Character Type & Trope Thesaurus: Father Figure

In 1959, Carl Jung first popularized the idea of archetypes—”universal images that have existed since the remotest times.” He posited that every person is a blend of these 12 basic personalities. Ever since then, authors have been applying this idea to fictional characters, combining the different archetypes to come up with interesting new versions. The result is a sizable pool of character tropes that we see from one story to another.

Archetypes and tropes are popular storytelling elements because of their familiarity. Upon seeing them, readers know immediately who they’re dealing with and what role the nerd, dark lord, femme fatale, or monster hunter will play. As authors, we need to recognize the commonalities for each trope so we can write them in a recognizable way and create a rudimentary sketch for any character we want to create.

But when it comes to characters, no one wants just a sketch; we want a vibrant and striking cast full of color, depth, and contrast. Diving deeper into character creation is especially important when starting with tropes because the blessing of their familiarity is also a curse; without differentiation, the characters begin to look the same from story to story.

But no more. The Character Type and Trope Thesaurus allows you to outline the foundational elements of each trope while also exploring how to individualize them. In this way, you’ll be able to use historically tried-and-true character types to create a cast for your story that is anything but traditional.

DESCRIPTION: This character plays the role of a protective, attentive, nurturing, and wise caregiver to the protagonist. Though the father figure often has no children of his own (or he’s estranged from them), this isn’t always the case.

FICTIONAL EXAMPLES: Mr. Murry (A Wrinkle in Time), Albus Dumbledore (the Harry Potter series), Alfred Pennyworth (the Batman franchise, Uncle Iroh (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: A New Hope)

COMMON STRENGTHS: Confident, Empathetic, Friendly, Generous, Honorable, Industrious, Inspirational, Intelligent, Kind, Loyal, Nurturing, Perceptive, Persuasive, Protective, Responsible, Sensible, Supportive, Unselfish, Wise

COMMON WEAKNESSES: Controlling, Grumpy, Impatient, Know-It-All, Manipulative, Nosy, Obsessive, Pushy

ASSOCIATED ACTIONS, BEHAVIORS, AND TENDENCIES
Being protective of their charge
Sharing their wisdom
Taking or creating opportunities to teach
Being supportive of the people in their care
Being authoritative when necessary
Making sacrifices for the people in their care
Offering guidance to others
Manipulating circumstances (when necessary) to work out the way they think they should
Focusing too much on one charge and neglecting the others
Forgetting, at times, that the protagonist isn’t their child, and taking the fatherly role too far

SITUATIONS THAT WILL CHALLENGE THEM
Being unable to both protect the protagonist and do what’s best for the greater good
A physical or social limitation preventing the father figure from being a reliable protector and mentor
Watching the protagonist go their own way and reap the consequences of poor choices

TWIST THIS TROPE WITH A CHARACTER WHO…
Is deeply flawed
Teaches the protagonist to question authority and rebel against societal norms
Is absent in the story but is influencing their protagonist through their example and the advice they once gave
Has an atypical trait: Spoiled, Prejudiced, Hypocritical, Forgetful, Cynical, etc.

CLICHÉS TO BE AWARE OF
The father figure whose infallibility and seeming omniscience render them unrelatable
The afterthought parent who only shows up at key plot points to provide guidance

Other Type and Trope Thesaurus entries can be found here.

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (16 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

If you like, swing by and check out the video walkthrough for this site, and then give our Free Trial a spin.

The post Character Type & Trope Thesaurus: Father Figure appeared first on WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®.

The Bookshelf Muse is a hub for writers, educators and anyone with a love for the written word. Featuring Thesaurus Collections that encourage stronger descriptive skills, this award-winning blog will help writers hone their craft and take their writing to the next level.