Category Archives: Secondary Character

August 31, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Mama (who Makes Up Her Mind)

By ritalovestowrite

WHO: Mama White

FROM: Mama Makes Up Her Mind, and Other Dangers of Souther Living

BY: Bailey White

Bailey White [Image courtesy: FreshFiction.com]

Bailey White [Image courtesy: FreshFiction.com]

PUBLISHED: 1993

PROS: Sweet, Southern, elderly lady who has a lot of experience and a lot of class.

CONS: She’s also stubborn and opinionated. (But you still love her.)

MOST SHINING MOMENT:  While Bailey White might charm you with stories of Aunt Belle and her bellowing pet alligator. Or Uncle Jimbuddy with hus appalling “knack for losing pieces of himself. ” [Amazon.com] You will “succumb utterly to the charms of Bailey’s mama, who will take you to a juke joint so raunchy it scared Ernest Hemingway or tuck you into her antique guest bed that has the disconcerting habit of folding up on people while they sleep. [Ibid]

Here’s a taste from Mama’s Memoirs…

For years we’ve been trying to get Mama to write her memoirs. she actually started once. She was writing them on old envelopes with a blue ballpoint pen. but she wold make her grocery list on the other side of the envelope, and she kept leaving her memoirs at the checkout counter of the Piggly Wiggly. [Mama Makes Up Her Mind, Bailey White]

WHY I CHOOSE HER: Bailey White is an amazing story-teller. She could spin a yarn from alphabet soup.  But she’s at her best when she pulls a story from something Mama did or said.  Why’d I choose Mama? In hopes that you’d go out and find one of White’s books and read them. You’ll be glad you did.

Other Books by Bailey White:

Bailey White used to be a contributor to National Public Radio, but not so anymore. I guess she’s gone back to teaching in her first grade class room full-time. Shame. We miss you Bailey.

She lives in the same house she grew up in, now with her sister. Her mother, Rosalee White passed away in 1994.

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August 24, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Inigo Montoya

By ritalovestowrite

"Hello..." Mandy Patinkin brilliantly plays Inigo Montoya in the 1987 film version of The Princess Bride

“Hello…” Mandy Patinkin brilliantly plays Inigo Montoya in the 1987 film version of The Princess Bride [Image courtesy: 20th Century Fox]

WHO: Inigo Montoya (The Spaniard)

FROM: The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride (Photo credit: Rev Dan Catt)

BY: William Goldman (Movie directed by: Rob Reiner)

WRITTEN: 1973 (Movie produced: 1987)

PROS: Inigo is mysterious, dedicated to his friends, has a high sense of honor, is an excellent — ambidextrous — swordsman, and (despite two disfiguring scars on his cheeks) is handsome as all get out.

He has a nice sense of ironic humor — as evidenced in this passage from the book as Inigo, Fezzik, Vizzini and Buttercup are escaping from Florin to Guilder.

“No one could be following us yet?” the Spaniard asked.

“No one,” the Sicilian assured him. “It would be inconceivable.”

“Absolutely inconceivable?”

“Absolutely, totally, and in all other ways, inconceivable,” the Sicilian reassured him. “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” the Spaniard replied. “It’s only that I just happened to look back and something’s there.”

They all whirled.

Something was indeed there. Less than a mile behind them across the moonlight was another sailing boat, small, painted what looked like black, with a giant sail that billowed black i the night, and a sing man at the tiller. A man in black.

The Spaniard looked at the Sicilian. “It must just be some local fisherman out for a pleasure cruise alone at night through shark infested waters.”

[in the movie Vizzini gets the punch line, but this is the way Goldman wrote it.]

Map of Florin and Guilder.

Map of Florin and Guilder. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CONS: His single-minded need for revenge against the six-fingered man (the man who killed his father) has consumed his life. Clearly Inigo is man of great passion and talent, if that passion and talent had been used for something other than revenge just think how much he would have been able to accomplish in life. He’s headstrong and doesn’t think things through.

Inigo awaits the Man in Black at the top of the Cliff

Inigo awaits the Man in Black at the top of the Cliff [Image courtesy: 20th Century Fox]

MOST SHINING MOMENT: It’s hard not to pick the scene where Inigo gets his revenge on the six-fingered man, but I’m going to go with something that happens earlier in the book.

As INCONCEIVABLE as it seems the Man in Black (Wesley) has almost caught up with the Inigo and rest in his boat. Buttercup, Inigo and Vizzini have hitched a ride on the giant, Fizzik, as he climbs a rope up the Cliffs of Insanity, and Wesley follows them up the rope. Once the group of outlaws gets to the top Vizzini orders the rope cut. But Wesley manages to grab onto the cliff before he falls. While Vizzini and Fizzik take Buttercup inland Inigo is left to deal with the Man in Black. He waits (somewhat impatiently) for Wesley to finish the climb and even throws down some rope to assist him. When, at last, Wesley has gained the top of the cliff Inigo could have easily slain the exhausted rescuer. Instead the Spaniard waits for him to recover… before engaging in the MOST AWESOME SWORD FIGHT EVER FILMED.

QUOTE:

WHY I CHOSE INIGO: I love that Inigo is flawed but determined. With out his (and Fizzik’s) comic relief the book would have sappy.  His history gives the novel some tender depth. And he is brilliantly played by Mandy Patinkin in the 1987 movie.

"I see you have studied your Agrippa."

“I see you have studied your Agrippa.” [Image courtesy: 20th Century Fox]

If you’ve never read the Princess Bride I strongly suggest you add it to your “must read” pile. It is just too fun not to read, and like most books, it gives you more for your buck than does the movie. That says a lot considering the movie is fabulous. Click here to get to the Amazon Princess Bride page. (Try and get the book in hard copy it is something you’ll want to have around for your children and grandchildren.)

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2 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Inigo Montoya, postaday, Secondary Character, The Princess Bride, Thought of the Day

August 11, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Mr. Pancks (Little Dorrit)

By ritalovestowrite
English: Illustration from the first edition o...

English: Illustration from the first edition of Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. See filename for original image title. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ohhhh Dickens, you do know how to write a secondary character, you ole dog you.

Today I’m looking at Little Dorrit, the social satire that focused on life in the Marshalsea (debtor’s prison.) The book centers on Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clennam and has dozens of wonderfully drawn secondary characters, including:

  • Maggie (Amy’s simple-minded, kind-hearted friend),
  • Flora Finching (Arthur’s former fiance who has never gotten over the fact that he left for the Far East 20 years ago. She still dresses and acts like a spoiled teenager),
  • Mrs. Clennam (Arthur’s mother — and the reason he and his father left for the Far East 20 years ago — she’s cold, stingy and mean-spirited),
  • John Chivery (Assistant Turnkey of the Marshalsea Prison, a good-hearted lad who moons over Amy).

Best of all there’s Mr. Pancks, the snorfling, simpering, rent collecting lackey who is more than first appears.

Eddie Marsan as Mr. Pancks in the BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit [Image courtesy: PBS.org]

Eddie Marsan as Mr. Pancks in the 2009 BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit [Image courtesy: PBS.org] This delightful version also stars Matthew Macfadyen and Clair Foy and was penned by Andrew Davies.

 

WHO: Mr. Pancks

FROM: Little Dorrit

BY: Charles Dickens

PUBLISHED: 1857 (it was serialized from 1855 to 1857)

PROS: He’s a complex figure who is kinder and much more intelligent than he first appears. He’s good a finding things and people. He’s also good with numbers, and at hiding in plain sight. He’s resourceful, loyal and proves a good friend to Arthur.

CONS: When we first meet him Mr. Pancks is a heartless rent collecting scum. He seems to take a special pleasure at our “Squeezing” the money out of the poor residents of Bleeding Heart Yard. (Spoiler: In reality it is his boss Mr. Casby — who everyone thinks is the face of generosity — who is bent on bleeding them dry. Pancks is only following orders.)

MOST SHINING MOMENT: When he helps Arthur track down  Little Dorrit’s fortune so the family can be release from the Marshalsea. “…He had felt his way inch by inch, and ‘Moled it out, sir’ (that was Mr Pancks’s expression), grain by grain.” [Little Dorrit, Charles Dickens, Chapter 35]

Charles Dickens, a former resident of Lant Street.

Charles Dickens, a former resident of Lant Street. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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August 3, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Russell “Stringer” Bell

By ritalovestowrite

The Wire was just named  the #1 greatest TV series of all time by Entertainment Weekly Magazine. I thought long and hard about which secondary character from The Wire  to feature today. It came down to diligent, honest cop Kima Greggs or complex, cool blooded Stringer Bell.

What the Baltimore-based series does is portray the uglier realities of urban America with a precision and honesty that has never been attempted before. The result is a phenomenal cast of characters that gives individual voices and humanity to people many of us might otherwise ignore or, worse, write off as being all the same. And of all the characters giving the lie to that assumption, Stringer Bell took that lie and tied it up in knots. [The Lessons of Stringer Bell, by Keith A. Owens]

Idris Elba as Stringer Bell [Image Courtesy: verysmartbrothas.com]

The amazing Idris Elba as Stringer Bell [Image Courtesy: verysmartbrothas.com]

WHO: Stringer Bell

FROM: The Wire

CREATED BY: David Simon

PUBLISHED: The series premiered on HBO in 2002 and ran until 2008.

PROS: Stringer is a genius. he’s business oriented, thoughtful (but not in a caring, friendly way), charming, handsome.

Bell was hardly your average drug-dealing thug. [Spoiler alert] It’s symptomatic of The Wire’s dismal prognostications for African-American men from Baltimore’s mean streets that Bell had the most considered exit strategy of any of them, and died within a whisker of making his escape. [The Guardian.com]

CONS: Well …he was a drug king pin and a sociopath. But if you put the killing, pimping, drug dealing and other crimes aside… he was a fascinating character. Just stay out of his way, because String could be stone cold and heartless.

MOST SHINING MOMENT: Stringer was at his best when he used his superior intelligence to try and improve his organization. Like when he tried to run the drug meetings with his crew under Robert’s Rules.

MEMORABLE QUOTES:

You see these east-side [expletive deleted] over here? I want’chu to extend to these [expletive deleted]’s all the hospitality west Baltimore is famous for.

That’s good. That’s like a 40-degree day. Ain’t nobody got nothing to say about a 40-degree day. Fifty. Bring a smile to your face. Sixty, shit, [derogatory racial slur] is damn near barbecuing on that [expletive deleted]. Go down to 20, [derogatory racial slur] get their [expletive deleted] on. Get their blood complaining. But forty? Nobody give a [expletive deleted] about 40. Nobody remember 40, and y’all [derogatory racial slur] is giving me way too many 40-degree days! What the [expletive deleted]?

WHY I CHOSE STRINGER: I don’t love that Stringer is a killer is a criminal, but I’ve got to say the guy had style.

The role only had a few lines in the first season, but his character became infinitely more interesting than Barksdale. Bell had aspirations to leave the dealing behind and become a legitimate property developer. “He had the intelligence to take classes in economics, I’ll give him that,” Elba says of Stringer. [The Guardian.com ]

String, as he was known on the streets, was a drug kingpin. He was also a drug kingpin who took business courses at night school in order to run a more efficient empire. He was a drug dealer who read great literature and philosophy, who translated his earnings into massive real estate holdings and other ventures. Stringer Bell was a genius who should have run a Fortune 500 company, but instead was trapped inside the twisted mind of a cold-hearted killer (who himself was killed at the conclusion of Season 3) and a drug dealer who would have made Machiavelli proud. [The Lessons of Stringer Bell, by Keith A. Owens]

Stringer Bell

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June 29, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Amy Farrah Fowler

By ritalovestowrite

[Image courtesy: dezignstuff.com]

[Image courtesy: dezignstuff.com]

WHO: Amy Farrah Fowler

FROM: The Big Bang Theory

List of The Big Bang Theory episodes (season 1)

BY: Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady,  and Steven Molaro

DEBUT: Amy’s character debuted in The Lunar Excitation episode on 24 May 2010. She became a regular the following season.

PROS: Smart, caring, enthusiastic, loyal, kind, patient.

CONS: Socially AWKWARD, low-self esteem, clueless.

MOST SHINING MOMENT:  My favorite Amy moment was when she stood up for herself and her profession in The Vacation Solution. Sheldon, her “boyfriend” has been ordered by the university to take a vacation, he decides on a stay-cations, opting to work along side one of his colleges instead. He quickly wares out his welcome at Leonard, Raj and Howard’s labs and turns to Amy’s Biology lab. At first she is thrilled to have him working with her, thinking it will be romantic, but Sheldon’s arrogance soon has her second guessing that assumption. Here’s an exchange that takes pace after she’s given him a simple task to perform…

Sheldon: (Carrying a tray of beakers) Here you go! This is now the only lab with glassware washed by a man with two doctorates and a restrainingorder signed by Carl Sagan.

Amy:(Inspects a beaker) Soap spots! Wash ’em again.

Sheldon: You’re being ridiculous! Those are perfectly clean.

Amy:(Picks up a large beaker) Sheldon, this beaker used to contain cerebral spinal fluid from an elephant that died of syphilis. If it’s, in fact, perfectly clean,(holds it out to him) drink from it.

Sheldon:(Long pause, then picks up the tray of beakers again) Biologists are mean.

Besides Sheldon’s mother, Amy is about the only person who can really stand up to him. She takes a lot of his ridiculous behavior, and it is really nice to see her in charge.

SECOND RUNNER UP: Fun With Flags… Amy is game to do just about anything to keep her strange BF happy, including being his sidekick in his YouTube productions of Fun With Flags. Here’s the Bavarian version…

QUOTE: “It’s a TIARA!!!”

WHY I CHOSE HER: I think there’s a little be of Amy Farrah Fowler in all of us, so I’ve got a soft spot for her.

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June 22, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Peeta Mellark

By ritalovestowrite

Josh Hutcherson played Peeta in the movie version of the Hunger Games [Image Courtesy: Wikia.com]

Josh Hutcherson played Peeta in the movie version of the Hunger Games [Image Courtesy: Wikia.com]

WHO: Peeta Mallark

FROM: The Hunger Games

Cover of "The Hunger Games"

Cover of The Hunger Games

BY: Suzanne Collins

PUBLIHED: 2008

PROS: Kind, compassionate, romantic, creative, artistic, loyal, humble, physically strong (he can wrestle and throw a sack of flour). Long before he and Katniss take the train to the Capital his selfless act of  giving her bread saves her from starvation. That act of kindness meant a beating for him, but salvation for Katniss and her family. And he did it with out any anticipation of a return favor on Katniss’s part. That kindness for kindness sake speaks volumes to Peeta’s personality.

CONS: He’s not tough enough for the Hunger Games. He hasn’t been training his whole life for it — either in the woods near District 12 or in the gyms of District 1, 2, or 3. His compassion and lack of survival skills might just get him killed in the arena.

ID Card from the Hunger Games movie [Image couresy: Wikia.com]

ID Card from the Hunger Games movie [Image couresy: Wikia.com]

MOST SHINING MOMENT: Peeta is a stand up guy in the toughest of situations. He never expects to win the Hunger Games — his own MOTHER lets him know that SHE doesn’t expect him to win — but that doesn’t mean he has to lose. He defines the parameters of what a personal victory means when he tells Katniss that he all he wants o do is die with honor.

“…He doesn’t just want to be a pawn in the Capitol’s game. He wants to “die as himself” (10.70). For Peeta, it is important that the Capitol knows that they don’t own him.” [Shmoop.com]

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: I get that Peeta is gob smack in love with Katniss, but I think his outing that love on live television with every one in the Twelve Districts and the Capital watching was bad form. It puts way too much pressure on Katniss and it just isn’t fair. I think his declaration was honest, but it was manipulative in retrospect. (Even if that wasn’t his intent.)

WHY I CHOOSE HIM: I choose Peeta because he’s the underdog of the story and I found myself pulling for him throughout. He’s the moral backbone of the story too. I loved Katniss’s strength and chutzpah (and creativeness, and self doubt and family loyalty) but there’s a tenderness to Peeta that just drew me in.

Katniss & Peeta - Vancouver Fan Expo 2012

Katniss & Peeta – Vancouver Fan Expo 2012 (Photo credit: Laríssa)

———————————

Thus far I’ve only read The Hunger Games…but I’m working on Catching Fire and plan to read the rest of the series. Kindly refrain from spoilers. IF Peeta turns out to be a jerk in Mocking Jay please let me find out on my own, OK? OTHER COMMENTS and discussions are most welcome welcome.

More on the names in The Hunger Games... Well, they are strange, that’s for sure. If you’d like to “find out” what YOUR Hunger Games name is you can click HERE and follow the recipe / algorithm.
(I’d be Eless P Danceelm in District 12 btw.)

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4 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Fiction, fictional character, Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Secondary Character, The Hunger Games, Thought of the Day

June 15, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: James Montgomery “Scotty” Scott

By ritalovestowrite

James Doohan as Scotty. [Image courtesy: Paramount Pictures]

James Doohan as Scotty.
[Image courtesy: Paramount Pictures]

WHO: James Montgomery Scott

FROM: Star Trek

BY: Created by Gene Roddenberry

PUBLISHED: The series premiered in 1966.

PROS: Loveable, brave, funny,  and  super smart, Mr. Scott knows every thing there is to know about the Enterprise. He’s the ultimate engineer, so he’s got that going for him too.

Scotty's position on the far left of this cast picture puts him firmly in the Secondary Character rhelm... But what would the crew of the USS Enterprise have gotten with out him? Pulled over to a service station and had the dilithium oil checked? I don't think so.

Scotty’s position on the far left of this cast picture puts him firmly in the Secondary Character category… But what would the crew of the USS Enterprise have gotten without him? Pulled over to a service station and had the dilithium oil checked? I don’t think so.

CONS:  Mr. Scott was very proud of his ship… blindingly proud… and it often got him in trouble, like when he…

started a bar fight aboard Deep Space Station K-7 when the Klingon named Korax suggested that the ship should be hauled away as garbage. As a result, he was confined to his quarters by Kirk. Scott smiled and told Kirk the punishment would give him a chance to catch up on technical journals he had not had time to read. [Memory Alpha.org]

MOST SHINING MOMENT:  Every other episode when he fixed the transporter, cajoled the engines to perform at warp 9 (plus) for an extended period of time, or otherwise earned his  nickname of “the miracle worker.”

LEAST SHINING MOMENT:  Being accused of murder on Argelius (3 times!) Fortunately it was just the alien reincarnation of Jack the Ripper.

MEMORABLE QUOTE: “I’m giving it all she’s got Captain..”

In the Star Trek prime universe Mr. Scott was played by Canadian character actor James Doohan. In the 2009 / 2013 reboot movies he’s played by Simon Pegg.

[Images courtesy: Universal Pictures]

[Images courtesy: Paramount Pictures]

For an in-depth tribute to Mr. Scott see this You tube clip:

http://youtu.be/ssme-8fnTPM

Pez Mr. Scott is ready to beam aboard from my bookshelf.

Pez Mr. Scott is ready to beam aboard from my bookshelf.

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June 9, 2013

Secondary Character Saturday: Miss Honey

By ritalovestowrite

WHO: Miss Jennifer Honey

FROM: Matilda

Matilda (novel)

Matilda (novel) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BY: Roald Dahl

PUBLISHED: 1988

PROS: Miss Honey is kind, inspirational, loving, gentle, mild-mannered, and protects the children in her charge.  She nurtures all the children to be their best, especially Matilda

Miss Jennifer Honey was a mild and quiet person who never raised her voice and was seldom seen to smile, but there is no doubt she possessed that rare gift for being adored by every small child under her care. [Matilda, Roald Dahl]

CONS: She needs to stand up for herself more. She lets Miss  Trunchbull bully and oppress her.

MOST SHINING MOMENT: Opening up to Matilda. Showing the little girl that it is OK to be different, and that every one has difficulties to overcome. She’s the prefect teacher and friend, and she is just what Matilda needs.

Embeth Davitz and Maura Wilson from the 2009 movie

Embeth Davidtz and Mara Wilson from the 2009 movie. [Image courtesy: Sony Pictures]

WHY I CHOSE THIS CHARACTER: I choose Miss Honey because my daughter, Maggie, suggested her. Matilda was one of our favorite books when she (Maggie) was growing up and I’ve enjoyed revisiting the characters today.  Maggie is studying to be a teacher and I’m sure she’ll bring all the empathy, joy of learning and teaching skills to her class room that Jennifer Honey brought to Matilda’s. (But here’s hoping that Maggie doesn’t have to deal with any Trunchbulls along the way.)

One of Quintin Blake's wonderful illustrations from the book.

One of Quintin Blake’s wonderful illustrations from the book.

Matilda was made into a movie  and then into a Broadway show.

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2 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Jennifer Honey, Matilda, postaday, Roald Dahl, Secondary Character, Thought of the Day

June 1, 2013

“Secondary” Character Saturday: Ivan, The One and Only

By ritalovestowrite

I’m breaking the rules today to bring bring you a PRIMARY character. A Primary PRIMATE in fact, The one and only IVAN!

[All Images from The One and Only Ivan]

[All Images from The One and Only Ivan]

WHO: Ivan

FROM: The One and Only Ivan

BY: Katherine Applegate, Illustrations by: Patricia Castelao

PUBLISHED:  2012

Cover of the audio book for the One and Only Ivan

Cover of the audio book for the One and Only Ivan. Click HERE to find the book on Amazon.com

PROS: Ivan is kind, caring, compassionate, understanding, a great artist, patient, thoughtful, brave and creative.

CONS: He gets frustrated at himself and his situation. He doubts himself.

QUOTE: “I am Ivan. I am a Gorilla. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

[All images from The One and Only Ivan]

[All images from The One and Only Ivan]

MOST SHINING MOMENT:  Ivan takes a chance. He risks his comfortable, boring life to help some one he loves, Ruby, the baby elephant, fulfill her dream.

LEAST SHINING MOMENT: Ivan is a pretty special guy. It is tough to think of “least” shining moment for him, but I guess, if pressed, I’d say it would be his moments of self doubt.

WHY I CHOSE THIS CHARACTER: This book is absolutely amazing. Ivan isn’t just a good character, he’s a good role model. I WANT to be more like Ivan!

I can’t remember who recommended it to me, but I put it on my Kindle and when it came up in rotation I was completely entranced. Officially this Newbery Award winner is for 9 to 12 year olds, but ever since I had the good fortune to moderate a book club for teens and tweens (several years ago) I have not been bashful about reading good literature for any age. And this is one of the best “Kids” books I’ve read in a long time. It had me sighing and laughing out loud. And it had me crying more than once.

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