Are orphans cliché in fiction? why are they so popular? what do you think of orphan characters?

Answer 1

Orphaned characters are extremely common as literary protagonists, especially in children's and fantasy literature. The lack of parents leaves the characters to pursue more interesting and adventurous lives, by freeing them from familial obligations and controls, and depriving them of more prosaic lives. It creates characters that are self-contained and introspective and who strive for affection. Orphans can metaphorically search for self-understanding through attempting to know their roots. Parents can also be allies and sources of aid for children, and removing the parents makes the character's difficulties more severe. Parents, furthermore, can be irrelevant to the theme a writer is trying to develop, and orphaning the character frees the writer from the necessity to depict such an irrelevant relationship; if one parent-child relationship is important, removing the other parent prevents complicating the necessary relationship. All these characteristics make orphans attractive characters for authors.

Many orphans are also foundlings, and many foundlings are effective orphans, and their search may include attempts to find their parents, or other relatives. Even if the parents are dead, the foundling orphan, like Oliver Twist, may learn who they were.

Answer 2

I think there are two reasons orphans are so popular:

1) They come pre-built with mysterious hardships in their past, that can make them into much more "adult" characters than a child from a loving, stable home could plausibly be. This appeals for stories that are supposed to be morally deep, moving, and are written mostly for adults.

2) They don't have set pasts or futures, so orphans can live with the hope of finding their "real parents" someday. This can really string along a plot during otherwise dull segments between conflicts, and can be resolved by the orphan being adopted into a loving home (which usually happens), mysteriously finding that he/she is the child of [insert major protagonist here], be it the king/hero/quiet motherly side character or someone else. Of course, the orphan can always discover he/she is miserable and alone, but that kind of book doesn't sell anywhere near as well.

Answer 3

In my opinion only as I'm no writer, orphans also allow for deeper and more complex character development which is easily attributed to the fact that they were orphaned. They also elicit sympathy from readers and audiences. I can think of Harry Potter and the villain from the series, Lord Voldemort, who are both orphans.

Answer 4

The use of orphans is part of the "hero story". One of the most important elements of the evolution of a hero is that he make these decision on his own. He chooses the right way through no other influence than his own heart. Pi, Luke Skywalker, Harry Potter are all heroes because they did what was right through trials and temptations solely their own. It's an important myth to the human race, more so than a cliche in my opinion.

Answer 5

Oliver was the classic orphan child. The cliche is they usually end up happy in the arms of a loving family. The reality is often somewhat different.

Answer 6

From an author's point of view, orphans are just... convenient, because one doesn't have to worry about making up all sorts of relatives and especially parents who then must be worked into the story.

Answer 7

orphans in novels ... well is the easiest way a writer can narrate the story about the evolution of a character. because they are so extreme characters, so to say, their evolution is easy to observe.they become a cliche in the 19 th century literature.

Answer 8

Orphans are popular in fiction because it is hard for well-supervised kids to go off on adventures.

Some authors find ways around this, such as when C.S. Lewis had his Narnia kids dropped off at their uncle's due to the war.