Discussion»Questions»Books and Literature» If or when a writer gets you to care about--and feel invested in--a fictional character, does that stem from a sort of manipulation?
I don't think so. If I take a liking to a particular character in a book and that book becomes part of a series, I like to follow the series. Mitch Rapp - a character in Vince Flynn's books. Flynn has passed away, but his stories continue being written by Kyle Mills. Jack Reacher - a character in Lee Child's books. Amos Decker, David Baldacci's Memory Man series, Rizzoli and Isles in Tess Gerritsen's series; Lt. Eve Dallas in J.D. Robb's "death" series books.
I'm with you, Spunky: there's no getting around the importance of characters. But I'm trying to approach the matter from an angle of how and why readers value fiction. If, for example, we praise a novel for almost making us cry when something bad happens to the protagonist -- have we in a way been "duped" by the author, to have feelings for someone who is completely imaginary? Does that in itself make for commendable writing?
And we could go a step further, asking: if I enjoy a book that has me empathise with a protagonist's sorrow, what does that say of human emotion? Do we actually like to have those feelings; does some of our enjoyment require others (whether imaginary or real) to suffer?
If you prefer, we can treat these as rhetorical questions :) That is to say, I don't mean to demand any answers.
In all honesty, I have never given this much thought. I read for pleasure, I like the author's style, I like the story that's told. I haven't delved into the why's and wherefores you've proposed - perhaps, I'm not that deep. You have clearly given this a great deal of thought.
I'm kidding; and I too tend to wait a long time prior to any actual writing. Ezra Pound was no fan of “the sort of person who tells you that when he did his first book he ‘just sat down and wrote the first paragraph,’ and then found he ‘couldn’t stop.’” It helps to have a good grasp of characters, structure, and beats beforehand.
I'm sure no author thinks of what they do as such, but couldn't there be some such intent? Say, from any writer who reckons their work will see greater (commercial) success if they employ certain techniques and tricks, specifically to have an audience care about something not worth that attachment (in and of itself)?
That non-fiction (or what is presented as such) can manipulate, however, I think is rather evident. With this question, I was mostly interested in discussing what makes for valuable fiction, and what it says of us that we seem to like being made to feel for fictional beings--to the point where we'll often criticize those writers who don't manage (or don't want) to bring this about.
SpunkySenior 