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Death in Fiction

I’ve always been slow when it comes to trends, especially book series or television shows. This is because unlike normal human beings, I am incapable of simply “reading” or “watching” anything. I don’t simply cry when it’s sad, elate at the victories, love the protagonists or love hating the villains. No. Instead, I latch onto stories, sucking their contents with the fangs of my mind, draining every drop of literary worth. But this is a feeling every bookworm knows only too well.

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As a result of my condition, I have a tendency to be highly critical of most shows or books that are produced. Not every book series is as captivating as Harry Potter, while few television shows can match the strange and fascinating Twilight Zone. So when I do come across a show or a book I’m judgmental and picky, not wanting to invest in a series that doesn’t captivate me. This is why I only recently found myself glancing into George R.R. Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, after much persuasion from my brother. I was quickly immersed into the world of knights, nobility and magic. It exceeded my expectations and leapt to compete with my favorite classic stories. But something about the world of Westeros caught me, along with the rest of its fans, off guard: The deaths.

Yes, they are awful and heartbreaking and the internet has complained extensively over them. But personally, I find it rather refreshing. I could try to word that so I don’t sound like a heartless monster, but that wouldn’t make it any less true. I would like to point out that in many fictions the story follows a single, or a group of, protagonist(s) on their journey to greatness. They conquer foes, overcome inward torments, and eventually lead a victory over the ultimate evil of the land. There’s nothing wrong with this, but there’s a slight problem with the overuse of this story-arc. The main characters become invincible, and are suddenly capable of anything thrown in their way simply because the plot demands it.

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A good example of this would be Supernatural, where not even dying multiple times can stop the Winchester brothers. Other dilemmas such as being turned into a vampire, which in the first season meant instant death, were remedied instantly after one of the brothers was bitten. Stuck in purgatory? Instant convenient portal! Need to get into Hell? Also another convenient portal! Want to travel in time? Well in one episode it takes massive amounts of power from an angel. In another, there’s actually a simple spell performed in seconds by the boys‘ grandfather, all for the sake of a Back to the Future callout. Not that iy was bad episode, but the point remains.

Another easy target for this would be mangas/animes. Inuyasha has this problem as well. Where in one episode he takes five steps up a holy mountain and passes out, three episodes later he’s climbing it, suddenly strong enough to get halfway up while just covering his nose. Why? BECAUSE PLOT!! Same goes for the anime Fairytale. Erza Scarlet, or the Fairy Queen takes a blast by herself that would match the strength of the Death Star and four episodes later during the same battle gets up and continues fighting. Now by our standards, it’s been four episodes, but by the show’s standards it’s probably been about an hour and half, if that much. It’s ridiculous and over the top, but only happens because the plot demands it. Death has become a huge no-no in the world of fiction, so that the slaying of even one of the lesser characters is taken as a huge loss.

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This is where A Song of Ice and Fire really stands out. While Martin has taken away characters beloved by the fans, he reminds us that even in the world of fiction, simple being a main character does not make someone impervious to death. But instead, our favorite characters are just as human as the rest of us. It’s a harsher take on the fictional world. It makes them more relatable to the reader and their hardships more realistic. It’s something that Martin should be noted for. He doesn’t fear the deaths of his characters, but rather makes death apart of the story as a whole.

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