Justin Zhou, Period 7, 5/31/23

Justin Zhou

5/31/23

Modern Mythology, 2023

Literacy & Learning

Atmosphere is what draws you in. It’s what makes movies and videos send chills down your spine. It weaves the worlds around you when you read a book, and keeps you flipping page after page. But what truly separates great books from good ones? 

We could argue that it's the story. Or the writing. But I genuinely think it’s none of these things. Throughout Moden Mythology I’ve come to appreciate the compelling design and complexity that we’ve seen in the characters. It’s these vessels that take the form of relatable characters which truly make us feel like we’re a part of these wonderfully curated worlds. Through dialogue and characterization, they color in the gaps the author wants the reader to fully understand. Grendel is a prime example of a multidimensional character. His motivations, thoughts and actions often contradict one another, but its what makes him relatable. It’s ultimately what makes him “human.”

Good characters don’t have to be the perfect Byronic hero like Grendel or Louis to make a novel even better than it is. And while I am a sucker for antiheroes, we can uncover a deeper appreciation for the often overlooked characters that share less of the limelight because of their harsher demeanor or attitude. 

I proudly think that Lestat deserved better. 

Skimming the surface, we uncover that Lestat is an egotistical, cocky jerk. No one comes to like him. Upon my first reading of the novel, neither did I. He was mean, ruthless, and treated the main character terribly. Antagonism was clear from the beginning, and his cocky attitude accentuated it. He’s a “vampire of the moment,” who takes pleasure in the suffering of others. It seems the more we read about Lestat, the more we’re made to hate him. 

His manipulative streak also paints a poor image of him. He manipulates both Claudia and Louis and convinces them to stay with him despite the awful things he’s done. Yet there is shrouded clarity to be found amidst his cloudy motivations. The facade he puts up as a “ruthless vampire” is merely a front for a much more human desire: companionship. Even if he doesn’t want to admit it, Lestat needed Louis not for his money, but as a companion. He manipulated Louis using Claudia because he was insecure about his relationships. A side of him he doesn’t dare show the world. 

His childhood certainly wasn’t any better either. His rural upbringing was atypical and his father denied him the opportunity of education. We see his appreciation for fine art and opera because they were things he could never dabble in. He is, on a fundamental level, flawed and problematic. And it doesn’t give him an excuse to be a terrible vampire. Absolutely not. But it goes to show how everyone has struggles and problems that just go unseen by a blind eye. Usually, we’re too absorbed in our own problems to take the proper time to notice. 

The insecurities and problems that characterize Lestat are what make the coy and confident vampire seem like such a villain. And while he is the “antagonist” of the novel, he isn’t pure evil. He’s multidimensional, just like the Byronic heroes we’ve cheered and celebrated as “good characters.” Grendel and Louis were multidimensional but were alleviated of antagonism because they were the main characters/protagonists. Lestat is not afforded that luxury, which is why on the surface he gets the majority of the readers’ hate. He deserves better. 

It really puts into perspective how much we don’t get to see in others in our own world. The more I read about Lestat and the more I analyzed his character and motivations, the more I understood the people around me. Everyone, at some point, has been a villain in someone else’s story. But it’s not because we’re inherently evil. We all put on masks to hide a more vulnerable, insecure side that we wouldn’t share with the world. Through Lestat, I’ve come to learn that even the most unsuspecting people are still struggling through something, so sometimes we need to give the benefit of the doubt. It’s an ultimate testament to human nature and the indelible truth that everyone has an insurmountable burden to bear – a burden very few will ever get to uncover.