Top Ten Tuesday

 

 

Top Ten Inspirational Characters

 

Ok, here goes:

 

~1~

Atticus Finch

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

For me, he's the most Inspiration Fictional Character out there. To this very day, I use him as a moral compass... and often wonder... "Would Atticus disapprove?" Atticus inspires me to be a better person, always.

~2~

Miki

Marmalade Boy by Wataru Yoshizumi

Ok... so this may seem silly to a lot of people... but I was absolutely inspired by this character to work harder and stop complaining. I know it's dumb... but... the dogged perseverance that is shown by quite a few shojo manga girls actually has made me stop and think, "What the heck AM I complaining about?"

~3~

Boxer

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Hmm, maybe this wasn't what was meant by Inspirational... but... Boxer has always inspired me to look out for those who, for whatever reason, cannot look out for themselves. The world is full of hard-working, just people who get trampled and discarded for reasons that are unbelievable. Boxer inspires me to pay attention.

~4~

The Lorax

The Lorax by Dr. Suess

No character has ever struck the fear of global destruction at the hands of man into me the same way that the Lorax did. I was a child, I was petrified, and after reading this book, I took The Lorax's words to heart.

~5~

Horton

Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Suess

Ok... listen... we're talking about Inspirational characters, and I'm not picking ones that I *think* other people will go, "Oh yeah... Soooooo inspirational"... I'm picking ones that have influenced me personally to a degree where it actually changed my thinking, or my way of life.... so... on to another Dr. Suess character. Horton changed my way of thinking with one little sentence.

A person's a person, no matter how small.

~6~

Big Brother

1984 by George Orwell

No other character has inspired me to spend more time looking over my shoulder, checking behind paintings and being suspicious of television. Seriously. I spent weeks being paranoid after reading this book... Big Brother struck a fear into my heart like no other character ever has.

~7~

Naruto

Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto

I know. Trust me, I know... but hear me out. He's a ninja... a good ninja... in an orange jumpsuit. ORANGE! It's not so much that he profoundly changed my world... but he made me realize that a lot of the time, things are mostly about perspective. Sometimes, it really is effort and will that carry you through. Not everything is going to be easy. Not every ninja gets a camouflage jumpsuit to work with.

~8~

Ebenezer Scrooge

A Chirstmas Carol by Charles Dickens

He's a fascinating character... spending most of the book as the villian... he teaches us all that redemption is possible... no matter how cold and cruel one might be.

~9~

Gollum

Lord of the Rings & The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

He inspires me, every day, to not become obsessed with possessions and material things. Yikes.

~10~

The Nac Mac Feegle

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

These small, goofy characters have been the inspiration for many of my mad, hair-brained schemes that I pull off without apologies. They have taught me never to apologize for doing what needs to be done, that it's ok to steal from those who deserve stealing from (ok, maybe that's not such a great lesson... but it is applicable, sometimes, really it is) and that sometimes you just have to shout 'ACH CRIVENS' before everything will seem ok again.