How cool of a Valentine special is this?! I thought as an antidote to the chocolatey, mushy Valentine stuff, it would be fun to throw in an unsweet, unmushy topic.
Let’s hear it for Worst Fictional Characters Ever! For me, that means those that I like the least. Not evil (necessarily).
We’ll go for Top 5, okay?
1. Holden Caulfield. Althoughe this fictional character says in the book The Catcher in the Rye, “What really knocks me out is a book that, when you’re all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it,” which is my favorite quote ever, I can’t stand Holden Caulfield. I understand teenage angst….I once was a teenager and I have taught teenagers for almost 20 years. But really? I can’t. I just can’t with Holden.
2. Jay Gatsby. Do I have to say more? Shallow, obnoxious, bleeeeeeech. I don’t like him or the novel he rode in on. Let the record reflect that unlike me, my husband loves The Great Gatsby. Is it a guy thing?
3. Ramsey Bolton from Game of Thrones. His smile makes his insane evilness more perfect, but he is such a despicable character. He’s supposed to be despicable, though. Holden Caulfield and Jay Gatsby are not. But I could have nightmares about Ramsey Bolton.
4. Daenerys Targaryen. I know, I know. I’m the only person in the entire world who doesn’t like her. Throughout the A Song of Ice and Fire books I thought her storyline was the most boring. DON’T THROW TOMATOES AT ME. Even I don’t understand why. I love the medieval aspect of the George R.R. Martin series. I felt that the storylines in the exotic locales featuring Daenerys should have been in another book. In the HBO series, the dragons are completely cool and I see, now that her storyline is meshing with the Westeros Houses, it could be good. I’m the biggest GoT fan alive, but that character never interested me.
5. Scarlett O’Hara. And I thought I was spoiled. She must be a character that I love to hate, because I’ve read Gone With The Wind more than once. I totally get that she’s a product of her time and upbringing and that she has strength and willfulness. But she’s too much.
Man, does this whole thing sound negative!! Who are in your Top 5 of Worst Characters Ever?
Okay guys…..let it rip.
saneteachers 
I’m with you on Holden and Ramsey, but Dany … c’mon. She grew up right before our eyes. 🙂 Personally, maybe because Twilight was in middle school for so long, I detest every character. However, Bella Swan takes the cake. A character that changes EVERYTHING about herself for a man. It breaks my heart that millions of women and girls connect with her.
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I agree with your Bella Swan choice. But Dany? Go ride your horses in the tall grass while we get back to the cool medieval stuff with Brienne.
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Oh, heavens, I forgot about Bella Swan! She should be on my list, too. Also the werewolf guy from those books, whatever his name was.
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Yes, what’s his name…..
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I thought this blog post would be such a good idea as an anti-mushy valentine thing to do (both my husband and I believe that people should be nice to each other all year and not just one day, but we do go out to dinner), except it has made me in a bad mood, lol. For real
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Sounds like you succeeded too well at the “anti-mushy” thing! lol
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Exactly! Now I’m mad at everyone. And just after I hit “publish” our washing machine broke and flooded the kitchen. Maybe I shouldn’t have published this…..
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I feel like I shouldn’t hit “like” on this… I don’t want to imply I like your kitchen flooding. Good luck!
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Thanks! Things that are broken can be fixed. Somehow that sentence sounded deep.
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Oh, I am so with you. She was my top choice for absolute worst character.
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Ramsey Bolton…The guy gives me the creeps too
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He set a new level for the evil insane.
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True that
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I totally agree on Gatsby and O’Hara. While I think the writing in “The Great Gatsby” is very beautiful, I hated all the characters in it, and don’t understand why it is considered one of the greatest books ever.
-Everyone except Lee in “East of Eden”, by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck was a great writer, but I can’t stand that book.
-Eustacia Vye, from “The Return of the Native”by Thomas Hardy: Great book, but I couldn’t stand Eustacia. I know she was supposed to be a romantic, but she seemed horribly self-centered.
-Anakin Skywalker, from the “Star Wars” prequels. As you may know from my blog, I often stick up for these much-maligned movies. But I can’t defend the way he is portrayed in them… just an awful, whiny brat.
-Everyone in all of Ayn Rand’s novels, with no exceptions or possibility of clemency.
-Cathy and Heathcliff, from “Wuthering Heights”. For me, the puzzle of this book was deciding which one I hated more. They both seem nuts, but I think it’s Heathcliff.
There’s one more character that I hate more than all of these combined… but I won’t say who he is, because he’s in one of my books, and that would just seem like shameless self-promotion.
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I was going to respond that I was saying omg omg we agree on everything and then you had to end our winning streak with Wuthering Heights. I love every character in that book.
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It was actually a very interesting book in some ways, and I wouldn’t say I hated the book itself; but those two…
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Oh I see. But some, like The Great Gatsby, I hate the characters and every single word in the book. Ok, that ‘s an exaggeration. I like “the”. haha
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The more I try to think about “worst fictional characters,” the more I realize that ALL of the characters I don’t remember, or care about even as I’m reading, are in the running for a spot on this list. Villains and villainesses, easy (and Ramsey would make my list here too) Most depraved protagonists, absolutely. But “worst characters” and most forgettable are synonymous for me, which is probably a good thing. This poor brain of mine isn’t big enough to hold onto the unimportant stuff.
Now, what IS important is putting Daenerys on any list that doesn’t start with Favorite…
I’m pretty sure I saw rules about that someplace.
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So you disagree with Daenerys on my list??? Shocking. That’s a good point, though, about all the unmemorable characters.
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hehehe it’s not SOLELY because she is the embodiment of beauty and rugged nobility. I’m sure she has a good personality too 😉
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No I don’t think she has a good personality. I liked the Daenerys in the book better than the HBO character. I know she’s pretty etc. I just think boring. I love Sansa and Cersei Lannister is completely insane and cruel, yet loved her kids. Or did she?
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hehehe Barb. This is one of the many reasons I love your blog so much. Could easily spend an inordinate amount of time here debating the merits of GoT, LoTR, Harry Potter, and the Classics.
And we haven’t even Started to chat about whether Marvel’s Avengers are better than the XMen yet 😉
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Don’t.Even.Go.There.
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I know… AVENGERS right?
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The problem here is that it isn’t a simple answer. I also love X-men. Just know, that you may like Daenerys, but Marvel’s Jessica Jones is my all time hero. Which actually tells you a lot about me. I can’t pick up cars, though.
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What’s the point? DC characters are better than all of Marvel altogether. 😋
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No no no no
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Yikes! I’m out of my depth already… I just read the comics for the pictures 😉
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Haha that makes you sound like a little kid.
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1) Daisy/Skye/Quake from Agents of Shield. She’s whiney Bella Swan with super powers. 2) Thea Queen from Green Arrow–more teen angst the world doesn’t need. 3) Salieri, portrayed by Peter Shaffer in Amadeus. 4) Papa Jupiter from The Hills Have Eyes (1977). 5) Nuclear Warhead whatever teenager from Deadpool–what a cardboard cut out complete waste of space.
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Hahaha these are great!
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Barb, you dislike Daeny more than Cersei? Really?
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Yes. I recently watched the whole HBO series, but my point of reference are the books. Cersei is a horrible character, but I think she is very interesting. In the books, I don’t find the Daenerys storyline interesting. Now that her world and the Westeros world are coming together, that will all change. Oh! Deanys brother was a total creep.
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I love these posts; it’s like walking into a special kind of Book Club and having all sorts of interesting people to talk to. 😉
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I love the comments everyone makes!!
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Neegan from the Walking Dead!!! 😅 Iris West from the Flash (cuz I’m for Caitlin and Barry) and…yeah, Bella Swan! LOL
This was fun! Thanks, Barb 🙂
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Ugh, Iris! She’s a clone of early Laurel from Green Arrow, just so full of herself.
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Hahaha!!! So glad to see I’m not the only one who gets that! I was actually gunna add Laurel to the list, but I didn’t wanna start a mini rant. LOL I know right?! And for some reason, I don’t feel any chemistry between her and Barry…
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(That’s because there IS no chemistry between Iris & Barry!)
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The funny thing is it made me in a bad mood. I had a nice Valentine’s dinner with my husband, but we both think that the commercialism and mushiness of it is overblown. So I decided instead of a “favorites” one (I just wrote Favorite Male Character and Favorite Female Character posts, so I thought this would be fun. Then I just got mad thinking of all the ones I don’t like, lol.
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Hahaha! That’s so funny! 😂😂😂Oh well, it was fun to rack my brain for characters I don’t like…totally agree with you on the whole commercialism and mushiness, by the way! 😉
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I know, it’s so funny. I was actually in a bad mood the whole night, even though I loved the discussion and comments!
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Worst characters or portrayal of?
I don’t like Mr Bean as he gives me the creeps (how sad is that?).
The Ugly Sisters in Cinderella (can this count as 1?), selfish, vain and jealous.
Danny Glover as Colonel Isaac Johnson in ‘Shooter’ (2007)**
Ned Beatty as Senator Charles Meacham (same film)
Marg Helgenberger’s Catherine Willows in the original CSI series, as I found her to become most irritating!
**
This is actually one of my favourite films and these two political slimeball characters were worse than the one portrayed by Elias Koteos!
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Mr. Bean????
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yeah I know, sad isn’t it. Though I did feel sorry for him when he only had his teddy for company.
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Lol
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Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Period.
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Not the book. The movie, right?
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I know Bella Swan has been said. But I think she bears repeating. Worst. Literary. Character. Ever!
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She is definitely getting slammed here.
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The teacher from Charlie Brown.
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haha I am so not like her.
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Do it for Halloween!!!!!!!!!
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You have to remind me when we get closer to Halloween! Are you still thinking Charlie Brown?
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Of do you mean I should talk like her on Halloween? None of my students would get the reference.
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You should talk like her and then break out of character to educate your kids on the historical importance of Charlie Brown. “It’s why we have a Great Pumpkin”.
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They would stare at me blankly.
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That’s what I want. Haha
I posted a rant today.
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My new one is like a funny-whiny-rant.I’ll go read yours now.
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I agree with you on numbers one, two and five. I’d probably agree with you on all of them, but I don’t watch Game of Thrones and I have no idea who number four is!
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#4 is from Game of Thrones, too.
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Well, that explains it!
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lol
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LOL, I am so with you on Holden and Scarlett. I cannot stand Jeeves, who is an uppity arse.
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Oh yes about Jeeves! Yuck.
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