After it all....

After exploring the many different novels, short stories, and pieces of poetry that my AP literature and composition class has studied this year through the microscope of one topic: How the relationships between characters effect the outcome of a story, I've come to realize that you really can't have a story without a complex web of relationships. Now, there are some such as The Hatchet that are still very good even there is mostly only one character in the story, but then again he gains a relationship with his surroundings that I guess you could count. I'm not going to get into that one that takes too much analysis away from my main topic.

My point is, all the characters in any novel, play, movie, song, poem, etc. that one could ever come up with are probably going to have some massive death web of complex character relationships that somehow effect the story. In Wicked you have the relationship between Elphaba and Nessa, her little sister (also known as The Wicked Witch of the East), Galinda (who most people know as Glenda), and several other characters that, unless you've read Wicked or are slightly familiar with the musical (which, albeit REALLY good, pretty much just took names and a few ideas from to come up with yet ANOTHER twist on Elphaba's life even though it really isn't very accurate to the book at all) you wouldn't have any clue who or what was going on so I'm not even going to bother mentioning them. 

You'd be amazed. Some novels have more obvious tight webs that change the outcome of the stories, such as Wicked, Their Eyes Were Watching God, or Harry Potter  whereas others are more subtle like The Giving Tree, The Destructors, or The Hatchet. All of the characters have found their ways into all the other character's hearts and minds. Love, hate, or anything in between, if something happens to one character (or one character DOES something) suddenly all of the other characters are caught in a spinning mass of motion that in many cases doesn't slow down to the end or even continues past that. 

Looking back at everything I remember studying this year, and in years past, or even things I've read for leisure, I can honestly say that it's really easy (and pretty mind-blowing) to be able to remember one or many instances where one character meeting another changed the entire novel's outcome or meaning. And I'm pretty impressed with the ones that, at the time, seemed insignificant to me. I'm going to notice the little character interactions more with every novel I read and that's really exciting to me. I can't wait to start the next one, because it means that I'll get to start reading from a completely different view point with each new reading project of any type that I begin.

Connecting Concepts - "Wicked"

Recently I read the novel Wicked by Gregory Maguire. He brings up very interesting topics and twists on the classic story The Wizard of Oz. It makes you wonder about the different ways a story can be told from different angles based on the point of view, and how it is seen by others. I found it to be quite an amazing read and I must say I'd really enjoy reading the sequel, Son of a Witch.

In this story, Maguire tells of the trials and troubles of The Wicked Witch of the West, whom he gives the name Elphaba. Starting from before her birth, following her life, all the way to her tragic death by water and a short time thereafter. Wicked explores the possible hidden agendas of those who appeared "good" in The Wizard of Oz, and shows that "evil" is what defined by whomever is defining it.
Historical examples are easily pulled, and I'm going to do so from American history. The English and the Colonists both thought that they were right and the others were wrong during the Revolutionary War, and the same during the Civil War. The Union thought slavery was evil and they had to do everything they could to abolish it while keeping the ENTIRE union together, while the Confederacy's way of life DEPENDED on slavery in order to keep the cotton and tobacco crops that kept the economy alive growing at the pace that it did, and would do anything to defend the very unstable economy as it was to keep from falling apart more, even if it meant separating from the Union. Really, both were right and wrong at the same time. But at that particular time period, no body thought like that. Even today people's minds have such a thought process.
One of the most interesting things about this novel, I found, was the way Maguire used the influences of other characters to change the various possible outcomes Elphaba's own story. This hidden theme can actually be applied to every other novel or story I have ever read read. For example, if The Secret Garden's Mary hadn't crossed paths with Dicken, the garden would have never been brought to life, nor would she have even found the key with aid from the bird. Thus, Collin would have never gotten out into the garden or become well, family relationships are never kindled between Archibald, and Colling and Mary, and the story has a not quite as happy ending. If you want to spin it that way.
Even in Wicked, Elphaba's views on what is good and what is not are shaped by the people she encounters as she goes through her journeys. Or, to word it better, the relations influence outcomes. Building relationships with others, good or bad, can alter the outcome of the story, or universally, someone's life drastically.

Some more examples are outlined throughout the website. If you want to explore more, just go up to the top and click the tabs. Thanks for reading!