Top 5 Wednesday is hosted by Samatha at Thoughts on Tomes. The guidelines and topics can be found on the Goodreads group.
“People always tear down “unlikeable” protagonists. But tell us the ones you pulled for!”
When I saw this topic I was very excited. I love talking about flawed characters. But, then, I realized it’s actually hard to find 5 unlikeable protagonists that I love. :O This is what I came up with in the end:
1. Catherine Earnshaw (Wuthering Heights)
I don’t think Cathy is unlikeable, but many people hate her, and I can understand why. Well, not completely… Did she make mistakes? Yes. Is she a horrible human being? No, I don’t think so. I think she was just very unhappy, and I felt sorry for her. And I liked her very much.
2. Rorschach (Watchmen)
Is Rorcharch a bad person? Absolutely. And yet, I found him very interesting and I felt really sorry for him. Having a horrible life doesn’t justify being horrible to other people, but despite being brutal, Rorschach did possess certain (questionable) ideals, and he followed them no matter what.
3. Carmilla (Carmilla)
She’s a vampire, a blood-sucking monster. But what can I say, I love vampires. XD And I actually think Carmilla kind of liked Laura. Who knows? We never heard her side of the story.
4. Lestat (The Vampire Chronicles)
This is a cheat, because everyone likes Lestat. He did some bad things though, and you couldn’t call him a likeable person, um, I mean vampire. XD But I love him, and I love whiny Louis as well.
5. Severus Snape (Harry Potter Series)
Snape is not exactly a protagonist, but I think he fits the theme well. Though many people love him, he’s not a really nice person. I completely understand people who hate Snape, and I agree with them. Yes, some bad things happened too him, but that doesn’t justify the way he acted towards Harry, Neville, and other students. Also, he was a Deatheater. However, I found him intriguing, and I have to admit I was happy that in the end he did something heroic. At that point, I kind of rooted for him, though I hate to admit it…
That’s it! Now, are there any character you like, though you feel that you should hate them? XD
This list is so good. I’m doing a lot of “why didn’t I think of that!?” right now, hehe!
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Thanks! I loved your list, too! 😊
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I feel kind of the same way about Snape. The last books tried to redeem him and yes I always cry when we learn the truth and get to know him a bit more but still he wasn’t a particularly nice guy, severly damaged!
And I can’t believe I forgot about Catherine! It’s true that I don’t remember much about WH but I do have that feeling of annoyance and a mild hatred towards her…
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I sometimes feel like I’m the only one who doesn’t hate Cathy. 😂 And, yes, I did feel very emotional when more about Snape was revealed…
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I absolutely agree on Catherine and Snape!
I loved Catherine, for the most part. I thought she was feisty and crazy but deep down she just wanted to love and be loved… I also liked how the author portrayed her. She was nothing like any heroine written before.
I never liked Snape, not even by the end. I don’t think one action was able to erase everything else he’d done at that point. I can empathize with him but definitely not like him.
Great post! 🙂
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I agree with you about Snape. I don’t think he should be romanticised, as he often is.
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Ha, yes, Lestat and Carmilla! I can’t believe I forgot about Carmilla for this topic.
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I’m a bit obsessed with that book. 😂
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I guess I have to read Wuthering Heights now!
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I love Wuthering Heights! ❤
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Nice picks! 🙂 I love that Rorschach was in your list. He’s a great character.
Flawed characters are the best characters.
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I agree! I love characters who are not perfect. That’s why I really liked this topic. 😀
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Love the Rorschach pick. “Watchmen” (both the book and film) are full of great, complex anti-heroes, from the Comedian to Ozymandias. I think I read once somewhere that Moore originally didn’t plan for Rorschach to meet the fate he did, but realized that his refusal to compromise meant that to stay true to the character, there was only one possible way for his story to end …
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Yes, his end really did seem inevitable… He’s a very tragic character, despite all of his flaws.
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