that a character is too stupid for the story?

NOTE: I actually love Lovecraft's work, but he sure did know how to create stupid characters. Sometimes, it's good to go out and get a couple of drinks and then get....[hehehe].

bill_mchale · 12-24-2008, 08:32 AM

Well, isn't one of the features of Lovecraft's fiction that the horrors are so great, that the characters literally become insane?

--
Bill

Dr. Drib · 12-24-2008, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Well, isn't one of the features of Lovecraft's fiction that the horrors are so great, that the characters literally become insane?

--
Bill

Oh, yes! Insanity is, indeed, a good ploy for stupid characters.

It's especially useful if insanity happens all at once.

Don

montsnmags · 12-24-2008, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

...
It's especially useful if insanity happens all at once.
Don

What, sort-of like Christmas, but with less nameless horrors.

(For on-topicality - I started rooting for the Silas pretty early on in The Da Vinci Code)

Cheers,
Marc (only me and the Loved One here this year - ahh, the serenity)

DixieGal · 12-24-2008, 09:36 AM

In Invasion from Uranus, the narrator is in the middle of a radio interview when the sound man and the DJ go to war and try to kill each other. The narrator keeps telling short stories, in between dodging flying chairs and stuff.

astrodad · 12-24-2008, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by montsnmags

(For on-topicality - I started rooting for the Silas pretty early on in The Da Vinci Code)

LOL. Me too! Silas was great only because he talked so little. To all of the other characters in the story: shut the heck up!

JSWolf · 12-29-2008, 03:48 AM

As for stupid characters, most of the characters in A Passage to India fit the bill. All except Mrs. Moore.

ChipnDale · 12-29-2008, 02:41 PM

Bella Swan from Twilight...she is stupid and falls over for no reason, I kept wishing the vampire would slip and eat her but nope she lived on.

pshrynk · 12-29-2008, 05:22 PM

Anything that Lucas ever said to himself, "Hmm... I bet we could sell a bunch of dolls, I mean action figures of this..."

12-24-2008, 08:22 AM	#1
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,437 Karma: 59592133 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	Characters Way Too Stupid To Live We've all met them, unfortunately: Characters who are so stupid we wish they were dead. Unfortunately, Lovecraft is at the top of this list. Any narrator who wants to give us a description of a flabby-lipped creature intent on killing the narrator, while said narrator simply MUST continue typing....well, that narrator deserves to die. Lovecraft was right on the money in killing off most of his narrators. They couldn't speak a lick of dialogue, but boy! they sure could write some doozy descriptions of nameless horrors! It makes one wonder if the character is at fault, or is the writer too stupid to realize that a character is too stupid for the story? NOTE: I actually love Lovecraft's work, but he sure did know how to create stupid characters. Sometimes, it's good to go out and get a couple of drinks and then get....[hehehe].

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12-24-2008, 08:32 AM	#2
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	Well, isn't one of the features of Lovecraft's fiction that the horrors are so great, that the characters literally become insane? -- Bill

12-24-2008, 09:36 AM	#5
DixieGal Hi There! Posts: 7,473 Karma: 2930523 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Ft Lauderdale Device: iPad	In Invasion from Uranus, the narrator is in the middle of a radio interview when the sound man and the DJ go to war and try to kill each other. The narrator keeps telling short stories, in between dodging flying chairs and stuff.

12-29-2008, 03:48 AM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,722 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	As for stupid characters, most of the characters in A Passage to India fit the bill. All except Mrs. Moore.

12-29-2008, 02:41 PM	#8
ChipnDale Rescue Rangers Posts: 109 Karma: 2144082 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Visitor from another planet Device: IPad	Bella Swan from Twilight...she is stupid and falls over for no reason, I kept wishing the vampire would slip and eat her but nope she lived on.

12-29-2008, 05:22 PM	#9
pshrynk Beepbeep n beebeep, yeah! Posts: 11,726 Karma: 8255450 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: La Crosse, Wisconsin, aka America's IceBox Device: iThingie, KmkII, I miss Zelda!	Anything that Lucas ever said to himself, "Hmm... I bet we could sell a bunch of dolls, I mean action figures of this..."

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