Tuesday, November 9, 2010

(Nearly) Ten Most Unfortunate Character Names

A few unfortunate character names come to mind.


(1)  I always felt sorry for poor Ashley Wilkes
 in Gone with the Wind. 
Wimpy.
And stuck with a girl name to boot.



(2)  Okay, I know this is just me,
but it is really, really hard to keep people straight
when reading a book set in Japan.
I get the names confused.
Too many vowel sounds.



(3)  Men in romance novels. 
Bold, one-syllable names that sound
like those of an action hero or
a curse word. Blaze, for example.
And Rock. Ridiculous. 



(4)  Old-fashioned names in classic stories. 
Walter, for example, is Mr. Bridge's first name
in the classic book,
Mr. Bridge by Evan S. Connell.
Walter Bridge sounds silly now, doesn't it?



(5)  Bilbo Baggins.  Please. 


(6)  Every Debbie I've ever read about
is a bubble-headed dimwit.
Or worse.
Surely we could have a story about a beautiful and clever
college professor named Debbie?  For once.

Well, that's all I could come up with today. I'm off to see what you thought of....


Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND sign Mister Linky at the bottom to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Don't worry if you can't come up with ten every time..just post what you can!

26 comments:

  1. Your Debbie comment made me laugh! But I love the alliterative fun of Bilbo Baggins.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very funny. I especially agree with #1.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Haha love it! Great list. I wish I had thought of Ashley Wilkes -- one of my favorite books, and I've always wondered why he had to be called Ashley!

    check out my list http://thebluebookcase.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is the second time I've seen Bilbo on a list. I actual like the name. It's cute like a hobbit.

    I think if there was a college professor named Debbie, it would just be her nickname and most people would call her Deborah. Just a thought...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like your list, even thought I don't agree about Bilbo.

    Your # 2 makes me wonder how you would feel about reading Icelandic books - how do you like 'Erlendur', 'Sigurdur Oli' and Elinborg'?

    ReplyDelete
  6. If I find a Debbie who doesn't fit the literary stereotype, I'll certainly let you know! But your comment made me chuckle.

    ReplyDelete
  7. HAHA. 3, 4 and 6 really made me laugh!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Totally agree with you about the whole Japanese names thing. And to make it even more confusing they have those titles they go by too! I can never get it straight.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh Ashley Wilkes is a good choice! Although I thought it suited his character because he is, as you say, wimpy. I'm not too sure what Scarlett saw in him.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh yeah, I remember Ashley. I hated that movie with a passion and didn't like anyone at all.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like how you included categories instead of just individual characters! I have trouble keeping characters straight when I'm not familiar with the country from which the names come. And romance heroes--totally! What a great answer!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. haha! I definitely laughed at the men in romance novels, TOTALLY true!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hahaha, nice list. I always felt awkward saying "Bilbo", even as a kid I felt there was something dirty about it, lol.

    I love japanese names, but yeah, it can be an issue reading novels. Especially with names starting with K or S. They always seem to be three syllables long and full of the same vowels, rearranged.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I agree whole-heartedly about Bilbo.

    Oh and I have a hard time with Russian names . Way too many consonants and not enough vowels. (Obviously the Japanese and Russians should talk. *wink*).

    ReplyDelete
  15. I've got a personal stake in Debbie since it's the name I was blessed (?) with at birth.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Poor Bilbo...and Frodo :P
    Harry Potter had a lot of fun names too, my favorite being Ruebeus Hagrid

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'll keep an eye out for a fantastic Debbie character and let you know when I find one.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Awesome list! I got completely stuck when I was trying to think of these.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I totally agree with the Gone With the Wind choice. I also think Poppy is a weird name. Sure, you add it to deserts and such, but it's mostly known and forbidden for being a drug similar to heroin. Who would want to name their kid heroin?oO

    ReplyDelete
  20. In David Weber's Honor Harrington SF novels, there is a character loosely based on a figure in the French Revolution, named Rob S. Pierre. I once met Weber at a book signing, and asked him never to do that again. He said he wouldn't.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I don't agree with Bilbo. :D But otherwise this is a pretty good list. I can understand what you mean about Japanese character names - I study the language so I guess that doesn't even strike me as difficult to keep track of.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Criss-Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins has a main character called Debbie who isn't a bubble-head, but she's adolescent (literally). It won the Newbery Medal for Best Children’s Literature in 2006, but I’ve read stronger winners.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hahaha, I love that you included Bilbo Baggins on this list! Here's a related video, The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGF5ROpjRAU

    ReplyDelete

I hope you will leave a comment so I know you have visited. If you stop by my blog, I will always stop by yours.

Note: Disqus commenting is only available on the web version of the blog. Please switch to the web version if you are using a mobile device.