The Ordinary Hero
I had a memory this morning. Of my first real "date" for New Year's when I sixteen. My dad said something to my date, along the lines of "Don't drink and drive or I'll break your legs"--I think it was worded a little more gracefully--but only slightly. My date, a very handsome guy, Puerto Rican, bilingual, tall, beautiful skin and build, said the obligatory, "Yes, sir" and "No, sir." We went to the party and other kids were drinking like mad. But not my date. He was a landscaper . . . a senior in high school, but his values were such that . . . well, even if my dad HADN'T threatened him, he just would NEVER drink and drive.
From there, my dating history seemed to be this odd variety of men--every career, race, religion, aspirations. And I consistently found--with no offense intended toward anyone wealthy--that the men I dated who were very rich were invariably jerks. And all the plumbers and electricians, and landscapers and guys who broke their backs to earn a living, well, they treated me exceedingly well. I can't make a sweeping statement that this somehow translates to stereotypes. It was my own experience. Luck of the draw, perhaps . . . but . . .
Now I write. And I find that if I look back over the whole of my writing, all the heroes, or most of them anyway, are ordinary guys who get drawn into extraordinary circumstances. They can sling a beer, but they aren't driving fancy cars or living in fancy houses. The villains? They have money--and power. They're greedy. They treat people like possessions.
Now, do I feel this way in real life? I think I try to judge each person on his or her merits. But I can see how fundamental experiences trickle in. Do I REALLY think all people with power can't be trusted? Intellectually . . . no. But it's there . . . those life experiences that sort of color the heroes and shade the villains. I like the average Joe drawn into circumstances beyond his control, using just his wits to save the day.
Even when I look at my middle-grade Magickeepers, my hero is all of twelve. But he has already learned that if you lie to yourself, your magic cannot be trusted. Only those true of heart and true of purpose succeed.
Thoughts?
22 comments:
I seem to prefer wounded heroes, people who have something terrible to overcome. I written about several like that.
I guess I really don't know much about the rich, so most of my characters tend to be average Joes. Good and bad. With the one wealthy character I can think of, I don't think I was trying to make any sort of statement. He was just a doctor with a lot of dough who got caught up in a blackmailing scheme.
But I'm sure there's a reason the Bible says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle...
Joe:
I forgot to add that--my HEROINES are all wounded in some way . . .
And ALL--hero or heroine--have a great loss in their lives. Even if it isn't immediately visible, they are all grieving people. I tend to think the human condition is one long good-bye of a sort.
E
Jude:
If I have rich people in my books, they are a bit like Robin Hood. Giving it away or doing good with it.
In Double Down, at the end, the heroine and her rich quarterback set up a foundation to help kids.
E
Now I know why we get along as well as we do. After the turn of the year I'm going to ask a friend for a job as a dishwasher.
Erica, you and I are very similar in this sense. I've dated guys from many different countries, too, and they always seem to be working class. It got to the point that when I was out with friends, they would jokingly point out the busboys to me while they ogled the regular patrons. And usually that's who I found the most attractive. (could also be because they tended to be Hispanic). My husband is a carpenter/electrician, so I guess I've stayed true to my preference.
The men in my two novels are 1) unemployed, and 2) runs a car wash. Granted the second man owns the business, but he still runs the equipment.
Cowboy:
A dishwasher is an honorable profession.
E
Hi Melanie:
My major relationships have all been blue collar men or men who worked with their hands.
I'll never forget going to this very hot club in NYC. It cost $100 just to walk in the door--bottle service and all that. I ended up dancing with a busboy who was SO nice, and I just found my date to be loathsome. LOL!
E
After watching Secret Millionaire and how out of touch with reality those rich people were, I'm not surprised you found the rich guys to be jerks. I'm not sure if it's about the money or the power as it is about the lack of a true social education. Though sometimes it is about the power. Trust fund babies are the worst in my experience. They grow up knowing no limitations and do the strangest things. I know one woman who had too much stuff in her apartment, so she rented another to live in and kept the first for her stuff. She also needed a few more parking spaces for the cars she didn't drive. We have a lot of trust fund babies out here.
I've always admired the guy (dean or pres of Yale? Harvard? something) who spent a year doing manual labor jobs for the experience (then wrote a book about it). I didn't read the book, but I saw his interview. He learned a lot about real people during that year.
Seems to me we've touched on this before. My heroes tend to be professionals of some sort, law enforcement, etc. Not always. Typically they're very well educated (or overeducated) and are problem solvers. Maybe that's why I've taken to writing about kids lately, because I can get away with them not being professionals of any sort.
Sarah:
It's interesting that Warren Buffet isn't leaving his wealth to his children but to philathropy--I think he has the same opinion.
E
Mark:
Yeah . . . I know we've talked about it before. My main characters are often geniuses . . . very smart. But yet very ordinary in some ways. But I realize now, sometimes, why I am "out of sync" with say, traditional romance writers, because I don't gravitate toward those "perfect in every way" kind of heroes. They just don't interest me.
E
Your heros are "perfect" because they are not perfect. I too have an innate lack of trust for rich people. I know there are some who have a clue, but the Paris Hiltons of the world couldn't buy a clue.
Each of mine are different... but they all have a quality of self-doubt and often find themselves being relied upon to lead or to figure out how to make something happen.
I have met some of the rich and powerful, and early on decided I didn't ever want to be those kind of people. I tent toward the people who do some kind of service level position... kinda like me.
I've done quite a bit of canvassing for political action groups and raising money for churches for this or that. The poorer people are, the more they are willing to give. I know it sounds like a stereotype, but it's so clear and blatant a pattern, that's it's a well-known (and staggering) statistic, at least in the churches I worked for and the doors I've knocked on.
People who will HURT--I mean really HURT--by giving twenty dollars, will sooner give twenty dollars than someone who thinks twenty dollars is small change. That's why I think that whole "donate to charity and you will attract money" thing is total woo-woo.
I'm writing about people who realize the true value of everything around them, monetary and otherwise. It's a lesson I well-learned myself. I don't wish my circumstances on anyone, but the lesson? You bet.
My heroes and heroines are all either working class or hard working. They're motivated. No lounging dukes or tycoons in my stories. My mind doesn't work that way.
FF:
Imperfect is definitely what I aim for with my characters.
E
ewoh:
I once saw a speech by a CEO of something or other--basically saying, "If you intend to have my job someday, know someone else will raise your children."
Then and there, I knew not for me.
E
Spy:
I agree with you just from my own experiential stuff.
E
Amy:
I don't wish to have had Crohn's for example, either. But who I am because of what I've been through . . . guess it is what it is and it's somehow worth it.
E
Edie:
LOL!. Lounging duke. Love it.
E
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