Top 5 Wednesday #7: Used and Abused But I Like Them

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly meme created by GingerReadsLainey. For more information on this meme, visit the Goodreads group. This week’s topic:

Favorite character tropes

The chosen one

— Of the many, many fantasy novels, I like how this plays out in the Wheel of Time series. Well, in the first three books of the Wheel of Time series. We, the series and I, do not always get along well.

The prophecy / ominous sign that signals something good/evil (usually evil) is to come

— For the ominous sign, I’ll go with the red comet in the Song of Ice & Fire because it’s interpreted in so many ways and it’s hard to tell what it really signifies.

— As for the prophecy, there’s the good ol’ Harry Potter series and also all the middle-grade series by Rick Riordan.

Unknown magical powers

— A few books I’ve enjoyed that include this trope: Jinx by Sage Blackwood, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Asshole with a good heart / misunderstood warrior / bad guy is good guy

— I was thinking of Jaime (ass) and Sandor Clegane (warrior) when I wrote this one. Both are from the Song of Ice & Fire series. But there’s also Jace (ass) from the City of Bones and Snape (bad/good dude) from the Harry Potter series.

A loved one dies or leaves to motivate the hero

— I’m thinking of Eragon here and I’m tired and my memory’s foggy so the only other character that’s coming to mind is Spiderman (from the first movie. I didn’t read the comics).

So when I read this week’s topic I skipped the word “character” and jumped straight to trope. So here are three addition character tropes to make five. 

The cowardly character who’s really brave

— I immediately thought of Samwell Tarly from the Song of Ice and Fire, Gurgi from the Chronicles of Prydain, Bilbo from The Hobbit, and Neville from the Harry Potter series. They all bum-rushed my mind, just a big stampede up there.

The tough character who’s really a coward

— Draco Malfoy slithered into my mind and then I got stuck. I bet I’ll think of more after I publish this post.

Really smart but quirky characters

— I especially love these. I’m thinking of Dumbledore, Angela from Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle, Prof. Lidenbrock from Journey to the Center of the Earth, Kakashi Hatake from Naruto (I’m probably thinking of him now because I feel like watching Naruto), John Templeton (father of the Templeton Twins) from The Templeton Twins Have an Idea.

What are some of your favorite tropes?

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