In the chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen Donaldson, what is it with this charector? Loved the books and is he any relation to Angus Theropyle.
2006-09-11 08:54:14 · 15 answers · asked by toonarmy 2 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Ah but what is a "hero"?
If a hero is an invulnerable, fearless, lantern-jawed, steely-eyed, man who sweeps through the plot with only the occasional scratch and a bevy of beauties hanging on his every word, then Covenant is not.
If, however, it's someone who has fears, problems and manages to overcome them after various trials and tribulations - a large number caused by themselves - then, yes.
Donaldsons theme is always Power and Impotence. For him, Power can only truly be attained when something is lost - Angus Thermopyle being another good example.
2006-09-11 10:55:34 · answer #1 · answered by pandion99_uk 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Love the books. I think that the purpose of the character of Thomas Covenant is to explore the possibility of redemption - even the "leper" who is shunned by the town is given the opportunity to redeem himself by saving others. Whether the Land is real or not is of less importance.
2006-09-11 18:01:43 · answer #2 · answered by itom200 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a friend who loved the Donaldson books and really tried to get me into them, describing them with such hyberbole that I made the effort to read a couple, but one of the big problems I found was the character of Covenant. I found him really unengaging and could not bring myself to give a fart what became of him!
2006-09-11 16:18:39 · answer #3 · answered by Avondrow 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I read the second chronicles of this character, and I'd have to go with jerk. He's not a hero per se...it's been years since I read this but I remember his raping characters and being a general coward...but he's aware of his actions, so I couldn't quite say he's insane either. He's just an everyman who makes mistakes and generally not a pleasant person to be around, with or without leprosy.
2006-09-11 15:57:59 · answer #4 · answered by Gamerbear 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Unlikeable protagonist. I agree with the answers who say these books are hard to read as it is very difficult to empathise with this character. Also they are very high class 'literature' which tends to be boring as it loses the freshness and spontaneity of less technically competent works. I usually find I prefer an author's first books as they tend to 'improve' their writing as they go along and rehash the same ideas and plots. This is all the fault of the critics who can't see the wood for the trees.
2006-09-12 04:08:04 · answer #5 · answered by felineroche 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Reading all six books on my part i think took a lot of patient and tolerance,many friends told me that after Reading the first volume they discarded the book with no interest in finding out how the story ends
2006-09-12 06:39:54 · answer #6 · answered by getmeout2001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anti-hero
2006-09-12 03:34:38 · answer #7 · answered by Pington 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a pathetic excuse for a character.I had to take 2 attempts to read the first book. I just could not get to grips with him. after that I just refused to read anymore of Steven Donaldson's books(just so I could avoid being inflicted with that hopeless excuse.
2006-09-11 16:06:41 · answer #8 · answered by paul b 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Hero, but not the conventional type. I loved the books when I was a teenager, don't know if I could read them now though.
2006-09-12 16:55:09 · answer #9 · answered by Jude 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hero - definately - or maybe hes a nutter - err who knows hes either a hero or a nutter :-D
2006-09-11 19:13:10 · answer #10 · answered by libbyft 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋