This morning as I sit with my coffee and my laptop I am thinking about reading and what it will take to get my students hooked into books. I, for one, thoroughly enjoy historical fiction novels and could sit and read one from cover to cover in a matter of a few short hours, however I have to respect that not every person enjoys history quite the way that I do. This got me to thinking about villians, maybe if I present a few of what I consider to be the all time greatest book villians and we begin a discussion about book villians that may spark an interest in a student or two. And, who knows this discussion may trickle over into the student blog when they return. So, shall we begin....
The thing about book villians is this, they drive the plot along. Without conflict there is no plot, without conflict there really is no hero. Think about it in these terms, for all those hero lovers that I just infuriated, if there is nothing to overcome, no struggle, no strife, no turmoil, no antagonist, then what are you left with? Right, a dull flat central character-the protagonist.
S. Wendell Palomino from Swindle by Gordon Korman: This guy is ruthless. He cons Griffin Bing out of a million dollar baseball card and then continues to harass Griffin after the fact. Without Wendell and his 'lovely self' there would not be ‘man-with-the-plan’ that continues on for three more books.
Lord Ombra from Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson: this is a villain who is not quite human and can possess your mind by stealing your shadow. Need I say more?
The White Witch from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: She appears in other books within the Chronicles of Narnia, but this powerful antagonist shows her best stuff while turning Edmund Pevensie bad. Her appearances in the other books in the series just add to her awesome villianous quality.
Casper/Fako Mustacho from Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger: Casper is the new guy who knocked Count Olaf off the list. In my opinion he was able to out do Olaf because of his brilliant and somewhat funny plan to take over the world. But, you be the judge of that!
Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: If there is an author out there that knows how to create great villians it is definitley J.K. Rowling. Delores is one of the best she has created. Delores Umbridge comes complete with a pompous and vile attitude and a sickly sweet grandmotherly wardrobe which makes for the total villian package. Delores appears in the last three books of the series.
I know that this is just a sampling of book villians; I mean I did not even mention any of Roald Dahl books, but lets face it, they are like Lays Potato Chips "You Can't Stop With Just One". Roald Dahl deserves a lifetime achievement award for consistently conjuring despicable but enjoyable antagonists to keep his readers engaged and coming back for more.
I am curious to know what your thoughts in the matter are. Who are some of your 'favorite' book villians? What was it/is it about them that makes them so appealing to the reader in you? Would you have enjoyed the book the same without the villian? Is the villian part of a series? Did you follow the series
The thing about book villians is this, they drive the plot along. Without conflict there is no plot, without conflict there really is no hero. Think about it in these terms, for all those hero lovers that I just infuriated, if there is nothing to overcome, no struggle, no strife, no turmoil, no antagonist, then what are you left with? Right, a dull flat central character-the protagonist.
S. Wendell Palomino from Swindle by Gordon Korman: This guy is ruthless. He cons Griffin Bing out of a million dollar baseball card and then continues to harass Griffin after the fact. Without Wendell and his 'lovely self' there would not be ‘man-with-the-plan’ that continues on for three more books.
Lord Ombra from Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson: this is a villain who is not quite human and can possess your mind by stealing your shadow. Need I say more?
The White Witch from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: She appears in other books within the Chronicles of Narnia, but this powerful antagonist shows her best stuff while turning Edmund Pevensie bad. Her appearances in the other books in the series just add to her awesome villianous quality.
Casper/Fako Mustacho from Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger: Casper is the new guy who knocked Count Olaf off the list. In my opinion he was able to out do Olaf because of his brilliant and somewhat funny plan to take over the world. But, you be the judge of that!
Delores Umbridge from Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling: If there is an author out there that knows how to create great villians it is definitley J.K. Rowling. Delores is one of the best she has created. Delores Umbridge comes complete with a pompous and vile attitude and a sickly sweet grandmotherly wardrobe which makes for the total villian package. Delores appears in the last three books of the series.
I know that this is just a sampling of book villians; I mean I did not even mention any of Roald Dahl books, but lets face it, they are like Lays Potato Chips "You Can't Stop With Just One". Roald Dahl deserves a lifetime achievement award for consistently conjuring despicable but enjoyable antagonists to keep his readers engaged and coming back for more.
I am curious to know what your thoughts in the matter are. Who are some of your 'favorite' book villians? What was it/is it about them that makes them so appealing to the reader in you? Would you have enjoyed the book the same without the villian? Is the villian part of a series? Did you follow the series