Biggles couldn’t have survived the Congo without Ginger and Algy, Harry wouldn’t have defeated Voldermort without Ron and Hermione (what do you mean, spoilers? Where have you been?) and Jacob wouldn’t have made it to Astrae without Luca and Ellen (what do you mean, you’ve never heard of the last three? Where have you been?). The best stories have amazing friendships at the heart of them. I could totally mention Merlin and Arthur here, but see how I resist the urge?
Nope, it’s no good, there’s a photo coming up…
Ok, so that boil’s lanced. Pretty, though…
Why are these friendships so epic? What makes these people risk everything for each other? Why am I writing this post as it’s quite clearly running away from me? It might have something to do with the fact that I really wanted to use F to swear, but, you know, it’s not allowed. As I pondered this I asked my daughters why they thought friendship was important in stories. My oldest suggested that there would be no interaction for the protagnoist without friends.
‘But,’ I pointed out, ‘what about his enemies? He’d interact with them.’
‘Sure,’ my little one agreed, ‘but he/ she needs friends to help him do whatever he needs to do.’
Maybe it goes back to the bravery thing. Who cares about a hero that’s so invincible he doesn’t need anyone else? There’s no admission of fear or weakness, no call for help to prove his vulnerability. That’s boring. Every hero needs a helping hand once in a while, and he’s more interesting for it.
So F is for friendship. My favourite thing in all the world.
Sharon Sant 
I think that friendship is of vital importance because where would we (and our fave characters) be without people to lean on in times of hardship, people to bounce ideas off, people who care about us? For example, there’s a reason that the Doctor seeks out companions to travel with him and that’s because, for his character, he needs someone to force him to think about his actions and to stop him from doing the unthinkable (e.g. Donna and everything and Amy and the Star Whale). He also needs friendship to enable him to re-see the beauty in the world that he can no longer see on his own. Friendship for the Doctor is essentially a lifeline that allows him to cope with the deeds he’s committed over the past 1000 years, and without it, he would be so so alone and it would probably cause him to go off the rails and become like the creatures/people he’s always despised.
I just have a lot of Doctor Who feelings.
Wow, that’s some comment. I think you nailed it, especially where the Doctor is concerned. I think maybe the companion for the Doctor is a sort of touchstone too, you can see the Doctor through their eyes and connect with him on a deeper, more emotional level, rather than him just being an alien with weird habits. Because his companions are so ordinary, (LOVE Rose for that) we can all imagine ourselves in their shoes. I need to put the doctor in this A-Z don’t I?
To see the extraordinary the Doctor needs to ordinary and without friendship he lacks the much needed emotional connection in his life to survive [aww yeah character breakdown analysis].
Very well written. I have to say that I only knew one out of the three you posted; Harry Potter. I read the books, several times, and watched the movies, several times. I feel like they are a part of my family! 🙂 Friendship is a good topic to discuss. I value all my friendships. I loved that you discussed the topics with your children to get their take.
#1382
A to Z April Blogging Challenge
http://mauldinfamily1.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/f-is-for-floater/
Thank you for stopping by. I agree, our friendships are valuable and we should look after them.:)
I love the sentiment behind this post. I think your daughters are right–a hero needs friends to talk to, bounce ideas off, support him/her etc. Friends bring out the best in our main characters!
My daughters are always right. This is the bane of my life!
I think some some of my favorite novels have strong friendships at their core. Not only does it give the protagonist someone to talk to, but the best friendships (including real life) balance each other out, making each other better people.
I think you make a good point there, one I hadn’t considered. Probably the most sensible point too! I know my friends certainly do that. 😉
yes friends are important in humanizing the protagonist and also in creating a vulnerability
Even Iron Man is vulnerable (apparently)
In real life they keep us laughing
Yes, in real life they definitely keep us laughing! A good point about Iron Man.