Favorite character

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Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
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Yeah . . . all those cute little kids.

You ever have one of those guys for a bus driver? A guy who you could tell didn't really like kids?

I did.

Does anyone know why people work in jobs they hate?

Or is it something that evolves?
 
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Walter Oobleck

keeps coming back...or going, and going, and going
Mar 6, 2013
11,749
34,805
Anybody besides me get a kick out of the school bus driver?

oh yeah...brings me back. Get up in the morning get on the bus. Bus rider. I don't recall his name though I could put a name on him. I never understood this one and that's the one the story brings to mind. When the driver looked up at the mirror and held his gaze there...it was like the painting that follows you, and you alone through the room. But there was other...stuff...too. And there's no telling why but the vibe was there and the reality expressed itself on more than one occasion. So yeah...keep on rockin in the free world. All it takes is one. There were some good ones, some great ones, but you never forget the ones who seem to mark you and take your measure with their eye.
 
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Aericanwizard

Well-Known Member
Jun 15, 2011
218
306
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Get a kick isn't quite what I thought, but I did think the scene where he goes out to check the bus was one of the most frightening scenes ever in any book.

I recently saw the film "Trick 'r' treat", an anthology horror film that includes a segment involving an incident involving a bus-full of kids "coming back" to visit the driver. I couldn't help but grin, remembering the scene from "'Salem's Lot".

I agree; that book has some terrifying scenes.
 
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Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
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Yeah . . . all those cute little kids.

You ever have one of those guys for a bus driver? A guy who you could tell didn't really like kids?

I did.

Does anyone know why people work in jobs they hate?

Or is it something that evolves?

Oh man , I had a couple teachers growing up that DESPISED kids. I have worked around a few teachers as an adult who feel the same way. Could never figure out why you would waste 30 years giving all your time to a population of people you hate. Unless you want to make them miserable? Who knows, but I never understood it.
 
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The Nameless

M-O-O-N - That spells Nameless
Jul 10, 2011
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The Darkside of the Moon (England really)
I just finished this a few minutes ago - my first read. I was surprised at how little father callahan's role was. I read the dark towers first and now I understand why people recommend reading salems lot first,
it would have been better if my experience was "so this is what happened after callahan went to new York" rather than "ah, here's the priest from the calla"

I liked father callahan, he was a very interesting character, and Mark was yet another shining example of how good king is at writing child characters. My overall favourite was probably Ben. It's funny how not many people ever seem to choose the main protagonist as their favourite.

There were many people I was happy to see get their come upance - the bus driver and sandy mcdougle in particular.
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
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It's funny how not many people ever seem to choose the main protagonist as their favourite.

I think maybe this is because readers tend to get "beat over the head" with protagonists.

Yeah . . . we get it . . . you're the hero.

But beyond that I would make the case that King draws broader ancillary characters than many writers of popular fiction. I think this is why so many of us like to go back and read these things over and over. It's the little stylistic touches around the edges that make all the gut-wrenching stuff at the heart more compelling.

Like gravy on mashed potatoes.

Well . . . no . . . not like that.

But you know what I mean.
 
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Aericanwizard

Well-Known Member
Jun 15, 2011
218
306
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
It's funny how not many people ever seem to choose the main protagonist as their favourite.

But beyond that I would make the case that King draws broader ancillary characters than many writers of popular fiction.

I think one thing that distinguishes great fiction from good fiction is the quality of these tertiary characters. There are a lot of good writers out there that can write fully believable protagonists, but it's much harder for them to fully imagine characters that get killed off in the second act.


Sure, I like the protagonist, but that's not a great feat: by their very nature, they are likeable, or at least intriguing (why else would the author write an entire novel about them?).
To me, the non-protagonists are often just as intriguing, because a lot is left to the imagination. This feeds into my hatred of unnecessary sequels that focus on a minor character, but that's another story.
 

Pucker

We all have it coming, kid
May 9, 2010
2,906
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To me, the non-protagonists are often just as intriguing, because a lot is left to the imagination.

Exactly.

Fleshing out the parts you are not shown in the prose with your imagination is how you -- yourself -- get to be in the story, too.

And what's better than that?
 
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César Hernández-Meraz

Wants to be Nick, ends up as Larry
May 19, 2015
605
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Aguascalientes, Mexico
I actually understood and, to some degree, appreciated the bus driver's attitude. He did mention the teachers were actually letting the kids do whatever, and there were some examples, I think. I am sure he just uses this as his own excuse, but at least he is doing something that he feels is really needed. If the teachers did their job and kids already knew about discipline in classes and in life, then the bus ride could be a time for play, instead. But this is the time where he could do his part in teaching what others should and did not.

I liked how the recent TV adaptation made me see Dud as still young. When reading, I did not put much thought into that aspect of him. I thought of Mike Ryerson's age and, of course, the telephone company kid was always presented as being a youngster (he was just 23, if I remember correctly). Royce was young, as well. But now I see how Dud was from around those ages (closer to Mike, I think), and should actually have had a totally different friend life if people had accepted him.
 

Doc Creed

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Nov 18, 2015
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The protagonist is not always my favorite character necessarily, but in this case he is. Ben Mears, like Larry Underwood, is a successful man but feels he has a lot to prove. Also, like Larry, he has survivor's guilt (I believe) and is haunted by the loss of women he's loved. As Shakespeare says, he is 'a man more sin against than in sinning'. Ben is not a tragic character, in the sense that his actions and consequences are inevitable but he's unmoored and forever troubled. "Everyone in town thought the man and boy were father and son" it reads in the beginning and I think this is the implied hope for Ben. To be a father figure. This is my interpretation.
When this book gets cranked up, it is one scary scene after another.
One of my favorites is when Jimmy and Ben are sitting with Marjorie Glick's corpse and she suddenly moves.
 

notebookgirl

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2013
858
4,940
Somewhere over the Rainbow
I finished reading 'Salem's Lot last week and loved it. I have loved all of the SK books I have read, but this time I felt the book was over too quickly, without me realizing how long I had been reading. The typefont is not significantly bigger than in other books, so I suppose it is just that the story caught me completely.

And now I want to discuss about the characters. Mainly, who is your favorite one?

It must be difficult to choose one, if people liked them all as I did. But two were at the top for me:

Mark (who I think will be the favorite of many others), for being so focused and analytical, not only when fighting against vampires, but also when disciplining bullies and when dealing with his parents' opinions.

And Jimmy, for being the character that is full of light in this book (just like Tommy Ross from Carrie or Jack Cantori from Duma Key). I love this type of characters, who are willing to do things for other people. I also loved how he kept his boyish looks and, there is no point in denying it, I also loved the freckles and the red hair.

A very close one is Father Callahan. I liked how his decaying faith was more due to wanting to do more, rather than the opposite. It was sad to discover that his faith was truly big, except, of course, when he did not believe in himself. It helps that I am a Catholic, too. I cannot wait to see him in The Dark Tower.

Now, who are your favorites? Even the regular townspeople count.

I guess I agree with all except the Father. However, come to think of it, do we know what happen to him......
 

Coyo-T

Well-Known Member
Oct 3, 2016
67
321
Am I alone in liking Ed "Weasel" Craig? I usually tend to gravitate toward minor characters (as it's more of a treat when the narrative gets back around to them) and as sad as his life situation was, like Ben I just "liked" him.