Favorite Literary Characters?

[dh1989]

If you are an avid book reader(like me), what are your top 5 favorite characters from a novel of all-time? They can be from any genre and can be a main character or supporting character. What are yours?

Mine are(in no particular order)......

Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter novels
Scrooge from A Christmas Carol
Long John Silver from Treasure Island
Samwise from The Lord of the Rings books
Dumbledore from Harry Potter

[Grebdron]

Spenser
Matthew Scudder-From Lawrence Block's detective novels
Scout-To Kill a Mockingbird

[Reigh Kaufman]

Atticus Finch - To Kill A Mockingbird
Lux Lisbon/Cecilia Lisbon - The Virgin Suicides
Yossarian - Catch-22
TS Garp - The World According To Garp
Holden Caulfield - The Catcher In The Rye
Owen Meany - A Prayer For Owen Meany
Mersault - The Outsider
Patrick Bateman - American Psycho
Jack/Tyler Durden - Fight club

[Mick]

That last one could possibly do with an edit, Reigh......

I liked The Dice Man, crazy fucker:D

[Reigh Kaufman]

No, I liked BOTH characters (though I see your point).

[syxxpac]

- Gollum from the LOTR trilogy and The Hobbit

- Ian Malcolm from Jurassic Park and The Lost World

- FBI Agent Fagin in The Standoff

- Hannibal Lecter in Red Dragon, Silence Of The Lambs, and Hannibal

- Paul Baumer in All Quiet On The Western Front

There are lots more.

[Mick]

Originally posted by Reigh Kaufman
No, I liked BOTH characters (though I see your point).

The point was that it's giving the ending away. Although I'm sure 99.6% of people here have seen the movie.

[charliebobo]

Holden Caulfield- Catcher In The Rye

Dean and Sal- On The Road

Winston Smith- 1984

Patrick Bateman- American Psycho

Vito Corleone- The Godfather

[syxxpac]

Originally posted by Mick
The point was that it's giving the ending away. Although I'm sure 99.6% of people here have seen the movie.

Dammit! I haven't. Although I knew the ending anyway. Would the movie still be awesome anyway?

[Jerk Shapiro]

Bilbo Baggins from THE HOBBIT

Huck Finn from HUCKLEBERRY FINN

Tom Sawyer from THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER and HUCK FINN

There you have it, my favorite characters.

[Mick]

Originally posted by syxxpac
Dammit! I haven't. Although I knew the ending anyway. Would the movie still be awesome anyway?

Of course. The revelation isn't really that big of a deal, to be honest. I knew the ending the 7th time I watched it, and it was still awesome.

[Reigh Kaufman]

the thing is...I was simply saying I liked both characters and they were in the same book. If you look above it, you'll notice I liked two characters from The Virgin Suicides - both of whom are completely separate entities. What I'm saying is: I want no blame if you haven't seen or read Fight Club and then you saw this thread...

Blame the Weedgie (oh, that was off-side)

[scottish-movie-freak]

Katie Carr- from Nick Hornby's How To Be Good

Marty Puccio- from Jim Schutze's Bully

Gollum- from Lord Of The Rings trilogy

Randolph Henry Ash- from A.S Byatt's Possession

[Romero&Juliet]

Jaochim Malkhe from Cat And Mouse, by Gunter Grass
OWEN MEANY...GREAT CALL!! There's ALWAYS a character that I get really attached to whenever I read any of John Irving's books.. From The Hotel New Hampshire it'd have to the blind guy who let the family take over this hotel in Europe.. The oldest daughter.

oh no...



Cassius from Julius Caesar....but I'm not goin' there.. :D

[El Bracamonti]

PATRICK FUCKING BATEMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[blitzkrieg]

Tyler Durden in Fight Club
Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings
Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front, if the book wasn't so amazingly gross and depressing.

[Kucha]

Hermione Granger From Harry Potter (All Books , Espcially Prizoner Of Azkaban)

[syxxpac]

Originally posted by blitzkrieg
Paul Baumer in All Quiet on the Western Front, if the book wasn't so amazingly gross and depressing.

I know what you mean. The part where ****SPOILERS****it tells of the guy who got his head shot off ****END SPOILERS**** kind of makes you want to forget about lunch.

[Jezebel]

Bill, Eddie, Ben, Beverly, Stan, Mike and Ritchie (young and old) from IT. Magnificant characters.

I've read the whole book three times already and it gets better everytime. The ending is also very sad *Spoilers* When the start forgetting about each other again (The writing was fading and Ritchie messes up Stan's last name) *Spoilers* actually brought a tear to my eye. Now how many times can you say that about a book?

[Klownzilla]

Holden Caulfield-Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
Herbert West-Herbert West: Re-Animator by H.P. Lovecraft
Harry Angel-Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg
Lennie and George-Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Fiver, BigWig, Hazel and other rabbits-Watership Down by Richard Adams

[EdibleCannibalX]

hannibal lecter
the mad hatter:D
pennywise
hunter thompson (not literature, nor is the fictional, but what the hell):D
the hookah smoking caterpillar
francis dollarhyde

[Annie Hall]

The BFG-The BFG
Sirius Black-Harry Potter Series
Owen Meany-A Prayer for Owen Meany
Tock the Watchdog-The Phantom Tollbooth

[bob]

Franny & Zooey in...Franny & Zooey are good characters, very interesting in a sad and depressing kind of way.

But I think the prize pig is Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye. I mean, he's the only book character I've ever read where I wanted to be him(I'm age appropriate, too). He was just such an awesome guy, you get the feeling that he's still living after the book ends.

P.S. All Quiet on The Western Front was gross? I hope to god you guys never see Re-Animator.

[James Logan]

Ebenezer Scrooge
Sherlock Holmes

[Annie Hall]

Originally posted by bob
Franny & Zooey in...Franny & Zooey are good characters, very interesting in a sad and depressing kind of way.

But I think the prize pig is Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye. I mean, he's the only book character I've ever read where I wanted to be him(I'm age appropriate, too). He was just such an awesome guy, you get the feeling that he's still living after the book ends.

I cannot believe I forgot these three! They are three of the best, most complete characters I can remember in literature.

(slaps herself on the forehead) doh!

[The Young Son]

Jimmy The Hand - The Riftwar Trilogy

Pug/Milamber - The Riftwar and Serpentwar Sagas

Macros The Black - The Riftwar and Serpentwar Sagas

Pennywise The Clown - Stephen King's It

Grand Admiral Thrawn - Timothy Zahn's Star Wars Trilogy

[Mad Maggot]

Teddy : Teddy by J.D. Salinger

Hannibal Lecter : TSOTL, RD, Hannibal by Thomas Harris

Clarice Starling : -----------

Tyler Durden : Fight Club by Chuck Palanhuik

Holden Caulfield : Catcher In The Rye by J.D.Salinger

[SubMethod]

Holden Caulfield-The Catcher In The Rye
Dean Moriarty-On The Road
Winston Smith-1984
Servius Snape-Harry Potter series
Treebeard-Lord of The Rings
Uncle Vanya-Uncle Vanya(a play by Anton Chekhov)

[Ren Hoek]

Harry Haller - Steppenwolf (Hermann Hesse)

Atticus Finch - To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)

Huckleberry Finn - The Adventures of HF (Mark Twain)

Billy Pilgrim - Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)

Captain Ahab - Moby Dick (Herman Melville)

[Mad Maggot]

Huckleberry Finn - The Adventures of HF (Mark Twain)



Oh, I adore this character!!!! TAOHF is my favorite book by Twain! I'm laughing my ass off when read it, especially that parts when Huck was Tom and Tom was Sid and they both were at Tom's aunt house!! It's written so good!

[SIREN30]

Gwynplaine-The Man WHo Laughs by Victor Hugo

Jo March-Little Women and sequels by Louisa May Alcott

Atticus Finch-To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Kristin Lavransdatter-Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset

Nameless Heroine-Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

Maxim DeWinter-Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier

Ms Danvers-Rebecca Daphne DuMaurier

Erlend Nikulausson-Kristen Lavransdatter trilogy by Sigrid Undset

Jean Valjean-Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Marius Pontmercy-Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Quasimodo-The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

Uncle Tom-Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

Melanie Wilkes-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Lucy Honeychurch-A Room WIth A View by E. M Forster

Eric- The Phantom by Susan Kay

Heathcliff Earnshaw-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Edgar Rochester- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Janey Peck-Jack and Jill by Louisa May Alcott

well, I guess that's enough for now.

[the night watchman]

Hap Collins & Leonard Pine - Savage Season, Mucho Mojo, The Two-Bear Mambo, Rumble Tumble, Bad Chili, Captains Outrageous by Joe R. Lansdale

Aiah - Metropolitan and City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams

Rydra Wong - Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany

Huckleberry Finn - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Han Solo - Han Solo at Stars' End, Han Solo's Revenge, and Han Solo and the Lost Legecy by Brian Daley

Nausicaa - Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind by Hayao Miyazaki

Stu Redman - The Stand Stephen King

Randall Flagg - The Stand Stephen King

Roland of Gilead - The Gunslinger series by Stephen King

Jack, Wendy, and Danny Torrence - The Shining by Stephen King

Nyarlathotep - "Nyarlathotep," "Dreams in the Witch-House," Haunter of the Dark" by H.P. Lovecraft, and Strange Eons by Robert Bloch

[SubMethod]

add Randle P. McMurphy to my list. I just read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Great book.

[James French]

Bernie Rhodenbarr- The Burglar series by Lawrence Block

Philip Marlowe- Raymond Chandler novels

There's more but the mind only stretches so far

[daisybuchanan]

Duh-
Daisy Buchanan-The Great Gatsby

Mercutio-Romeo and Juliet

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Gargantua-Gargantua

The Wife of Bath-The Canterbury Tales

Polonius-Hamlet

Claudius-I, Claudius and Claudius, The God

Jane-Jane Eyre

The entire cast of characters of Rebecca, including Jasper, the dog.

Elizabeth-Pride and Prejudice

Jo-Little Women

Feyd Harkonnen-Dune

Lady Jessica-Dune

Ma Joad-Grapes of Wrath

That's all that's coming to mind right now, but I'm sure more will shake me awake in the middle of the night.

[Scarface98.9]

Victor Mancini-Choke
Rorschach-The Watchmen
Doctor Manhatten-The Watchmen
Lenny-Of Mice and Men
The Comedian-The Watchmen

It's no secret I love The Watchmen :cool:

[Grim H.]

Ender- Ender's Game
Gandalf- The Hobbit
Tyler Durden- Fight Club
Fortunato- The Cask of Amontillado
Prince Prospero- The Masque of the Red Death
Rober Neville- I Am Legend

[quoth_the_raven]

hmmmm tough one

Sirius Black-Harry Potter

Sam, Frodo,Pippin and Merry-Lord of the rings

Randall Flagg-The stand (stephen King)(hes one evil mo'fo')

Pennywise the clown- It (stephen king)

Druss- Legend, first chronicles, Deathwalker (David Gemmell)

Belgarath the Sorcerer and Silk- Belgariad/Mallorean (david eddings)

Jack Reacher- any book by Lee Childs

Dirk Pitt- any book by Clive Cussler

James Bond-u dont need me to tell u that one.

Oliver twist-u know this one too.

Heathcliff-wuthering Heights

i could carry on all day but thats a good start.

i really do read too many books.

but then i watch too many movies and listen to wayyyyyy to much music.

but eh, i am content

[Avid_Fan]

Atticus Finch
(To Kill A Mockingbird)

Scout Finch
(To Kill A Mockingbird)

Arthur "Boo" Radley
(To Kill A Mockingbird)

Harry Potter
(The Harry Potter Books)

[erinachan]

Holden Caulfied- Catcher in The Rye
Desdemona- Othello
Dean Moriarty - On the Road
Hermione- Harry Potter
Bridget Jones- Bridget Jones' Diary
The Wife of Bath- Canterbury Tales
Franny - Franny and Zooey
Anna Karenina- Anna Karenina
Meg, Amy, Beth, Jo- Little Women
Ella- Ella Enchanted
Prospero- Tempest

[X-Nightcrawler]

I - Wolf - The Talisman.
II - Jack Sawyer - The Talisman/Black House.
III - Will Navidson - House Of Leaves.
IV - Lucian - Underworld.
V - Evan Treborn - The Butterfly Effect
VI - Judy Marshall's Twinner - Black House.
VII - Judy Marshall - Black House.

[martyds761]

In no order....
Jean-Claude, Anita Blake, Jason, Nathaniel, Edward from Anita Blake Vampire Hunter Series.
Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.
Lestat from The Vampire Chronicles.
Claudia from Interview w/ the Vampire.
Sage, Merry Gentry, Rhys, Queen Andais, Queen Niceven from Merry Gentry Series.
Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock Holmes Collection.
Nick Stoltz, Greg, Grissom, Sarah Siddle from CSI Books.

Add more later.......

[Moosem216]

Bokonon - Cat's Cradle
The Old Man - Old Man and the Sea
Ford Prefect - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Doc- Cannery Row

If I could have dinner with those four at once, I would die happy at the end of dessert.

[Speermint]

Tom Joad - Grapes of Wrath

and in the same book, although he features for only three or so pages, i love the character, the one-eyed man who works at the scrap steel plant.

the writing and characterisation literally nearly brought me to tears and no book has come close to doing that, so when that happens i know the book i'm reading is good.

[Tayzlor]

Holden Caulfied, The Catcher in the Rye
Victor Mancini, Choke
Randle Patrick McMurphy, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Guy Montag, Fahrenheit 451
Charly, Flowers For Algernon

[darchangel]

this first group are all Anne Rice related characters:

Lestat- The Vampire Chronicles
Mekare and Maharet- "Queen of the Damned"
Mona Mayfair- "Lasher" and "Taltos"
Merrick Mayfair- "Merrick"
Armand- The Vampire Chronicles
Marius- The Vampire Chronicles
Pandora- "Pandora" and other books


here are some others:

Regina- "Hideaway"
Laura, Thelma, Ruth and Danny- "Lightning"
Peter- "The Eyes of the Dragon"
Rose Madder- "Rose Madder"
Jo- "Little Women"
Frankenstein's monster- "Frankenstein"
Dolores- "Dolores Claiborne"



Death to Beth

~darchangel~

[Could Be Worse]

Holden Caulfield
Detective Alex Cross
Ben Mears

to name a few.

[Nachokoolaid]

Gollum, Gandalf, Sam- LOTR (Tolkien)

Harry and Snape- Harry Potter Series (Rowling)

Iago- Shakespeare's Othello

Jonas - The Giver (Lowry)

Montresor- The Cask of Amontillado (Poe)

Jesse Custer, Herr Starr, and Cassidy - Preacher series (Ennis)

[C-Desecration-]

Bill, Eddie, Ben, Beverly, Stan, Mike and Ritchie (young and old) from IT. Magnificant characters.

I've read the whole book three times already and it gets better everytime. The ending is also very sad *Spoilers* When the start forgetting about each other again (The writing was fading and Ritchie messes up Stan's last name) *Spoilers* actually brought a tear to my eye. Now how many times can you say that about a book?




I know what you mean.

". . . or so Bill Denbrough sometimes thinks on those early mornings after dreaming, when he almost remembers his childhood, and the friends with whom he shared it."

*wipes away tear*

[one_crow_sorrow]

Patrick Bateman - American Psycho
Holden Caulfield - The Catcher in the Rye
Sean Bateman - The Rules of Attraction
Tyler Durden - Fight Club

[Jas]

Lincoln Rhyme - The Lincoln Rhyme novels

My all time fav. character, EVER.
It's the part Denzel Wahington played in The Bone Collector, although the assholes changed ALOT of the characters from the book.
Anyway he's a good guy that's a big big jackass

[Dead Halloween]

Rincewind - Discworld

Lestat - The Vampire Chronicles

The Grim Reaper - Discworld

Aragorn - The Lord of the Rings

Raistlin Majere - Tales of the Dragonlance

[Belladitz]

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)
Hazel (Watership Down)

[drdash]

anita blake
merry gentry
paige winterbourne-dime store magic
john carter
tarzan
sherlock holmes
phillip marlowe
peter octavian-the shadows series by christopher golden
muad'ib-dune
hari seldon-foundation series

ciao
drdash

[moviemuffin]

I think I end up sinking into every character I read to some extent, but my personal favorites from recent years:

*Paks from Elizabeth Moon's Deed of Paksenarrion

*Sam Vimes and The Patrician from Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels

*Delilah from Jennifer Roberson's Sword novels

*Rohan and Sioned from Melanie Rawn's Dragon Prince novels (though I really disliked the Star Scroll follow-up and hated how those characters ended :( )

[Brando @$$ Fat]

Kilgore Trout- several Vonnegut books
Narrarator- Fight Club

[X-Nightcrawler]

I want to add:

-Jon Snow and Eddard Stark from "A Game Of Thrones". Fantastic characters.

[docholiday_13]

Roland Deschain from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

[chinton]

Billy Pilgrim- Slaughter house Five

The Losers Club- IT

[Dead Zed]

Thomas Covenant from the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and the giant (can't remember his name) from the same books by Stephen Donaldson.
Also, Grand Admiral Thrawn and Captain Peallon from Timothy Zahns' "Thrawn" and "Hand of Thrawn" trilogies. And Terisa Morgan from Stephen Donaldsons Mordant books... OOH and then theres Silke from Eddings... was it "Polgara"? Anyway, that is my crowded top 1 in literary characters.:rolleyes: