If a character has a Code (a set of rules by which s/she lives his life) not taking action means breaking the Code and that's something s/he can't live with. Jack Reacher. Omar Little. All United States Marines.
As readers, we know the Code and what it means.
But what if your character isn't Reacher, Omar, or one of A Few Good Men (also women!)?
How do you show what a character is made of?
What it will cost them to make what they know is the wrong choice.
Since this is Sunday, the passage from Luke about the Good Samaritan seems like a fit illustration for choices:
"A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he travelled, came where he was. When he saw him, he was moved with compassion, came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. He set him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the host, and said to him, 'Take care of him. Whatever you spend beyond that, I will repay you when I return."
You'll notice Our Lord, in his zeal to get to the good stuff, leaves out the why the priest and the Levite pass by the man (ie the wrong choice.)
If you were writing this as a story, not a parable, one of the things to think about is not only why the Samaritan stops, but why the others don't.
In truth, you may not use that info, but knowing it will help you write three dimensional characters, even if the characters are minor ones.
PS There's a new post at QueryShark today!
12 comments:
This is one of the cases where history makes the story more meaningful. I knew this parable as a child and never realized the Samaritans were a people with their own religion. This adds meaning to the story and it went above my head until I was in Israel and saw the Inn (or what legends claims is the Inn).
Right, The Sleepy One!
It's ironic that NOW "Samaritan" is synonymous with "a good person" when in those days, to the Jews, Samaritans were... not so good. The Bible leaves out this context (Jesus used His audience's preconceived notions and prejudices against them, but much of that is lost on today's audience). Like the Samaritan woman at the well, modern folks usually focus on all her divorces. But the fact that Jesus even interacted with a Samaritan woman, as a Jew, was scandalous.
Context is everything!
Two things Jesus’s listeners knew:
(1) Jewish law required that one help those in need when they are happened upon. Crossing the road to avoid this obligation was a despicable act especially for a priest or Levite
(2) The Jews and Samaritans despised each other.
A modern reader would know that a marine who runs away at the first sign of the enemy is dishonorable. Also, they know that the Republicans and Democr er … KKKers and Blacks despise each other.
The choices were well understood in the first century.
Thankyou for the reminder, Janet.
I got caught up in reading through query shark and know now why you're reminding people to have reasons for decisions. BUT, it's 3:30, I must escape back to revisions and enjoy Query Shark later. Maybe as a reward for so many pages.
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Thanks for including a snippet from one of the greatest storytellers of all time!
We slam on the priest and Levite so much - and rightly so - but if we were there, we'd probably be thinking about whether the muggers were still nearby.
I love this line: "...one of the things to think about is not only why the Samaritan stops, but why the others don't." Regardless of genre, I believe great stories (even creative non-fiction stories) begin with the author asking "why? and "how?"
A great example. And maybe another way to think of this is foreshadowing.
We don't find out why the priest and the Levite don't stop. But maybe this sets the scene for later on when karma, disguised as a shepherd, strolls down the same street.
You get a wide swath of wiggle room as the author. Use it wisely ... and with a sprinkling of fun.
Thanks for the reminder, Janet. I'm going to edit today with an eye out for showing why my characters make the choices they do.
The Good Samaritan is a study in both choices and knowing your audience. Sometimes the reason for the choice is implied. In a novel today, we only need to reveal the motives behind the choices if the choice is not expected. As has been pointed out, the Levite and the priest not helping may have been unexpected from one perspective, but not when you think of the mentality of class in those days. The two of them passing by was in character. What was unexpected was the Samaritan's actions, and needed to be elaborated on. t
So, someone go write a modern version of the Good Samaritan so I can read the motives! ;)
I must agree. When the minister explained about how much the two groups despised one another, and how robbers would often hide and rob people who stopped to help, the story took on greater meaning.
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