Writers' emotional responses to central characters in literature

Oedipus and Odysseus

In a great deal of literature, especially prior to the modern and postmodern periods, the central characters or protagonists are generally expected to be supported by the reader -- they are individuals that the authors expect the readers to receive favorably. Different authors use different methods in different contexts in order to achieve this support and favorable view, appealing to the readers' emotions in various ways to create protagonists that remain positive characters despite their potential or fully realized flaws. Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey, is incredibly arrogant, yet his enduring attempts to reach his home and his wife and his abilities to side-step danger through a variety of means makes him endearing nonetheless. Oedipus, the protagonist of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, suffers more form ignorance than arrogance, but through his evident wisdom he is also seen as a generally good character. Both Sophocles and Homer use the protagonist's flaws and the ways the react to them to draw the reader into an appreciation of their characters, creating a favorable impression of them through their ability to handle their own flaws.

Oedipus shows his wisdom and his sense of self-sacrifice throughout the play the bears his name, even before the tragic ending. Tiresias tells Oedipus that the knowledge of his parents' true identity will be his undoing, and the king replies, "But if I saved this city, that doesn't matter (line 466). Even as his ignorance -- his fatal flaw -- is being waved in front of his face, Oedipus responds with grace, calm, and a sense of purpose greater than himself. This is how Sophocles manages to make him so likable despite the ultimate tragedy his choices lead to.

Odysseus is perhaps somewhat more difficult to like, given his constant lying and his general avoidance of real trouble and danger, often at the expense of others. Even when he believes himself to be finally at home in Ithaca based on the word of a young woman -- actually the goddess Athena in disguise, unbeknownst to him -- he lies about who he is not because he feels that he needs to but out of "the instinctive wiliness of his heart" (Book 13). Even this scene ends up making Odysseus appear likable, however, given his sheer irascibility and unflappable attitude. When the goddess reveals herself and calls attention to Odysseus' lies, he manages to turn the accusation around on her, claiming that he cannot necessarily trust her intentions or her information based on certain of the past events that he has endured and even questioning whether or not she told the truth in telling him he had arrived at home. The pure audacity of his willingness to lie here and the straight-faced and utterly shameless way in which Odysseus conducts himself is at once his biggest flaw and his most endearing trait; when confronted with this flaw, he covers it up with more of the same, and this is simply too engaging, humorous, and shocking to be greeted without at least a modicum of guilt pleasure.