Book Kaleidoscope: My Top Five Book Boy Friends

It’s time for Book Kaleidoscope, the rewinding of bookish aspects of books we have read during this 2012. After having much consideration and many reflections—I have more than five candidates for Book Boy Friend category!—I concluded my top five book Boy Friends from classics books I have read in 2012, here they are to the top…

5. Louis XIV in The Man In The Iron Mask

You might be surprised to this because Louis XIV could be regarded as an antagonist in The Man In The Iron Mask. He was not a good guy—as you may say it—but I like how he had transformed from ruthless, spoiled young king to be an intelligent man, full of determination who in the end gained D’Artagnan’s respect. You can read my full analysis about Louis XIV in my Character Thursday (by the way, this was one of my favorite Character Thursdays so far).

D’Artagnan labeled Louis XIV as: “Gentle towards the weak, but terrible to the strong”

4. Ralph in Lord of the Flies

He’s only a teenager, but Ralph has showed a rare quality of a grown up man. In normal life he would have been an ordinary indifferent teenager, but forced to survive in terrible circumstances, Ralph showed the qualities of bravery and persistent to keep his conscience, no matter what the consequences were. I have written more thoroughly about Ralph in one of my Character Thursdays feature.

It’s never been easy to stand alone in what you think is right against the whole world who thinks you’re wrong, but alone he was, Ralph stayed with his conscience to the end—as he said: “Cos I had some sense.” 

3. D’Artagnan in The Man In The Iron Mask

Actually my liking to D’Artagnan grew bigger in Twenty Years After, but unfortunately I didn’t written my analysis from that book as I have featured him in Character Thursday from The Man In The Iron Mask. Nevertheless, he’s still the same D’Artagnan, the bravest and cleverest from any followers of King of France at that time. He was also humorous and had a remarkable loyalty to his friends. I have written a thorough analysis on D’Artagnan in my Character Thursday, but unfortunately it’s still in bahasa Indonesia.

His later quality—respect for friendship—is what I value the most from D’Artagnan, as reflected from what he would have said to Louis XIV: “I should say to him [King] straight out: ‘Sire, imprison, exile, kill everyone in France or in Europe, order me to arrest or poniard anyone in the world, even were it monsieur your brother, but do not touch either of the four musketeers. If one of them be harmed, I will not answer for the consequences.’”

 2. Pip in Great Expectations

I loved Pip from when he was a boy and met the convict. I admired him because—despite of being frighten to death—he seemed to me to have a pity towards the convict. Well, interest mingled with pity, so I assumed Pip was a loving boy. And this became clearer when he had been in hard times and at the end could forgive two persons who had changed his life most. I have just analyzed Pip in my Character Thursday of this week.

And if it’s not impressed you yet, here’s what Pip said to Estella (how could you not love a man like this?)…. “You are part of my existence, part of myself. You have been in every line I have ever read, since I first came here, the rough common boy whose poor heart you wounded even then.” Owww…. <3

1. Etienne Lantier in Germinal

If I must weigh all the positive personalities of all five characters in this book kaleidoscope, I might say that Etienne had the least. Normally I like men with tough characters who know what he’s doing (“Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing” ~Kimi Raikkonen, F1 driver). From my Character Thursday post of Etienne, he shouldn’t have been my most favorite, but still…I have been in love with Etienne from the beginning of Germinal, and I don’t quite know for what reason. Perhaps it’s because he’s so natural—like most of Zola’s characters. One thing that I admired in him was how he was brave to be different, stood out from anyone else. He always acted according to his own principles—wrong was he sometimes, but still, brave to learn from his mistakes and continue on to maintain another new hope, never give up! Plus he had respect for women—unlike most men at his generation.

So, after long consideration, I think Etienne Lantier deserved to be the winner of…

Fanda’s Most Favorite Book Boy Friend 2012!

 *Put your post in the linky at Book Kaleidoscope Master Post*

*Tomorrow we will post the Top Five Best Book Covers (see the details in the Master Post)*