Perfection: The Role Of Human Failure In Literature

One of the most human characteristics that appears in many different forms and in many different people is weakness or, to indulge Shakespeare-a fatal flaw. These flaws are things such as ambition, impulsiveness, and indecisiveness and they resonate with the vast majority of the population, playing a role in the lives of every person. Humans are so skilled at projecting themselves into characters and stories that authors have used this to their advantage when writing books. They want to tap in on our ability to create bonds with characters over shared failures. This also makes characters more enjoyable to read about, as perfect protagonist with no shortcomings become rather unengaging after a while. Perfection in a character means that everything …show more content…
Sure, characters that have everything going for them can be interesting too, but the true intrigue lies in those that are imperfect. The ones that have a tiny chink in their metaphorical armour are the one that are the most highly appreciated. When Drakes says ‘It’s why no one relates to Superman’ he could not be more right. Superman is in the highest tier possible of people and although there are those who come close -kings, world leaders- they all inevitably have their mortal downside, their end of perfection. Superman, on the other hand, has only kryptonite, an otherworldly substance that similarly to him, is so foreign that its magnitude is not truly grasped by readers. This is why readers have a tendency to associate themselves with characters that they share an emotion, trait, or mannerism with; there is a similarity that allows for deeper and more meaningful connections to be made in the …show more content…
Wikipedia defines the everyman as “an ordinary individual, with whom the audience or reader is supposed to be able to identify easily, and who is often placed in extraordinary circumstances” and instead of connecting with defined characters, readers connect with the everyman based on the absence of character. Here, the less that is known about a character helps him/her rather than hinders and ultimately, allows the reader to put more of themselves within the characters ‘shoes’. As Mr.Card, a grade 12 English teacher stated “The definition of literature is that it can be interpreted” (Card). With this statement, Card is trying to verbalize the the idea of the everyman. The ambiguity of the everyman, is what Card believes can be interpreted by readers. Similar to how a solution of high concentration will diffuse into an area of lower concentration, a person with a high concentration of characteristics will fill the area of low characterization with their own characteristics. The everyman leaves a void in the novel he inhabits and as readers, we have the desire to fill that void with our own emotion, appearance and demeanor. Authors use this to their advantage so that when a pivotal piece of plot is explained, we feel it as much as the character does, further increasing our intimacy with the