fandomhigh | Tropes and Scope [Class 5, Period Three]

"Good morning!" Belle chirped, already passing out packets for today's class as soon as students entered the room. "Today, we're not going to do anything too fancy -- we're just going to talk about families. We all have them -- some of them are biological, some of them are adopted. I thought it might be pretty appropriate to talk about trends we see in literature as far as families go. If nothing else, it'll remind us just how bad our own situations aren't."

Though Belle was fairly excited about her own guest, to be honest. More than fairly. Very, actually.

"There are plenty of tropes dealing with families, but let's start with the big ones: we often see large, clan-like family structures in stories, particularly in most pantheons of classical mythology, like Roman and Greek and Norse. Everyone is someone's father and brother and child, it seems, and their power stretches through the entire family tree. Often, these families all run a business together, though occasionally you'll find that they also perform less savory tasks together. I understand there's a number of crime families that work together, similarly," Belle said, flipping through the packet as she spoke. "And of course, with families, you have many different kinds of parents -- doting ones, villainous ones, even entirely absent ones, which is a much more recurring theme in literature than I'd like. Many of our favorite heroes are orphans." Her expression softened, and she added, "Or only one parent is living, anyway."

She cleared her throat, and added, "I'd like you to pair up with one another and discuss, after reading through the packet -- what's the worst-sounding family scenario most commonly inflicted upon protagonists? What's the best? Why would an author choose any of these backgrounds to tell a story? And do you find your own family in any of these trends?" She smiled quickly, and added, "Fiction imitates life, after all."

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

With someone else!

And don't click the links. Doooon't.

What's the worst-sounding family scenario most commonly inflicted upon protagonists? What's the best? Why would an author choose any of these backgrounds to tell a story? And do you find your own family in any of these trends?

Don't forget to meta, omg.

She's totes there, thinking about her own family and wishing her daddy could make it this weekend.

I'M SO SORRY FOR LINKING. I'M SORRY.

Karla

"My parents are dead," Karla said softly. "I think most of the time, it sets the protagonist up for the story itself. Either he or she has no strings to hold them down when plot happens, or it leaves them vulnerable for plot elements to take advantage of."

Susan Sto Helit

Susan knew this had to come from Parents Weekend starting tomorrow, but the timing of this could not be weirder for her. She couldn't help but wonder if her family could even begin to be covered this way.

Cassel Sharpe

Gabrielle

Rilla Blythe

Ryan

Tara Maclay

Hanna Marin

"When I was little I read this book where the girls were playing pretend?" Tara offered,ma bit hesitantly. "And -- they were talking about how the first thing they had to do to play was get the mother out of the way. I think you're right. Being an orphan ... it means a lot more things are possible. Not that I'm, y'know, really an orphan."

Billy Kaplan

"Yeah, I think that one could qualify as the worst-sounding and the best-sounding, depending on what effect it has on the character," Billy said. "And depending on what kind of people the parents were in the story. I have to assume stories with happy, whole, well-adjusted families don't sell as well."

Karla gave Tara a sympathetic smile. Maybe not an orphan, but she knew loss and it wasn't like Tara's father seemed much like a parent. Or a decent human being. "Parents are supposed to protect their children," she agreed. "It's hard for a child to go off and face danger and have adventures if their parents aren't absent somehow. Having them be dead...it's convenient because then there's nothing to explain."

Killed for convenience. Ugh.

"There's kind of...nothing to do in those cases," Karla said, thoughtfully. "Stories are about people learning and growing and the kind of growth that comes from having a normal, well-adjusted family is to slow to make for good reading."

Squall Leonhart

(After dreaming about his father.)

"Making a character an orphan is just an excuse to add unnecessary pathos and drama," Squall grumbled.

"...And it sucks."

"Pretty much, yeah," Tara agreed, matching Karla's expression. "But maybe it's just ... real, to some extent, too. I don't think there's anybody at school who really has parents who are, like, good parents."

A beat.

"Unless I count the poor guy who was worried about getting grounded over the weekend."

Karla ran through the majority of her friends in her head, trying to figure out who might come from a relatively happy, healthy, nuclear family.

"I know a few people who have good families," she said slowly. "But even in those cases, they're adopted or have only one parent in the picture. The only kids I know who are being raised by two people are Juliet Skywalker and Jan."

Not that either of those families could be considered 'normal.'

Richie Ryan

"I mean, Kennedy's dad remarried when she was pretty small and he loves her and everything," Tara offered thoughtfully. "But her mom's still in Portugal, so. She still mostly fits the pattern."

It was clear: Their school was doomed.

Petra West

Elphaba Thropp

...And I'm sorry for totally missing this post, yesterday. A flakey flake is me.

Tropes and Scope [Class 5, Period Three]

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