Just curious. I think we've got a wide enough range of characters with a wide enough range of personalities and motivations that there could potentially be a lot of different answers. For me, my favorite has gotta be the talented Tom Ripley, issues and all.
I have to agree with you, the issues he has makes him the most interesting. We could probably create a whole class just centered around him and why he does what he does. Not only is he interesting, but the person who wrote about him is equally as interesting and makes you wonder even more what she was thinking while creating Tom. I do have some feelings towards Gloria but we don't get to focus on her as much through the whole novel as much as we hear about Tom through The Talented Mr. Ripley.
ReplyDeleteI also like Gloria's character from the little we get to see. Maybe there's something about her that girls want to relate with- there's something mysterious about her. But since we don't get as much characterization of her as some of the other characters we've encountered, I'll name another. I loved Martine and Allan's from Rendezvous in Black, but since they're not really main characters, I'd say my favorite is Jeff from Out of the Past. He was just so confident and sure of himself (that definitely draws me to characters- because the same could be said about Gloria). He had game, never lost his composure, and just had that attitude about him.
ReplyDeleteI’ll have to agree with the other comments by saying that Gloria is my favorite character. I love her vindictiveness and her ability to manipulate the narrator. She’s so different from the other female characters we’ve encountered in this class since she’s so cold, calculating and independent, and she doesn’t need to take advantage of a man in order to carry out her plans. As a character, she forces the reader to experience unease because she is so unpredictable, which I really love about her as a character.
ReplyDeleteGloria. Hands down. This might be my feminist side coming out a bit, but her status in such a male-dominated world is pretty impressive. Not only does she have that rock-hard exterior that allows her to stand up to men most people don't even have the guts to look at, but she also has a soft side for her girl. It is the combination of these qualities that makes her such a memorable character.
ReplyDeleteAnd going off of her love for the protagonist, definitely one of her greatest qualities is her ability to forgive when her only friend has betrayed her. Instead of lashing out or enacting some kind of revenge, Gloria accepts the protagonist's betrayal and seems to forgive her for it immediately, as seen by her lack of response. She cares about her too much to do anything but look at her. She also has the strength to take the betrayal on her own terms; her suicide was pretty magnificent, in the sense that she had the strength to do it. Without a doubt, Gloria is the best character we've read.
I completely agree that Tom was a great character but I think my absolute favorite character from this entire semester was Kathie from Out of the Past. It was awesome to see how well she embodied the figure of the femm fatale so well. She could effortlessly sway back and forth between the two competing factions within the film and somehow emerge unscathed. Even in the end when Jeff appears to have her, Kathie presses her manipulations to the max and forces Jeff into a do-or-die situation. In the end, she bites the dust but Kathie was a great antagonist to the morally grey Jeff.
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