What literary characters are very useful as adjectives.

Submitted by Hargelbargel t3_y7t67d in books

For example, I find describing people as a Chicken Little is useful for people who think the world is going to end just because of some minor cultural change or some misconception of science.

From the story Harrison Bergeron, I find it useful to describe people as a Diana Moon Glampers or a Handicapper general if they are always trying to overcompensate for differences between individuals by dragging people down to the lowest level. Or just anyone who doesn't' get the purpose of art.

I use these not to be pretentious because I find the short cuts useful. I'm assuming others have useful shortcuts as well. Some character from a novel or movie that is so distinct in flavor but not unique in this world.

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solarmelange t1_iswlnlx wrote

Those are still nouns brah.

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Hargelbargel OP t1_iswptvx wrote

Oops, I meant as a descriptor, eg, he's a regular Chicken Little. Thanks for pointing that out.

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Andjhostet t1_isxqpww wrote

Big Brother is probably the biggest one I hear on a regular basis, other than biblical allusions.

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solarmelange t1_iswpzs1 wrote

There are way too many. Some that I very commonly hear used as comparisons:

  • Lolita
  • Ahab
  • Romeo & Juliette
  • Shylock
  • Lear
  • Sherlock Holmes & Watson
  • James Bond
  • David & Goliath
  • Lazarus
  • Adam & Eve
  • The devil, Satan, Lucifer
  • Falstaff
  • Gatsby
  • Ebenezer Scrooge
  • Peter Pan
  • Merlin
  • Frankenstein & Frankenstein's Monster
  • Big Brother
  • Holden Caulfield
  • Hercules
  • Icarus
  • Gilgamesh
  • Achilles
  • Helen of Troy
  • The Cowardly Lion & Others
  • The Count of Monte Cristo
  • Jean Valjean & Javert
  • Dracula
  • Oedipus & Electra
  • Robinson Crusoe
  • Doctor Faustus
  • Willy Loman
  • A person from Porlock (does that count?)
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Hargelbargel OP t1_isx34fz wrote

Okay some there I didn't think about. Willy Loman, that's useful.

But when you refer to someone as a Gilgamesh?

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solarmelange t1_isy0w77 wrote

Yeah probably not calling someone a Gilgamesh, but it is used to describe heros in stories pretty often, typically one who isn't perfect and goes a-questing.

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Dazzling-Ad4701 t1_iswwj2h wrote

catch 22 must be the gold standard here.

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far less prominently: i'm still proud of the points i scored with a lawyer by saying this one apparently-trivial lawsuit from a vexatious nutball could easily turn into bleak house. he thought i was catastrophizing, but it did get his interest enough taht he asked what i did for a living as we were wrapping things up. it was fun to give him an answer that people normally associate with the 'fiction is a waste of time' crowd ;-)

[i didn't hire him; and i turned out to be right).

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ScratchMorton t1_it0k0yz wrote

Pollyanna

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Hargelbargel OP t1_it0nt1l wrote

So when would you call someone a Pollyanna?

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ScratchMorton t1_it1xxgh wrote

To describe someone who is endlessly optimistic and cheerfully sweet no matter what. Prime example.

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BereniceFleming t1_iswyzkq wrote

Shakespeare created plenty of brilliant and striking characters so sometimes I am tempted to compare people I encounter with them. I think there are uncountable Portias, Iagos, Romeos, Shylocks, Falstaffs in our real life... Not to mention how many people are captured by existential suffering like Hamlet.

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