Why is it, do you think, that so many stories feature orphans as their main characters?
6 Replies to “The Orphans of Story”
That is a really interesting question. I suppose everyone to a certain degree feels unwanted and unloved (why me etc..), so an orphan is easily relatable. At least, that’s what I’m thinking 🙂 Also, we always go for the underdog, and when they triumph it feels extra awesome – as if we ourselves (with all our deficiencies) can conquer the world too 🙂
For many character types, I imagine it’s a quick way of making the character sympathetic — without the writer first having to give a behavioural example, to entice the reader to want good things to happen to the character.
Surely, however, there’s a far more practical reason for it, in the case of superheroes. If they had parents, there’s no way they’d be able to do half the things they manage to do on any given dramatic day. Such antics require a lack of oversight, to a significant degree.
If there are parents then wouldn’t those parents need to have characteristics to which each reader can relate? Easier to relate to someone with no parents than someone with completely different parents from what the reader had. Better none than wrong, if you know what I mean.
Now there’s an aspect I hadn’t thought of before.
Mind you, the orflings often end up with people in loco parentis – but perhaps that’s different enough for most people to not try making the mental correlation.
That is a really interesting question. I suppose everyone to a certain degree feels unwanted and unloved (why me etc..), so an orphan is easily relatable. At least, that’s what I’m thinking 🙂 Also, we always go for the underdog, and when they triumph it feels extra awesome – as if we ourselves (with all our deficiencies) can conquer the world too 🙂
An underdog that we see ourselves in – I think you’re on to something there.
For many character types, I imagine it’s a quick way of making the character sympathetic — without the writer first having to give a behavioural example, to entice the reader to want good things to happen to the character.
Surely, however, there’s a far more practical reason for it, in the case of superheroes. If they had parents, there’s no way they’d be able to do half the things they manage to do on any given dramatic day. Such antics require a lack of oversight, to a significant degree.
Heh heh. Rather like the Famous Five books, where adults are inexplicably thin on the ground.
If there are parents then wouldn’t those parents need to have characteristics to which each reader can relate? Easier to relate to someone with no parents than someone with completely different parents from what the reader had. Better none than wrong, if you know what I mean.
Now there’s an aspect I hadn’t thought of before.
Mind you, the orflings often end up with people in loco parentis – but perhaps that’s different enough for most people to not try making the mental correlation.