What Are Your Choices for the Most Despicable and Unlikable Characters in all of Literature ?

[GAROVORKIN]

Huckleberry Finn  The feuding Grangerford and Shepherdson  families .  Never did two groups of people so deserve each other .

[GAROVORKIN]

  One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest .  Nurse Ratchet 

Edited March 7 by GAROVORKIN

[C.T. Phipps]

Reverend Stryker in God Loves, God Kills.

[GAROVORKIN]

Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island    Blind Pew 

[Yukle]

On 3/14/2018 at 6:56 AM, GAROVORKIN said:

Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island    Blind Pew 

What?! Why?

He doesn't do anything! He just offers the black spot to Old Billy Bones. He's only in the book for a chapter, isn't he?

Or are you thinking of Captain Flint? He's only even mentioned, and he is, if the other pirates tell the stories correctly, flat out evil. Even Long John Silver, who can see the bright side of everyone, detests him. Saying of which, Long John Silver has got to be one of the best villains ever.

[Jo498]

Blind Pew is still drawn as the most intimidating of the pirates we actually meet. When he makes Jim bring the black spot to Bill Bones, Jim gets really scared, far more than when facing Bones or later the other old crew members. (And for those who have read the unauthorized prequel "Porto Bello Gold", Pew is a very bad one there whereas Flint is a fairly miserable drunkard, as far as I remember)

Long John Silver is great because he is so ambiguous and because of his nice demeanour despite being as ruthless as Pew or Flint. Isn't it said the Silver was the only one Flint was afraid of?

[Yukle]

On 3/18/2018 at 9:26 PM, Jo498 said:

Blind Pew is still drawn as the most intimidating of the pirates we actually meet. When he makes Jim bring the black spot to Bill Bones, Jim gets really scared, far more than when facing Bones or later the other old crew members. (And for those who have read the unauthorized prequel "Porto Bello Gold", Pew is a very bad one there whereas Flint is a fairly miserable drunkard, as far as I remember)

Long John Silver is great because he is so ambiguous and because of his nice demeanour despite being as ruthless as Pew or Flint. Isn't it said the Silver was the only one Flint was afraid of?

I haven't read the prequel, but I wouldn't include it anyway. I just don't think we have enough about Pew to make many conclusions. True, Jim is terrified of him, but the fact that he becomes less scared over time is part of his development as a character.

I've often wondered why Flint was scared of Silver. Not because Silver isn't dangerous - he clearly is - but because Flint seems so much deadlier. However, it's worth considering how easy it was for Silver's charisma to convince Trelawney to hire so many of his men, as well as how easily he bullied most other sailors into joining him. Silver could have led a mutiny against Flint, especially as quarter-master. Despite his disability, he was also able to kill another sailor who refused to join him in single combat. His decision to name his parrot after Flint was a mockery, too, so it's clear that Silver didn't fear Flint.

This is why Long John Silver is just about a perfect villain. There's something extremely likable about him, treachery and all. And I think it's fair to say that he genuinely cares for Jim, and that his decision to leave at the end (taking only one share of the treasure) shows at least some remorse.

[GAROVORKIN]

2 minutes ago, Yukle said:

I haven't read the prequel, but I wouldn't include it anyway. I just don't think we have enough about Pew to make many conclusions. True, Jim is terrified of him, but the fact that he becomes less scared over time is part of his development as a character.

I've often wondered why Flint was scared of Silver. Not because Silver isn't dangerous - he clearly is - but because Flint seems so much deadlier. However, it's worth considering how easy it was for Silver's charisma to convince Trelawney to hire so many of his men, as well as how easily he bullied most other sailors into joining him. Silver could have led a mutiny against Flint, especially as quarter-master. Despite his disability, he was also able to kill another sailor who refused to join him in single combat. His decision to name his parrot after Flint was a mockery, too, so it's clear that Silver didn't fear Flint.

This is why Long John Silver is just about a perfect villain. There's something extremely likable about him, treachery and all. And I think it's fair to say that he genuinely cares for Jim, and that his decision to leave at the end (taking only one share of the treasure) shows at least some remorse.

Long John Silver is a very likable villain and character.  

[larrytheimp]

On 2/27/2018 at 7:08 PM, GAROVORKIN said:

Huckleberry Finn  The feuding Grangerford and Shepherdson  families .  Never did two groups of people so deserve each other .

Tom Sawyer in HF is way worse.

[Jo498]

8 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Tom Sawyer in HF is way worse.

That "Tom Sawyer popping up out of nowhere" and the silly stuff they do in the end does not quite ruin the book but it is still a big flaw. I understand that he shows up to get closure with the beginning and also with the far more juvenile "Tom Sawyer" but it is surprising that a pretty good writer like Twain could not come up with a different conclusion.

Edited March 20 by Jo498

[Jo498]

12 hours ago, Yukle said:

I haven't read the prequel, but I wouldn't include it anyway. I just don't think we have enough about Pew to make many conclusions. True, Jim is terrified of him, but the fact that he becomes less scared over time is part of his development as a character.

I've often wondered why Flint was scared of Silver. Not because Silver isn't dangerous - he clearly is - but because Flint seems so much deadlier. However, it's worth considering how easy it was for Silver's charisma to convince Trelawney to hire so many of his men, as well as how easily he bullied most other sailors into joining him. Silver could have led a mutiny against Flint, especially as quarter-master. Despite his disability, he was also able to kill another sailor who refused to join him in single combat. His decision to name his parrot after Flint was a mockery, too, so it's clear that Silver didn't fear Flint.

This is why Long John Silver is just about a perfect villain. There's something extremely likable about him, treachery and all. And I think it's fair to say that he genuinely cares for Jim, and that his decision to leave at the end (taking only one share of the treasure) shows at least some remorse.

You are right that we don't really know enough about Blind Pew. But I read Treasure Island for the first time at a very young age (about 8, young enough to be actually surprised when it turns out that Silver is the ringleader and not a good guy...) and Blind Pew was probably the scariest character for me. I believe Stevenson wanted him to come across was very nasty and repulsive and he succeeded.

Silver is charismatic, very smart and unlike apparently both Flint and Bones he wasn't an alcoholic. As we never get a clear first hand account of Flint and meet Bones already in a pretty bad shape we can only speculate that both used to be not only ruthless, but also quite competent because otherwise they would not have risen up so high in the pirate hierarchy. (Both Flint and Bones must also have been competent navigators, unlike most of the other pirates we meet, including Silver. At least it is implied by Captain Smollett that the mutineers would not be able to get the ship safely home (or to some Caribbean hideout), maybe he is wrong, though.)

Porto Bello Gold is actually a decent book with a twist that is not really warranted by Treasure Island but ties nicely into another great adventure novel of Stevenson's. There are also "sequels" (Return to Treasure Island or sth. like that because as we all know they only take the main bulk of the treasure and some more is still buried there) but I have not read any of them yet.

[Blue Roses]

Alice in Wonderland.

Even at a very young age I knew Alice and I were going to have issues with her 'what is the use of a book without pictures or conversation' but her propensity to eat and drink things just because they had a label on it saying 'eat me' and drink me' struck me as incredibly stupid and irritating. I think having her head chopped off by the Queen of Hearts would have been a more satisfying conclusion. Still hate that book. 

 

[C.T. Phipps]

10 hours ago, Blue Roses said:

Alice in Wonderland.

Even at a very young age I knew Alice and I were going to have issues with her 'what is the use of a book without pictures or conversation' but her propensity to eat and drink things just because they had a label on it saying 'eat me' and drink me' struck me as incredibly stupid and irritating. I think having her head chopped off by the Queen of Hearts would have been a more satisfying conclusion. Still hate that book.

Isn't she 8?

[GAROVORKIN]

Major Tetley  in The Oxbow Incident .

[GoTCannibal]

I know these are probably lame compared to others, but..... from VC Andrews works....

Flowers in the Attic - Corrine Dollanganger, supported to protect her children and poisoned them.

My Sweet Audrina - Damian Adara, very creepy dad. Vera Adare - crap sister. Arden Lowe - HORRIBLE!!!!

Heaven - Kitty and Cal.... should have never had children.

Oh, and Catelyn Stark from ASOIAF