How to Make Eragon's Heroes into Heroes

[ultramega10]

Well, since someone started a post about how best to make Galbatorix evil, we should have one for the heroes. Which is, perhaps, the far harder choice. 

 

Keep in mind, we're trying to rewrite the characters, so they become what they were meant to be. So let's try to make our rewrites stay true to their basic concept, if not their portrayal. 

 

For my part, I would probably have Eragon's entitled attitude be a character flaw he has to overcome. Have him get shut down several times by Arya and force him to gradually mature. Have Murtagh chewing him out act as a wake-up call for the character. Another thing I'd do is cut out the constant feasts and parties. They add nothing to the story and only serve to make Eragon seem all the more spoiled.

 

Murtagh, I would have him defect of his own free will. Have him become disheartened with the Varden and take the side of the Empire. This would mean there would be a sympathetic character on the Empires side. Murtagh would provide a POV for the Empire and a chance to see Galbatorix. It might also force the characters to acknowledge their own flaws. 

 

I would have Arya feel resentful of her people. She would be upset at how they just closed themselves off from the world when she was captured. Attention would be paid to the flaws of the elves. And the elves eventually sending troops to help would be a result of Eragon. He and Arya would point out how they can't just abandon the rest of the world. 

 

Roran, honestly, I would have get drafted into the Empire. The entire Carvahall subplot adds nothing to the plot at all. Having him as a POV character could show off the worst aspect of the Empire. It could also have him meet Murtagh and maybe strike up a friendship with him. If Roran makes himself a career and gains great renown as a war hero, set the stage for a great dynamic. You could have Murtagh and Eragon facing off against one another. Maybe Roran and Arya could end up having a rivalry. 

 

Angela um... Well, Angela can dive under a tractor, and I think that would be better for all involved. 

Comments

[chuckling_ghost]

Everything that's been said here has been very good, really nowhere to improve with all this, but I'll throw two of my own in!

I would say even if you don't manage to make Eragon likable, what you really need to do is make him funny. If he's routinely the universal butt-monkey then he will at least be enjoyable to read about even if he's not very likable.

Example:
Eragon is tired after getting him and Sloan down from Helgrind and thinks he might prefer to die than be tired. There are Imperial guardsmen coming to investigate the ruckus at Helgrind. Then he sees a bee and regains the will to live.

As noted in the Brisinger spork, this is more than a bit out of nowhere, ill-focused and kind of stupid sounding, not to mention overly done in Paopao's usual fashion.

FIX:
Eragon is tired after getting him and Sloan down from Helgrind and thinks he might prefer to die than be tired. Then he sees a bee and regains the will to live...because the bee just stung him right on the tip of the nose and he now wants to kill the bee. He chases the bee around screaming profanities like an idiot for five minutes until he manages to slap the bee to death... only to get stung on his palm, leading to even more of a hissy fit. Sloan laughs at him because it is uproariously funny, leading what little mercy Eragon might have been considering to go flying out the window. Meanwhile the imperial guards have been quietly watching and now walk away laughing, certain that there is no way in hell that's a Dragon Rider they just saw.

...

And for Arya: no, she's NOT squeaky clean and smelling like pine needles after six months of torture. This will show up in Incompetence Cycle but her tortures consisted of mutilation (such as cutting the pointy tips of her ears off to make her look human), starvation, public shaming and ridicule (because you know an elf wouldn't be able to stand that), actual torture (like waterboarding) and lots and lots of rape in an attempt to break her (which also doubles as stress relief for the garrison at Gillead).
Her taciturn traits and abrasiveness are entirely the result of being still in recovery from that horrible time with everyone acting shocked by how rude she is because she used to be if not friendly then at least icily polite, and when called on it she actually apologizes after realizing she snapped at somebody and the reader realizes from her reactions that even though she's got a killer poker face that six months of torture actually did do a horrific number on her psyche and she's still staying strong and continuing to fight even though all she really wants to do is curl up in a corner, cover her poor cut up ears (head canon: elf ears are very sensitive) and cry.
This way we actually get to see some of that supposed inner strength and steely determination we're told she has instead of it just being an informed attribute.