Worst Protagonists (Lead Character) in Novels

beatleschic87

Okay, okay. Bella bashing aside, who else sucks? Holden Caulfield bugs me, but I'm pulling that from memory (been a long time since last read)

First my favorites: Gilly (The great gilly hopkins), Dewey (green glass sea) Joey Pigza (Joey pigza swallowed the key)

Clearly I've taught 5th (and 8th for that matter) grade language arts.

OH MY GOSH. I have it. I HATE the protagonist of Go Ask Alice. HATE. (C'mon Beatrix Sparks... You've anonymously published like 7 books of these supposed diaries. Stupid cautionary tales... I also take this as a total jab at fiction - to me it says that for anything to be meaningful it must be true).

I can summarize Holden Caufield in The Catcher In The Rye:

I cant stand phonies so I sat in this park and smoked a bunch of cigarettes because everyone are phonies.

The End.

And inspire psychopaths to kill John Lennon

ilookthetype

Catherine and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights. Just.... Everything about them.

Hear, hear!

RE Bella Swan, she was even reading books with awful female leads (Romeo&Juliet and Wuthering Heights).

Contrarian

Humbert Humbert from Lolita, closely followed by Ignatius J. Reilly from A confederacy of Dunces. No redeeming qualities in either character, although IJR is funny, at least.

maab_connor

Catherine and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights. Just.... Everything about them.

the bronte sisters only existed to make ppl forever link suicidal depression and "twu wub" oh, sure, the greeks started it - good try, Medea - but the Brontes PERFECTED it.

i once read a "dating game" fic where the 3 batchelors were Heathcliff, Edward Rochester, and Mr Darcy. it was hysterical.

"to all the batchelors: what are your worst qualities?"

heathcliff: "drunken insanity and murderous tendancies"
Rochester: "bigomy, unlawful imprisonment and insanity"
Darcy: "... i can be a bit judgemental"

jlchow

Holden Caufield, what a whiny, pretentious little turd.

Great novel though.

thedreamhazer

Bella Swan
Holden Caulfield
Charles Darnay (kind of a lead)
Esther Summerson
Romeo and Juliet


Probably many more. I'm thinking.

Edited to add:
Hester Prynne
Esther Greenwood

adrian_indy

Well, it's a novel and movie, but my vote goes to .....Anakin Skywalker. Whiney and dumb. He's supposed to be the most cunning and powerful Jedi in history, and tricked easier than a 5 year old by the emperor.

Emperor "Hey, your lady friend is sick and will die if you don't turn to the dark side"
Anakin "Ok". I guess they don't have MRI or CAT scans in the future.

And way to go from being some what normal to killing children in about 5 seconds. Way to build up to being evil.

dragonbug300

Seriously? All this hatred on 'Twilight'? There's a host of poorly-contrived protagonists. Bella has nothing on Kelsey from "A Lump in the Middle".
Never, in all of the books I have read, has there been a more pathetic female protagonist.
Essentially, she whines the entire time about being a middle child (two loving parents, sisters who act sisterly, enough cash to own a beach house...). Meanwhile, lying about her age to a slightly older kid (15 years, while she's 13) for no other reason than 'he's cute, and being 2 years older makes such a difference in his opinion of me...'. And it's all because she 'needs' male attention. It was a painful read. I couldn't make it through the whole book.

kennethmgreen

Humbert Humbert from Lolita, closely followed by Ignatius J. Reilly from A confederacy of Dunces. No redeeming qualities in either character, although IJR is funny, at least.

IJR is funny. But that brings up a worthy question: does being funny - even if being laughed at, or even ridiculed - qualify as a redeeming quality? I'm going to say yes, especially if you take the definition of "redeeming" to be compensation or replacement of something else missing. By that definition, even despicable Humbert has redeeming qualities in that he is interesting.

LorinaLynn

Bella is top pick, but... Scarlett O'Hara.

Yes, she faced things she never thought she'd have to face, and did things she never thought she'd do, and as God as her witness, she never went hungry again, but... another brainless twit with screwed up ideas about love and relationships. And over ASHLEY? Barf!!!

Mammy and Belle Watling, on the other hand... now THEY were some tough women!

Demwitted

For those of you who read a ton, who is the worst protagonist and from which book is she/he? I'd have to say Bella Swan...God, what a simpering, useless character.

I totally, utterly, irrevocably, psychotically, forensically agree. My favorite past-time at the moment is ripping on Twilight. lol.

I also disliked the main protagonists in A Clockwork Orange and Cat's Cradle just because they were so very unlikable. I could not relate to or sympathize with them at all. I still thought they were ok books though. I am in no way equating these books to the train-wreck that is the Twilight saga.

Demwitted

I read this quote a few days ago during an argument regarding Twilight Vs Harry Potter Series. Sometimes this quote is contributed to Stephen King. Some say its not. Either way, whoever said this was very accurate.

"Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity… Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

Owned.

I am best bros with a HP addict. King did not say this, although it is true. King did say that the difference between Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling is that Rowling can write.

SixCatFaerie

LMAO!!!!
I have never read the books and reading this makes me laugh so hard. From what I have seen and heard I am turned off by the series.

Same here.

AnninStPaul

when i first saw the title of this thread i was like OMG BELLA! don't get me wrong, i love the books, and i think the story is great. but she needs to grow a backbone and not be so helpless. i found myself irritated throughout most of the first 2 books thinking she was a horrible role model for young girls.

AGREE!!

Contrarian

Humbert Humbert from Lolita, closely followed by Ignatius J. Reilly from A confederacy of Dunces. No redeeming qualities in either character, although IJR is funny, at least.

IJR is funny. But that brings up a worthy question: does being funny - even if being laughed at, or even ridiculed - qualify as a redeeming quality? I'm going to say yes, especially if you take the definition of "redeeming" to be compensation or replacement of something else missing. By that definition, even despicable Humbert has redeeming qualities in that he is interesting.

As a reader, yes, but were I able to transport myself into the books, and be a character alongside them, I would find them neither funny, nor interesting. I guess it depends on the context in which we are examining them.

Also, I like commas.

SixCatFaerie

I read this quote a few days ago during an argument regarding Twilight Vs Harry Potter Series. Sometimes this quote is contributed to Stephen King. Some say its not. Either way, whoever said this was very accurate.

"Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity… Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

Owned.

I am best bros with a HP addict. King did not say this, although it is true. King did say that the difference between Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling is that Rowling can write.

Love it!

Pandahead

I read this quote a few days ago during an argument regarding Twilight Vs Harry Potter Series. Sometimes this quote is contributed to Stephen King. Some say its not. Either way, whoever said this was very accurate.

"Harry Potter is all about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity… Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.”

Owned.

I am best bros with a HP addict. King did not say this, although it is true. King did say that the difference between Stephenie Meyer and JK Rowling is that Rowling can write.

Owned again! LOL

Aside from Bella? Nothing jumps immediately to mind. There were several books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series where I didn't like Rand Al'thor (the main "hero" of the series). His whiny-ness was getting on my nerves. Fortunately, he grew out of it (for lack of a better descriptor).

nerdyandilikeit

Humbert Humbert from Lolita, closely followed by Ignatius J. Reilly from A confederacy of Dunces. No redeeming qualities in either character, although IJR is funny, at least.

IJR is funny. But that brings up a worthy question: does being funny - even if being laughed at, or even ridiculed - qualify as a redeeming quality? I'm going to say yes, especially if you take the definition of "redeeming" to be compensation or replacement of something else missing. By that definition, even despicable Humbert has redeeming qualities in that he is interesting.

That's what I was thinking. I've never read these, but funny is a redeeming quality in my book...pun intended

_SusieQ_

Bella is top pick, but... Scarlett O'Hara.

Yes, she faced things she never thought she'd have to face, and did things she never thought she'd do, and as God as her witness, she never went hungry again, but... another brainless twit with screwed up ideas about love and relationships. And over ASHLEY? Barf!!!

Mammy and Belle Watling, on the other hand... now THEY were some tough women!

Oh yes, totally agree. I LOVED reading GWTW, but seriously? Stealing your sister's fiance just to make the ambiguously gay Ashley jealous (FAIL). Then just whimpering and whining over that twit instead of tackling Rhett to the floor and having your way. (oh wait, that's what I would have done)

yea, I would be Belle's friend over Scarlett any day.

WifeNMama

Catherine and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights. Just.... Everything about them.

the bronte sisters only existed to make ppl forever link suicidal depression and "twu wub" oh, sure, the greeks started it - good try, Medea - but the Brontes PERFECTED it.

i once read a "dating game" fic where the 3 batchelors were Heathcliff, Edward Rochester, and Mr Darcy. it was hysterical.

"to all the batchelors: what are your worst qualities?"

heathcliff: "drunken insanity and murderous tendancies"
Rochester: "bigomy, unlawful imprisonment and insanity"
Darcy: "... i can be a bit judgemental"

This sounds like a book I would enjoy. I do enjoy the Bronte gals aside from Wuthering Heights.


Oh! Another one, Hagar from The Stone Angel by Margaret Laurence. A lovely little Canadian lit gem that made me want to cut myself with the pages and bleed to death. Thanks for that, Grade 12 English class.

And I'm not sure whom I like least, Hamlet, or Ophelia for killing herself over him.

And Hero, from Much Ado About Nothing. The dude accused you of cheating and you're not angry?!?! Dump him!

KatieJane83

Catherine and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights. Just.... Everything about them.

You beat me! I read this in high school and they were the first characters that came to mind! Oh, and Bella, lol.

LauraMacNCheese

Right there with you on the Bella thing...although, I vastly prefer her character in the books to her character in the movies. I just can't stand the movies

KatieJane83

Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre always ticked me off too.

emaline614

I just finished reading the Hunger Games series... and Katniss is an excellent character.

Bella on the other hand... not so much.

seventwenty

Catherine and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights. Just.... Everything about them.

the bronte sisters only existed to make ppl forever link suicidal depression and "twu wub" oh, sure, the greeks started it - good try, Medea - but the Brontes PERFECTED it.

i once read a "dating game" fic where the 3 batchelors were Heathcliff, Edward Rochester, and Mr Darcy. it was hysterical.

"to all the batchelors: what are your worst qualities?"

heathcliff: "drunken insanity and murderous tendancies"
Rochester: "bigomy, unlawful imprisonment and insanity"
Darcy: "... i can be a bit judgemental"

[/quote]

Ok serious question, why all the Stephanie Meyer hate when the Bronte's have ruined 11th & 12th grade English for everyone? I didn't read Catcher in the Eye until after college, so I think Holden Caulfield needs to be punched in the face, with a shark fin that was dipped in hot sauce. Who else do I hate? Oddly enough, Marcus Brutus. Who stabs their friends because their other friends want to stab them? Esp when Cassius would probably do a crappier job than Caesar.

ajbeans

Right there with you on the Bella thing...although, I vastly prefer her character in the books to her character in the movies. I just can't stand the movies

I kind of love the movies. Like in a so-bad-it's-awesome kind of way. My husband and I watch them when we get free HBO previews and predict the storylines (I only read the first book). It would be a fun drinking game if we played drinking games.

Whoever said Esther Greenwood, THANK YOU. Ok, so I love The Bell Jar in a sick way, but if I actually knew that person, I'd probably really not be a fan.

I don't have a long list of unlikeable protagonists because if I hate the person I'm reading about, I generally don't finish the book. So... I don't remember.

hoppinglark

MaraDiaz

Not sure who sounds worse, Bella or Edward. But either way:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM

MindyBlack

Catherine and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights. Just.... Everything about them.

A-feakin'-men!!!!!

LauraMacNCheese

P.S. I am SO glad I'm not alone on the Holden Caulfield hate parade...I don't care much for the book itself and that douche just made it doubly worse for me.