 Action/Adventure: January 20, 2016 Issue [#7432] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: The "Chosen One" Protagonist Edited by: Cinn  
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Today's poetry snippet is related to the newsletter in a peripheral sort of way. The idea of there being one perfect person is a prevalent concept in love poetry. The "chosen one", the only person who can fill their role. Still, even poets know that it is not always the case. 
“A woman for whom great gods might strive!”
I said, and kissed her there:
And then I thought of the other five,
And of how charms outwear.
~Excerpt from "The Chosen" by Thomas Hardy
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There is a cliche that I recently have been noticing more and more in both books and other types of entertainment. It seems to plague the Adventure genre and some of its common subgenres, especially speculative fiction— fantasy, science fiction, and horror. And what is this cliche? The notion of a "chosen one", a single person in all of humanity who has the capacity to solve the story's conflict.
In real life, there are no situations in which only one person can offer a solution. There are people who are uniquely qualified to deal with certain problems, but the person is not the only person qualified. Generally speaking, there is always a "next best". Why should our stories be any different?
If a story hinges on a "chosen one", it has a decidedly pre-destined vibe. In fact, some stories come right out and say that "it has been written" or that the character must "fulfill their destiny". I don't know how this makes other people feel, but even with cliches aside, the idea that the story already exists and just has to unfold makes me care very little about what will happen. It causes me to disengage more often than not.
Now, I am sure that I have written one of these "chosen one" stories at some point, common as they are, but I believe that there are other ways to go about such things. Why does this character have to be the only one who could possibly be involved in the adventure? Why not take a more academic approach? By academic, I mean it in the literal sense— people have specialties, and certain specialties are more helpful than others in a given situation.
Example
I wrote a scifi story years ago that was... not one of my finer pieces of writing. However, one detail came to mind when thinking about the topic for this newsletter. The story is about a mission on mars, and the leader was uniquely qualified. In the story, scientists were exploring the many volcanoes on Mars, including the largest in our solar system, Olympus Mons. The lead scientist was "a volcanologist, tephrochronologist, and an expert on Martian topography."
Knowing Martian topography is helpful when exploring the topography of Mars, clearly. A volcanologist is an expert on volcanoes, and a tephrochronologist can create a timeline by analyzing layers of old volcanic ash. These three specialties combined to make the leader the most qualified person they could find to lead the research team. However, if he had been unavailable, there would have been other experts who were almost as qualified. Say, a volcanologist/tephrochronologist who had no knowledge at all of Martian topography (that's what maps are for, right?).
I believe that the same could be true for most "chosen one" stories, even those that involve magic or a new brand of science. Your main character may have a special power, but surely they are not the only one who does? You character might have invented or discovered something necessary for the adventure, but is he/she really the only one who was working on something like that? Sometimes, I believe that the "chosen one" is a cop out. In fact, I think it would be more interesting to read a story about the second choice, someone who is not the perfect person for the job.
Of course, I have loved many "chosen one" stories over the years. Some of my favorite novels have elements of that "special" character who is the only person in existence with certain skills. Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination is the most obvious, as it is one of my top 5 favorite novels of all time. Still though, it might be something to consider before writing your next grand adventure: What if the main character is not the best/only person for the job?
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Any tips for other readers?
I figured that would be the case for many (if not most) readers where the poetry is concerned. You never know though. You may just stumble across a snippet here and there that mean something to you. 
