Orphans

[Sam Or I]

I did not really know where to put this, so I am guessing the under the science catagory under psychology.

Why do people find orphans so intresting? Almost all "mythical" heros are orphans. Luke Skywalker, to Superman, to Moses. Is it the mystery behind it? Just something I have noticed and curious about.

[Mr Bean]

Its the path to greatness in a way


Ergo, The great ones don't know where they come from, or think they do but find out they don't so they are free to grow beyond the normal and become somthing great

[David]

Can someone say OTF please?

[Smiling Bandit]

It would be good to move this, but as is:

I don't really like it. It is one thing if the hero's parents don't coe into the story much, but I like the thought of them being people with family obligation, etc.

And it is very, very funny to see Bruce WIllius in "The 5th Element" have to talk to his Ma!

[Master of Ossus]

Orphans are frequently used as heroes in literature and movies because they do not have any fixed pasts that they need to deal with, so a writer may concentrate more fully on their deeds. That way, they must become "self made" while they are heroes. They need to make names for themselves. It is actually interesting, much of the time, to actually talk about with how characters deal with their families or with their origins. Sometimes these can be VERY interesting (Luke after finding out that Vader was his father, etc.) In a book that I am writing now, one character had a father who was a great hero in and of himself--a flawed hero, but still one that was revered by almost all who knew him. Much of the book deals with her trying to make an identity for herself, and trying to make people see past her father when they see her. Either approach can lead to very interesting stories, and it really boils down to a matter of taste.

[Enforcer Talen]

course, the characters I write about generally kill their parents, which does tend to make orphans. .

path to greatness on the villian trail. .