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/lit/ - Literature


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3010061 No.3010061 [Reply] [Original]

In this thread we post what we perceive to be the most selfish characters in novels and why.

Captain Ahab in Moby Dick. He pursued a whale to the end of his life and his crew's. Indeed he was just like his leg - untrustworthy.

Pic Related.

>> No.3010065

do you think that is insightful?

>> No.3010066

>>3010065
Can you construct your questions a little better? Thanks.

>> No.3010070

God in Paradise Lost

>> No.3010071

Do you think that your analysis of Ahab is insightful? Do you bring anything new to the table? How does your analysis differ from, say, a high-school teacher's?

>> No.3010074

>>3010071

did you mean a high-school student? I think a teacher could do a little better.

>> No.3010075

>>3010071
The point of the thread was to not offer insight, rather, to give our opinion on a character we thought was selfish in a novel we've read. I think you need to review your reading comprehension.

Also, if you haven't read Moby Dick, I'd strongly suggest doing so. It's quite good and you'll understand what I mean when I say he was selfish - his crew knew it by the end.

>> No.3010129

>>3010074
No, a sizable portion of /lit/, like the clown you quoted, are pretentious douches that assume being bombastic proves they know more than educators and critics.

>> No.3010134

>>3010129
T-thank y-you...

Also to stay remotely on topic in this post I'll suggest another character: Macbeth.
Cause like regicide and killing.

>> No.3010214

>>3010061
Jesus of Nazareth-Yahweh. He faked his own death sockpuppeting as a human being in order to be loved.

>> No.3010217

I think that Moby Dick was the selfish one. He screwed up everyone's plans by killing the crew and not dying.

>nb4 Ishmael didn't die

>> No.3010221

Yertle the turtle.

>> No.3010222

>>3010217
I remember someone pointing out to me that there's no proof he doesn't die of his wounds. I pointed out that that is in no way gonna make me give a fuck.

>> No.3010236

Ned Stark: bringing war and destruction to the Seven Kingdoms just to maintain his own honor.

>> No.3010311

The dude in No Country for Old Men. Thought he was so clever clever, and what did he get for it? fucking dead, along with his wifey, that's what

>> No.3010481

>>3010217
Of yeah, bad guy Moby Dick: not rolling over and dying when some shitheads want to melt him down for lamp oil and spend the money on booze and whores.

BTW, an interesting analysis of 'Moby Dick' for once -- do you guys understand that the whole novel is a symbolic prophesy/condemnation of European colonialism?

>> No.3010492

Cottard in The Plague?

>> No.3010544

>>3010481

If you thought that poster was serious, then you are a brainless twat.

>> No.3010549

>>3010061
Anna from Anna Karenina. She was a selfish whore craving cock and caused all sorts of problems for everyone around her.

>> No.3010685

>>3010061

>implying it wasn't all a metaphor for humanity's self-centered quest for meaning in the universe.

>> No.3010712

Fucking, George. He killed Lenny because Lenny kept on cock blocking him.

>> No.3010739

>>3010712
It was a mercy-killing, Curley and Co. would have lynched him.

>> No.3010752

>>3010061
ahab is a good one. the story about obsession turned madness isn't unique. ahab is a classic example of it to me as well though.

i would say ignatius from confederacy of dunces. at least don quixote adhered to morals. ignatius constantly manipulated his philosophy to cater to his impulses. we all do this to a degree but i guess we try to control it as we get older. ignatius was just a big asshole.

>> No.3011184

>>3010752
That is quite true

>>3010217
If the reasonable person (or animal) in the circumstances was being hunted, do you not think they'd fight for their life? Ahab was beyond obsessive, the other captain he met realised it early, but sadly for his crew it was not until the very end.

>> No.3011195

>>3010221
/thread

>> No.3011230

>>3011195
Dr. Seuss sure knew about them selfish characters. One time he set me up to think green eggs and ham existed, GUESS WHAT - I could never get it. He's, like, evil man.

>> No.3011246

>>3010752
>Ignatius was just a big asshole.

Ignatius was a tortured genius. Tortured by the festival of mediocrity that is western society and tortured by Toole, who couldn't handle him as a character.

>> No.3011274
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3011274

>>3011246
Ignatius was mediocre and aware of it. His entire personality was an acted-out contrivance of taste to avoid the necessities of life, and hindering his development as an approaching an authentic person.
Read Nathanael West, especially The Day of the Locust, and come back to A Confederacy of Dunces.

>> No.3011310

The Curate in the War of the Worlds
Insane childish fuck would rather have his insides as well as the narrator's sucked out and be directly injected into a martian than live for another day because he didn't get his way.
I only remember this from Childhood

>> No.3011349

>mfw when my class is so stupid they can't even read Moby Dick, so the teacher is just going to play Leviathan by Mastodon.
>mfw when no face

>> No.3011377

>>3011349
mfw is an acronym for my face when, so basically this is what you're doing:
>my face when when
it's like saying 'ATM machine'.

Depending what class you're in it could be a bit dense to get a general consensus on the book. However, if you're up to it and others are too, I'd strongly suggest Moby Dick.

>> No.3011463

Pipe the fuck down you nauseating little tripfaggot weasel.

>> No.3011515

>>3011463
Can you learn some manners, please? If you have a problem with what I'm saying can you please attack that, rather than my character. To attack one's character (over something as small as posting with a trip to be identifiable) is a sign of poor rhetoric. Please refrain next time so we don't have any more hate on /lit/.

>> No.3011527

>>3011515
Jesus, shut the fuck up slut. Nobody cares that you have sand up your cunt.
>Can you learn some manners
You're a tripfaggot. You don't talk back to anons. You need to learn your fucking place.

>> No.3011540

>You're a tripfaggot. You don't talk back to anons.
No, we talk down to them.

>> No.3011549

>>3011540
I'm glad that's the impression you get. It obviously does go straight over your head.

>> No.3011551

>>3011527
My place is to take part in online discussion of literature. Now if you'd remain on topic and offer a selfish character and a reason why, that'd be great.

However, if you want to continuously attempt to derail this thread over someone posting with a trip, I'd suggest for you to leave. This is an open discussion related to literature, not a place to post about our hate manifestations. Thank you.

>> No.3011562

>implying a filthy anon pleb like you has the right to directly reference or quote any post of mine as if you were engaging someone like me in conversation
dream on mate lol

>> No.3011565

>>3010134
His wife was far more selfish. Macbeth was just easily manipulated.

>> No.3011571

>oh look, i'm going to start a thread on /lit/ about literature
>aww shit tripfags can't talk about relevant topics
>tripfags are always stroking their ego
>it has nothing to do with the fact that idiots constantly are trying to defend their secret clubs' anonymity

>> No.3011574

I don't understand the popular hatred of selfishness

the richest, most respected, high status members of your society are entirely selfish, but you admire them and wish you were as well off

>> No.3011582

>>3011562
Captain lower case proves my point.

>> No.3011593

>>3011562
>pleb
Your opinion is invalid.

>> No.3011597

lower case cause i'm using my kid voice mate

>> No.3011598

>>3011574
we don't admire them personally, we admire their position and the things they have.

Example: politicians, lawyers, billionaires

>> No.3011607

>>3011597
How are the lads, D&E?

>> No.3011623

>>3011607
How are the nads, anon?

>> No.3011648

>>3011623

haha qweer he wants to know about the dudes balls like wtf man u gey or sum sht?

>> No.3011667

Thenardier
how much money have you made off of your orphan today?

>> No.3011668

>>3011551
You derailed the thread, troll.
>B-but, he used an acronym incorrectly! That's worth derailing the thread over!

To get back to what OP wants to talk about: Scarlett O'Hara was a completely selfish materialistic bitch.

>> No.3011669

>>3011648
Don't be talkin' down to D&E, he's been here far longer than many of you have.

As a side note, let's not return to the old 'trip v anon' posting style. Nothing relevant comes from that.

>> No.3011674

Howard Roark. For obvious reasons.

>> No.3011680

>>3011668
Finally! Someone has mentioned 'Gone with the Wind'. Scarlett the insecure cow needs to be shown her place (like most women, amirite?).

>> No.3011686

>>3011669
sure thing attention whore.

>> No.3011698

>>3011680
sure thing attention whore.

>> No.3011705
File: 2.13 MB, 700x2987, gatsbysm.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
3011705

Where is Daisy in this thread?

Self-centered skag.

>> No.3011721

>>3011705
I couldn't stand that book because of her.
Also Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire...

>> No.3011842

>>3011721
I think the rest of the book would make up for it (although, I didn't think she was that bad of a character as you're portraying).

>> No.3011846

Atticus Finch

>> No.3011849

>>3011846
B-but he was a h-hero...

>> No.3011858

>>3011849
A selfish one

>> No.3011871

>>3010134
Haha saying Macbeth instead of Lady Macbeth. Sure she had a nervous breakdown at the end, but she didn't even have a second thought about murdering a benevolent king in her own home... and of course the lines of her being willing to take a sucking babe and dash its brains just to gain more power and wealth. Macbeth does more and worse things in the end but it's less about being selfish and more out of fear and selfpreservation.

>> No.3011899

Seriously? 50+ replies and not a single mention of Humbert fucking Humbert yet? Jesus Christ. He is the very definition of inhuman selfishness who manages to completely solipsize a twelve year old girl in order to repeatedly rape her after the untimely death of her mother.

>> No.3011911

The protagonists of any Ayn Rand book ever. Especially Howard Roark.

Beyond that, I'd like to point out Abigail in The Crucible. Seriously, that bitch wanted attention so much that she was willing to have people executed for it.

>> No.3011917

God, 'The Bible'

Best you hadn't thought of that one yet!

>> No.3012207

>>3011899
I completely disagree with you. Lolita knew, after a little, what she was in for and went along with it. However, I would consider her the selfish one as she manipulated poor Humbert. Lolita was the selfish manipulative cow in the book - Humbert the poor man that had his love ripped away from him.

>> No.3012332

>>3010544
>If you thought that poster was serious, then you are a brainless twat.

Not really, I just wanted to derail this discussion and turn into a rant about colonialism.

>> No.3012335

>>3010544
>If you thought that poster was serious, then you are a brainless twat.

Not really. I just wanted to derail this discussion and turn into a rant about colonialism. (The original post is boring.)

>> No.3012836

>>3010481
Ha. I just heard this on "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream":

I was riding on the Mayflower
When I thought I spied some land
I yelled for Captain Arab
I have yuh understand
Who came running to the deck
Said, "Boys, forget the whale
Look on over yonder
Cut the engines
Change the sail
Haul on the bowline"
We sang that melody
Like all tough sailors do
When they are far away at sea.

"I think I'll call it America"