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ASOIAF Guessing Game XIV - #1 - Most Tragic Character


Lord Lyman

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I've never played this game before, but I could try.



However, I first have to ask: are we talking about "tragic characters" in the proper sense of the word (i.e. the literary definition of a tragic hero) or are we just taking it to mean "someone who has suffered a lot/suffered a bad fate"?



I remember a "Most tragic character" thread in the General book forum, where people were basically just naming everyone who's suffered and they feel bad for them. But a tragic character isn't supposed to be simply someone who's suffered. There are lots of minor characters in ASOAIF who are simply victims, and had terrible things happen to them, but didn't do anything to cause it. A tragic hero or tragic villain is someone who we watch as he or she suffers a great fall, going from a very good situation in life, to a terrible one where they suffer and/or die in a dramatic fashion, and it's caused (at least partially) by something he or she has done, some fatal mistake or flaw - even though they are usually a likable and/or admirable character in many/some ways.


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You guys picked a great topic. Working on my list now.





I've never played this game before, but I could try.



However, I first have to ask: are we talking about "tragic characters" in the proper sense of the word (i.e. the literary definition of a tragic hero) or are we just taking it to mean "someone who has suffered a lot/suffered a bad fate"?



I remember a "Most tragic character" thread in the General book forum, where people were basically just naming everyone who's suffered and they feel bad for them. But a tragic character isn't supposed to be simply someone who's suffered. There are lots of minor characters in ASOAIF who are simply victims, and had terrible things happen to them, but didn't do anything to cause it. A tragic hero or tragic villain is someone who we watch as he or she suffers a great fall, going from a very good situation in life, to a terrible one where they suffer and/or die in a dramatic fashion, and it's caused (at least partially) by something he or she has done, some fatal mistake or flaw - even though they are usually a likable and/or admirable character in many/some ways.





Glad you are joining our game! I'm trying to stick to the 'real' definition of tragedy of a character suffering a downfall, but everyone will do their lists whatever way the think is appropriate. I do disagree that a tragic character has to start from a 'very good situation in life' though, i.e. Steinbeck's tragedies like Of Mice and Men.


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You guys picked a great topic. Working on my list now.

Glad you are joining our game! I'm trying to stick to the 'real' definition of tragedy of a character suffering a downfall, but everyone will do their lists whatever way the think is appropriate. I do disagree that a tragic character has to start from a 'very good situation in life' though, i.e. Steinbeck's tragedies like Of Mice and Men.

Well, not necessarily very good, but in any case they need to go from something better (than their later circumstances) to something significantly worse.

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I've never played this game before, but I could try.

However, I first have to ask: are we talking about "tragic characters" in the proper sense of the word (i.e. the literary definition of a tragic hero) or are we just taking it to mean "someone who has suffered a lot/suffered a bad fate"?

I remember a "Most tragic character" thread in the General book forum, where people were basically just naming everyone who's suffered and they feel bad for them. But a tragic character isn't supposed to be simply someone who's suffered. There are lots of minor characters in ASOAIF who are simply victims, and had terrible things happen to them, but didn't do anything to cause it. A tragic hero or tragic villain is someone who we watch as he or she suffers a great fall, going from a very good situation in life, to a terrible one where they suffer and/or die in a dramatic fashion, and it's caused (at least partially) by something he or she has done, some fatal mistake or flaw - even though they are usually a likable and/or admirable character in many/some ways.

Welcome :cheers: I think it means whatever you want it to. Whoever you think are the 20 most tragic characters. That's part of the fun of this game, that there really aren't rules that you have to follow when making your list. As long as the entry is a character they qualify. :)

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Welcome :cheers: I think it means whatever you want it to. Whoever you think are the 20 most tragic characters. That's part of the fun of this game, that there really aren't rules that you have to follow when making your list. As long as the entry is a character they qualify. :)

Yes, but it's good to know what people mean by it, since we're later going to try to guess who others have voted for the most. :)

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Just follow the crowd! ...I'm kidding, of course.

The fun for me is in trying to get the clue. I go back to my books, go to Wiki, go to the Tower of the Hand and read other people's posts to try and decipher what the clue could possibly mean. It's very entertaining and in my case it's also very informative.

In the last game I was exposed to so many awesome sigil I didn't even know existed. I expect this game to open my eyes on so many other things.

Welcome, Annara. We hope you enjoy it here.

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Annara - we have discussed 'tragic' a bit up thread. I personally feel that there are only one or two characters who fit a classic definition of tragedy. I filled most of my list with people whose death was especially sad in some way or for whom I foresee a bitterly unfulfilled life or death. If they died honourably in battle for example, they are unlikely to get on my list. I also don't award pity votes for the most persecuted people (doomed peasant #158 etc). Well. mostly I don't....


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Annara - we have discussed 'tragic' a bit up thread. I personally feel that there are only one or two characters who fit a classic definition of tragedy. I filled most of my list with people whose death was especially sad in some way or for whom I foresee a bitterly unfulfilled life or death. If they died honourably in battle for example, they are unlikely to get on my list. I also don't award pity votes for the most persecuted people (doomed peasant #158 etc). Well. mostly I don't....

Hm, I can think of about 3-4 at least... or up to 10-12 with a slightly broader definition (if they don't have to be tragic heroes but also tragic villains or anti-heroes).

That's a really cute avatar, BTW.

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This was a ridiculously hard list to make. I thought I was doing well when I got down to 40 characters, then I remembered I had to get rid of half of them...

Anyway, list sent!

I was the opposite. I thought I was doing good until I realized I only had 8 on my list! :lol:

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I was the opposite. I thought I was doing good until I realized I only had 8 on my list! :lol:

LMAO I had the same problem. I had to go to the list of characters on the wiki to figure out who I was leaving out, and even then I had a hard time coming up with 20. All this time I've been thinking I was a pretty compassionate person... but to be honest with you, I few sorry for very few of them.

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LMAO I had the same problem. I had to go to the list of characters on the wiki to figure out who I was leaving out, and even then I had a hard time coming up with 20. All this time I've been thinking I was a pretty compassionate person... but to be honest with you, I few sorry for very few of them.

I don't necessarily feel sorry for everyone on my list (I don't feel sorry at all for one of them, though I can see why some people do) but there's a lot of other people I feel incredibly sorry for that aren't on the list because either 1) their misfortune was entirely a product of being at the wrong place at the wrong time and they didn't do anything to influence the events and cause that outcome even in an indirect way, which makes them simply victims but not tragic characters, or 2) they are not dead and their lives don't look entirely devastating at the moment or so far. In the end I surprised myself by coming up with 20 that more or less fit the bill.

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